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What went wrong?

My colour negatives or slides have streaks or patches of uneven colour

Negatives and slides

What you're seeing

Bands, streaks or blotches of different density or colour on C-41 or E-6 film, often running along the film or starting at the sprocket holes, sometimes milky after drying.

Check this first

Check this first

Note where the marks are and whether they look milky. Streaks from the sprocket holes point to agitation; milky streaks point to bleaching or fixing.

Likely causes, most common first

  1. 01

    Too little or uneven agitation, or slow filling

    Common
    How to tell
    Streaks running from the sprocket holes or along the length of the film, or one end of the film different from the other. Colour streaks as well as density changes.
    Test it
    Process a test roll filling the tank quickly, especially with the first or colour developer, and agitate exactly as the kit says. If the streaks go, agitation or filling was the cause.
    The fix
    Pour in each bath quickly, agitate as instructed, and level a rotary processor. For sheet film in rotary tanks, Tetenal suggests faster rotation or a two-minute prewash at process temperature.

    Sources Tetenal, Tetenal Colortec E-6 3-Bath Instruction for use (Art. 102035/102036); Tetenal, Tetenal Colortec C-41 Kit Instructions for Use; Eastman Kodak (archived copy at 125px.com), Visual Troubleshooting of Process E-6 (Using KODAK Chemicals, Process E-6, section 12)

  2. 02

    Too little solution in the tank

    Occasional
    How to tell
    Unevenness on part of the film in a tank filled below the maker's minimum, especially on rotary processors where the volume is small.
    Test it
    Fill the tank with water to your usual volume and check the film reel is covered, or check the tank maker's minimum for rotary use.
    The fix
    Never go below the tank maker's filling volume. A little over is harmless.

    Source Tetenal, Tetenal Colortec E-6 3-Bath Instruction for use (Art. 102035/102036)

  3. 03

    Uneven temperature at the start of development

    Occasional
    How to tell
    Uneven density on sheet film or on roll film in a rotary processor, when the tank and film were not prewarmed.
    Test it
    Process a test roll with the tank prewarmed or prewashed at 38 °C for two minutes. If it is even, the start temperature was the problem.
    The fix
    Prewarm the tank or prewash at process temperature. The Tetenal C-41 kit gives a 30 °C cycle if 38 °C gives uneven results.

    Sources Tetenal, Tetenal Colortec E-6 3-Bath Instruction for use (Art. 102035/102036); Tetenal, Tetenal Colortec C-41 Kit Instructions for Use

  4. 04

    Incomplete bleaching or fixing

    Occasional
    How to tell
    Milky streaks or milky patches after drying, or murky areas where bleach-fix did not reach.
    Test it
    Put a spoiled frame back through fresh bleach-fix for the full time, wash and stabilise. If the streak clears, bleaching or fixing was incomplete.
    The fix
    Give the roll a further bleach-fix treatment, then wash and stabilise. Next time give the full time and agitate the bleach-fix as well.

    Sources Tetenal, Tetenal Colortec C-41 Kit Instructions for Use; Eastman Kodak (archived copy at 125px.com), Visual Troubleshooting of Process E-6 (Using KODAK Chemicals, Process E-6, section 12); Kodak Alaris, Using KODAK FLEXICOLOR Chemicals (Process C-41)

Avoiding it next time

  • Fill the tank quickly and agitate as the kit says.
  • Prewarm the tank before the first bath.
  • Use at least the tank's minimum volume.

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