I have a black solid suspension in a relatively recently mixed batch of D76 do you have any idea why this has happened ? what should i do about this? the developer is just a little cloudy, but i have never experienced this before, I developed a set of three films in this developer solution without any problems, but I suspect that this black cloudiness is silver why would the silver appear as a suspended solid like this?

-- chris kloss (ceemmkay@aol.com), July 12, 1999

Answers

Maybe it is silver. You can do two things to avoid problems: mix it with distilled water and use it one shot.

-- Tim Brown (brownt@ase.com), July 12, 1999.

chris, if you are reusing the dev or deep tank processing (also reusing) you may have the emulsion of the film from cut or ripped edges suspended in your developer. that would be a blackish suspended solid ( but a softer one ) if you are reusing your developer i would suggest straining it - either with a mesh screen, or a coffee filter. However i would be more careful in the future of cross contamination... weather it is or is not emulsion, something has gotten into your developer that doesn't belong there. from the containers you mix it in, to the reels you process with to the actual film itself, and whatever is on your hands when you touch it, as well as everwhere else something comes into contact with something else in your dark room can cause contamination. sometimes you wont know it, and if you work with chemicals that have cyaides in them and acids in the darkroom, you have a major threat to your health, and possible life. Good luck in rectifying the black solid problem. Sean.

-- Sean (Zbeeblebrox42@yahoo.com), July 12, 1999.