NORITSU V30 Lines in negative

[Christ Shanti]

Hello I recently noticed some lines in my negatives and it appears as if the lines are somewhat consistent. I ruled out the scanner since I checked on two scanners and even though faint, I put the negative in the enlarger and I see the line as well. 

I am making new chem and cleaning all the racks and cleaning the machine as best as possible.

I suspect the problem is somewhere in the the drying rack. I’m attaching photos of the drying rack rollers which seem to have debris of negatives. I am going to pick out everything that extruded with tweezers. Does anyone know where I can get those rollers. It’s the two bigger white/beige ones. The skinnier white ones also seem to be badly stained but no debris. Would be nice to change those too. 
 

has anyone had this issue? Negatives coming out with lines. I will attach example photos as well. 
 

Lastly I noticed when cleaning the bottom racks, 2 & 7 don’t spin as freely as the rest of the racks. Would this be a culprit as well? I’m going to attempt to take off the gear and clean if anyone has tips. 

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance ! 
 

attaching link for photos. 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-7gKuPnr3rCOCZar7y_nJEmXdqASG-XY

 

[oliphaz]

Hello Christ. Are these scratches on every single roll that goes through the machine? Do the span the entire roll?

In my experience scratches like these are caused by cameras that are imparting too much pressure on the film as it is advancing, or that have dirt or grim in the camera back somewhere.

The film would have to be moved across a surface that is stationary and rough enough to scratch the emulsion. If all the rollers are moving in the dryer it is unlikely to be happening there.

 

[oliphaz]

How are you pulling the tongues? It could also be happening with a broken puller, but it would only be near the beginning of the roll. 

[Balázsovics]

If the scratches appear on both lanes of the processing line it could also be the rollers in the loading box

A rack not rolling smoothly could indicate one or more rollers stuck in place causing the film not to roll with the roller but to be dragged over them and dirt on those carving into the emulsion/base
Also check every upper turn guide in the machine, the input section guide rollers and the squegee unit rollers

Are you sure that the issue appears after the film going trough the V30? It could be that your scanner mask/masks are the issue

Have you checked whether or not the felt trap on film cans are clean?
Maybe the instrument you use to retrieve leaders leaves a lot of dust on/in the canister, that dust then gets imbedded into the felt trap causing it to become what is essentially sandpaper

So, clean everything, run test pieces of film trough every rack, upper turn guide and dryer, you should also check with this test film the loading box, also check out the pressure of the flattening rollers, confirm that they are not stuck in the down position, confirm correct left and right blade positions

To avoid this stuff, clean regularly, soak upper turn guides overnight and clean filters as much as you can

[Christ Shanti]

Did notice some debris in the loading box right behind the roller and got it out with tweezers so thank you for that advice. Would explain some lines on the film but i find it weird that it was coming from both lanes. Been running film after cleaning drying racks and replacing the cross over rollers and cleaning loading box and so far so good. Planning on changing the rollers from the drying rack next just as a precaution. 

[Balázsovics]

On 3/20/2026 at 9:41 PM, Christ Shanti said:

Did notice some debris in the loading box right behind the roller and got it out with tweezers so thank you for that advice. Would explain some lines on the film but i find it weird that it was coming from both lanes. Been running film after cleaning drying racks and replacing the cross over rollers and cleaning loading box and so far so good. Planning on changing the rollers from the drying rack next just as a precaution. 

Nice! watch out for regular cleaning, not just processing section, you should regularly check input and drying section, clean the filters on the fans and clean controller section to avoid overheating