Skip to main content

What went wrong?

My negatives have dark streaks running from the sprocket holes

Negatives and slides

What you're seeing

Denser streaks or tongues start at the sprocket holes and reach into the picture on 35mm film. On a scan or print they show as lighter streaks. They often repeat along the roll.

Streaks that start at the sprocket holes are darker on the negative; streaks that run from dense areas are lighter. They point to opposite agitation faults.

Check this first

Check this first

Look at the negative on a light box. Are the streaks darker than the surrounding area on the negative, and do they start right at the sprocket holes?

Likely causes, most common first

  1. 01

    Too much or too vigorous agitation

    Common
    How to tell
    Dark streaks starting at the sprocket holes, worst on frames with large even areas such as sky. Developer rushes through the holes and develops the film next to them more.
    Test it
    Develop a test roll of a plain scene with gentle inversions, exactly as the data sheet says, and compare.
    The fix
    Agitate gently. For Ilford, four inversions in the first 10 seconds of each minute; for Kodak, follow its small-tank agitation in the film data sheet. Don't shake the tank.

    Sources Eastman Kodak Company, Processing Chemicals and Formulas for Black-and-White Photography (Kodak Publication J-1), 7th edition; Ilford Photo (Harman Technology), Common Processing Problems; Ilford, Ilford DD-X Technical Information

  2. 02

    The same agitation movement every time

    Occasional
    How to tell
    Streaks run the same way on every frame, following the flow of a repeated movement.
    Test it
    Develop a test roll changing the movement each cycle (vary the direction of inversion or twist) and compare.
    The fix
    Kodak says agitation should be irregular, so currents don't flow over the film in one direction.

    Source Kodak, Kodak D-76 Developer Technical Data

  3. 03

    Bromide drag from too little agitation

    Occasional
    How to tell
    The streaks are lighter than their surroundings on the negative, not darker, and run from dense areas. Common with stand development.
    Test it
    Develop a test roll with normal agitation instead of stand or minimal agitation and compare.
    The fix
    Give the data sheet's normal agitation. See the uneven development entry.

    Source Eastman Kodak Company, Processing Chemicals and Formulas for Black-and-White Photography (Kodak Publication J-1), 7th edition

Avoiding it next time

  • Invert gently and only as often as the data sheet says.
  • Vary the agitation movement from cycle to cycle.

Go deeper