labworkisawesome Posted July 3 Report Posted July 3 Hey all, Looking for any or all insights on some numbers that I got off some control strips. The past few days a few numbers have been trending down: REF STRIP 0.29 0.69 0.95 mask 0.44 0.84 1.05 lo den 1.56 2.07 2.41 hi den 1.88 2.45 2.83 dmax 2.31 yel Todays numbers are 0.31 0.74 0.97 mask 0.42 0.85 1.03 lo den 1.42 1.85 2.14 hi den 1.74 2.19 2.55 dmax 2.09 yel Our reference strip was given on 6/20 and we have ran strips every day (7/3/26) and there is a decrease on our hi den, dmax, and yellow. We have found and fixed these issues: Bleach Aerator had clogged or went out but we replaced it. Drained all working tanks and replaced them. Noticed that there was silvering on film and found the bleach replenishment pump was clogged and cleaned/fixed that. As well as ran PH strips on all working tanks. The film physically looks fine, no silvering on the film and our HS-1800 isn't having any issues. We have ran pump amount measurements and input those into the machine. I'm looking for a second opinion as everything appears to be fine, but the numbers are still going down and I am not at all sure why. I'm figuring this out as I go and any help is appreciated! Thank you.
Dave S Posted July 3 Report Posted July 3 If the contrast HD-LD and D max are dropping it is usually down to under replenishing of the CD. What chemistry make and type are you using? What is the rep rate set to? How many films a day are you processing?
labworkisawesome Posted July 3 Author Report Posted July 3 9 minutes ago, Dave S said: If the contrast HD-LD and D max are dropping it is usually down to under replenishing of the CD. What chemistry make and type are you using? What is the rep rate set to? How many films a day are you processing? hey there, were using the 3 part fuji n1 c-41 dev replenisher. we process on average 80 rolls a day. here is our rates. Thanks 135 - 36 ml/m 120 - 68 ml/m
Dave S Posted July 3 Report Posted July 3 1 hour ago, labworkisawesome said: hey there, were using the 3 part fuji n1 c-41 dev replenisher. we process on average 80 rolls a day. here is our rates. Thanks 135 - 36 ml/m 120 - 68 ml/m I don't know which developer you are using from your description. Maybe take a photo of the box or link to what you buy. There are lots of different developer types, that all use different rep rates.
labworkisawesome Posted July 3 Author Report Posted July 3 (edited) 46 minutes ago, Dave S said: I don't know which developer you are using from your description. Maybe take a photo of the box or link to what you buy. There are lots of different developer types, that all use different rep rates. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/792396-REG/Fujifilm_600005135_NEG_N1_R_Developer_Replenisher.html https://asset.fujifilm.com/www/us/files/2023-07/ed0c517135b02edf1a5fb58605870e9a/600021524_Neg_N1-R_2x10L_102320.pdf here you go! sorry about that. we fixed our bleach replenishment pump yesterday. could it be that our fixer took the brunt of it and has to bounce back? Edited July 3 by labworkisawesome
Dave S Posted July 3 Report Posted July 3 33 minutes ago, labworkisawesome said: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/792396-REG/Fujifilm_600005135_NEG_N1_R_Developer_Replenisher.html https://asset.fujifilm.com/www/us/files/2023-07/ed0c517135b02edf1a5fb58605870e9a/600021524_Neg_N1-R_2x10L_102320.pdf here you go! sorry about that. we fixed our bleach replenishment pump yesterday. could it be that our fixer took the brunt of it and has to bounce back? Bad fixer would tend to effect the mask and LD more than anything else. Have you checked the calibration of each replenisher pump? measure each pump 3 times in the Pump output measurement setting, add the 3 values together, then divide by 3, this will give you an average reading. I would expect an output of around 55ml per pump. If it's much less than that, probably the poppet valves in the pump will be worn out.
labworkisawesome Posted July 3 Author Report Posted July 3 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Dave S said: Bad fixer would tend to effect the mask and LD more than anything else. Have you checked the calibration of each replenisher pump? measure each pump 3 times in the Pump output measurement setting, add the 3 values together, then divide by 3, this will give you an average reading. I would expect an output of around 55ml per pump. If it's much less than that, probably the poppet valves in the pump will be worn out. I figured as much! We did the pump amount measurement and applied them 2 days ago. That is when we noticed our bleach pump was clogged and then we fixed it. What was interesting was that our values were changed about 10-15ml to around 55 ml/m. Should I do another pump measurement just to be sure? Edited July 3 by labworkisawesome
Dave S Posted July 3 Report Posted July 3 If the pumps check out fine, try increasing the standard rep rate of the CD 135 to 40ml and 120 to 68ml, and monitor the control strip readings to see if things improve.
labworkisawesome Posted July 3 Author Report Posted July 3 Just now, Dave S said: If the pumps check out fine, try increasing the standard rep rate of the CD 135 to 40ml and 120 to 68ml, and monitor the control strip readings to see if things improve. Thank you so much Sir for your help! I will change them Monday! How fast of a change would you notice on the control strips?
Dave S Posted July 3 Report Posted July 3 2 minutes ago, labworkisawesome said: Thank you so much Sir for your help! I will change them Monday! How fast of a change would you notice on the control strips? If you are doing 80 rolls a day I would expect there to be a change after 2 days.
labworkisawesome Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 On 7/3/2026 at 3:00 PM, Dave S said: If you are doing 80 rolls a day I would expect there to be a change after 2 days. Hey there, came back and ran about 90 rolls yesterday. We ran a process strip and our hi den- and dmax are rocketing up now, but our concern now is if it rising quickly is okay, and it wont shoot off past our target numbers?
Dave S Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 5 hours ago, labworkisawesome said: Hey there, came back and ran about 90 rolls yesterday. We ran a process strip and our hi den- and dmax are rocketing up now, but our concern now is if it rising quickly is okay, and it wont shoot off past our target numbers? Once it's up to the target value bring the CD rep rate back down to the original values and monitor it. Basically you want to find a rep rate value where it's not rising or dropping. It's not an exact science!
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