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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.
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