Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., Tony Terlecki 
<ajt@m...> wrote:
> On Sun, Jul 21, 2002 at 11:55:19PM -0000, tjphotoct wrote:
> > --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., Tony Terlecki 
> > > 
> > > Are you sure the lab processed these as C-41 and didn't 
> > mistake them 
> > > for traditional B&W film?
> > > 
> > > -- 
> > > Tony Terlecki
> > > ajt@m...
> > 
> > Tony,
> > The box, the roll, everything says process C-41. They are a 
> > custom color and black and white lab and they also sell the 
film.
> > Do you use XP2 and can you see "grain" in your XP2 or is it 
very 
> > smooth. I can see this grain like pattern even between the 
> > frames in the blank film area.
> >  Actually I just read it is now XP2 Super.
> > TJ
> > 
> 
> I won't say there is no grain but it is certainly much less than 
HP5 or
> Delta 400. It is also more of a diffused type of grain because it 
consists 
> of dye clouds and it also only apparent in the lighter portions of 
the
> negative. When scanning though I get very smooth tones as 
you would
> expect with a chromogenic film. The clear areas of the film 
between frames
> are pretty grain free. Something is evidently wrong with your 
film.
> 
> I'm not sure what scanner you are using but one test if you 
have an IR
> channel and VueScan is to save off the IR channel and see 
what it looks
> like. If you have a very strong negative image then that means 
there is
> silver in the emulsion and they have mis-processed your film.
> 
> There's another test if you don't have the above - go back to the 
lab and
> have them put a frame of the film (one you can afford to trash) 
into the
> bleach step of the C-41 process and then into the fix. If the film 
was
> developed with a traditional silver developer then the bleach 
will oxidize
> the silver back to a silver halide and the fix will then remove all 
the
> silver leaving a completely clear piece of film. If the negative 
image is 
> still there then the dye is probably present and the film 
probably did go 
> through some sort of process with a colour developer.
> 
> If they did use a B&W developer then there is a way to recover 
the dye image
> although I've never tried it so don't know how well it works. I can 
explain
> the process if you're interested.
> 
> What colour is the film? All my C-41 has a magenta cast to it 
which is
> normal. More importantly what does the lab have to say about 
your film? They
> should know right away what happened.  
> 
> You should shoot a couple more rolls and send them to a 
couple of different
> labs just to satisfy yourself what a properly developed XP2 neg 
looks like.
> It really is a great film for scanning so something is definitely 
amiss.
> -- 
> Tony Terlecki
> ajt@m...
Tony,
Thanks for your very complete reply. This film is magenta and I 
will go to the lab after I shoot a couple of rolls and process 
elsewhere. 
I use a drum scanner and a flat bed with adapter. I have scanned 
other black and white films and this is the only problem I have 
ever had.  
They processed around 300 rolls for this project and that is why I 
am so freaked.
Thanks for your help.
Thom