X-RAY DEVELOPER WEAKENING TOO SOON

Have you noticed that the developer in your automatic processor seems to become exhausted too rapidly?  Do your films turn out well only for a short time after your chemicals have been changed?  Do you seem to have to change the developer more often than the recommended once-a-month interval?  

X-rays that have been processed with weak developer have a characteristic appearance that is diffusely light and milky looking.  Even the background, within the border of collimation but outside the body part, may not be completely black

Here is something no one ever tells you!

Every time a film is inserted into the processor, a small amount of replenisher is released into the developer tank to keep the developer active.  Practically all automatic x-ray processors were designed to process at least 30 films per day.  The developer needs that many films going through it to give the developer enough replenisher to keep from becoming rapidly exhausted.  Many facilities do not process nearly this many films in a day, and then they wonder why their chemicals are losing strength in a week and a half!  This is even more noticeable in a small counter-top processor.

Here is what to do:

Either turn up the replenisher rate, or

Take a cleared sheet of film (new film that has been removed from its box in the darkroom and immediately run through the processor without being exposed to light or radiation) and run it through the processor at least once per hour that your processor is turned on.  This will activate the frequent replenishment that is necessary to keep your developer up to optimum strength until the end of the month when it is time to drain and scrub the tanks and change the chemicals.

Film that has any image (black) on it may have a tiny amount of fixer trapped in the emulsion, and this could conceivably ruin the developer; that is why you should use a cleared film.  Keep the processor turned off when it is not expected to be in use on a given day, as heat accelerates the rate of chemistry decomposition; however, the processor should not be turned off in between multiple uses in one day.