Help identifying dev flaw

[u/gumamug]

Here is an insert of a high resolution scan done on my V850. The issue is the purple specks on the negative which, when inverted, render as greenish specs. They're easier to see in the inverted photo, IMO.

This only happens to me with Foma films (this is Retropan 320) with my developer of choice, L110. Ilford films always come out crystal clean. Annoying though because I love Foma 100.

I'm having trouble problem solving because I'm still not entirely sure what's going on, and I'm hoping someone has seen this before or can point in me in the right direction. Dev temp and time are standard, inversions every minute. I've tried pre-soaking for up to five minutes before hand, and more extensive washing afterward. Still get the specks.

[u/Ybalrid]

If this is a HC-110 clone, make sure you mix it very well with the water.

Honey-like filaments tend to hang around in the mix for a bit, because it is a more viscuous liquid. It needs a little bit more work to be diluted in water than something like Rodinal.

[u/gumamug → u/Ybalrid]

Thanks for the suggestion. My best understanding from trying to search for this issue online is that the purple specks could be concentrated developer—which is what I'm gathering from your suggestion as well. Although this dev cycle I did mix the solution more than I usually do, although maybe still not enough.

[u/Ybalrid → u/gumamug]

Impossible for me to say from here, but your pattern on the negs + that kind of developer specifically points me to this kind of issue.

[u/OHGodImBackOnReddit → u/Ybalrid]

This is a good point, I usually let my dev sit for a little bit after mixing just while loading in the film to the tank and i've had very good results from my HC-110 developing.

[u/felixfilmfotos]

Common Foma issue. It's apparently residual antihalation layer or sensitizing dye. Can be removed with a long ethanol rinse according to foma. Has been discussed ad nauseum in other forums. See the following forum posts for more details:

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/has-anyone-solved-the-foma-purple-spots-problem.188061/

https://www.5x4.co.uk/threads/i-have-a-rash-on-my-foma-100-negs.1357/page-2

[u/gumamug → u/felixfilmfotos]

Thank you for this information! Maybe it's me, maybe it's the total enshittification of search engines, but I had heretofore had a really hard time finding this info from searching around.

[u/felixfilmfotos → u/gumamug]

Glad I could help! Sorry if I seemed condescending or annoyed, wasn't my intention. I've also noticed google has just gotten worse and worse in the last couple of years...

[u/OHGodImBackOnReddit]

For me, remixing fixer or at least coffee filtering it every dev cycle helped reduce the dots significantly. I also switched to one shot HC-110 which helped a good bit.

[u/gumamug → u/OHGodImBackOnReddit]

Thanks for the suggestion re: fixer filtering. I keep the HC/L-110 in its concentrate form and mix it up one-shot for every dev.

[u/steved3604]

Maybe try distilled water next time.

[u/Ted_Borg]

Is this 120 film? I’ve had issues with purple discoloration on foma 100 in 120, but not on the 35mm. Supposedly something to do with an anti halation layer that is not present on 35mm.

[u/gumamug → u/Ted_Borg]

4x5