reticulation tips

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i'm interested in trying to reticulate my film. thick emulsion films apparently are hard to find (like pan-x) because they don't make 'em anymore. any advice would be appreciated.

a.

-- a. goldin (slimsfrend@hotmail.com), October 30, 2000

Answers

try using very hot pre-soak, cool developer and fix and hot fix then very cold wash. All that is needed is to change the temp alot. James

-- james (james_mickelson@hotmail.com), October 30, 2000.

I have had one film reticulate and that was Konica IR750. It was in the tank with a roll of FP4+ which was not affected. Based on this, I'd say the Konica is more susectable to reticulation than FP4+. I believe the cause was the wash which was way too hot... I had bumped the 'mixer' tap. Haven't done it again thankfully!

-- Nigel Smith (nlandgl@unite.com.au), October 31, 2000.

The older emulsions (Tri X, HP5+ ec.) work just fine. You have to drastically alter the temps between solutions... without going to hot to peel the emulsion. Use your developer as a regular temp, go to a hot wash or VERY dilute stop and a COLD fix.

-- Scott Walton (scotlynn@shore.net), October 31, 2000.

If you want a thick film, and can shoot 120 film use Verichrome Pan. Next, the primary reason film reticulates is because of a temperature difference between solutions - going from warm to cold. In warm water the gelatin swells, and in the cold water it shrinks rapidily, stretching it apart.

Now, most fixer has a hardening agent in it. The hardening agent causes the gelatin molecules to cross link making it swell less. If you want to reticulate film, I would use a non-hardening fixer on the film. Then put the film in a water bath at about 90-95 degrees for about 1-2 minutes, then put it in ice water. After it reticulates, I would refix the film briefly in a hardening fixer, or put it in a hardening bath and then carefully wash the film.

Unhardened gelatin will start dissolving/melting at a little over 100 F so you will have to be careful with the temperature of the warm bath.

-- steve (s.swinehart@worldnet.att.net), October 31, 2000.


A rapid change of pH is usually more effective for reticulation than temperature change, but a combination of both should do the trick.
You need to shock the gelatine from a soft expanded state to a shrunken one. Try a hot (35 celsius) bath of print developer or strong Rodinal, for 5 mins, and immediately dunk into a 4 times normal strength stop bath at 10-15 celsius.
If that doesn't do the trick use a first bath of 5% Sodium or potassium Hydroxide solution. WARNING. This strength of caustic solution should be treated with care, and will completely remove the emulsion if the film is left in it for more than a minute or two.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), November 01, 2000.


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