MANUAL PROCESSING permitted by a polyester film base.
With
this processor, the dry-to-drop time is 90
FILM PROCESSING
seconds. This type of automatic film
The latent image is invisible because only processing system remains the standard.
a few silver ions have been changed to
The first step in the processing sequence
metallic silver and deposited at the
involves wetting the film to swell the
sensitivity center. Processing the film
emulsion, so that subsequent chemical
magnifies this action many times until all
baths can reach all parts of the emulsion
of the silver ions in an exposed crystal are
uniformly. In automatic processing, this
converted to atomic silver, thus
step is omitted, and the wetting agent is
converting the latent image into a visible
incorporated into the second step,
radiographic image.
developing.
Processing is as important as technique
The developing stage is very short and
and positioning in preparing a quality
highly critical. After developing, the film is
radiograph. Before the introduction of
rinsed in an acid solution designed to stop
automatic film processing, x-ray films
the developing process and removes
were processed manually. It took
excess developer chemicals from the
approximately 1 hour to prepare a
emulsion. Photographers call this step the
completely dry and ready-to-read
stop bath. In radiographic processing, the
radiograph.
stop bath is included in the next step,
The first automatic processor was fixing.
introduced by Pako in 1942 and could
The gelatin portion of the emulsion is
process 120 films per hour with the use of
hardened at the same time to increase its
special hangers. These film hangers were
structural soundness. Fixing is followed by
dunked from one tank to another. The
vigorous washing of the film to remove
total cycle time for processing one film
any remaining chemicals from the
was approximately 40 minutes.
previous processing steps. Finally, the film
Automatic processing advanced is dried to remove the water used to wash
significantly in 1956, when Eastman Kodak it and to make the film acceptable for
Company introduced the first roller handling and viewing.
transport system for processing medical
PROCESSING CHEMISTRY
radiographs. The roller transport
automatic processor was about 10 feet When one is mixing solution, cleaning a
long, weighed nearly three quarters of a processor, or participating in any activity
ton, and sold for approximately $350,000 with or near processing solutions, these
in today’s dollars. steps should be followed:
Another significant breakthrough was ❑ Wear a proper mask that reduces
Eastman Kodak’s introduction of 90- inhalation of fumes – not the standard
second rapid processing in 1965. Rapid surgical mask that only guards against
processing was possible because of the particles and bugs.
development of new chemistry and
emulsions, as well as the faster drying
❑ Wear nitrile gloves. Do not use surgical lighter shades of gray. Phenidone controls
gloves; they only protect against biologic the toe of the characteristic curve, and
matter. Remember that photographic hydroquinone controls the shoulder.
chemicals are designed to penetrate, and
An unexposed silver halide crystal has a
thin rubber gloves provide no guarantee
negative electrostatic charge distributed
of safety.
over its entire surface. An exposed silver
❑ Wear protective glasses. Chemical halide crystal, on the other hand, has a
splashes in the eyes are painful. negative electrostatic charge distributed
over its surface except the sensitivity
WETTING
center.
For these chemicals to penetrate the
The similar electrostatic charges on the
emulsion, the radiograph must first be
developing agent and the silver halide
treated by wetting agent. The wetting
crystal make it difficult for the developing
agent is water, and it penetrates the
agent to penetrate the crystal surface
gelatin of the emulsion, causing it to swell.
except in the region of the sensitivity
In automatic processing, the wetting
center in an exposed crystal.
agent is in the developer.
In such an exposed crystal, the developing
DEVELOPMENT
agent penetrate the crystal through the
The principal action of the developer is to sensitivity center and reduces the
change the silver ions of exposed crystals remaining silver ions to atomic silver. The
into metallic silver. The developer sensitivity center can be considered a
provides electrons to the sensitive center metallic conducting electrode through
of the crystal to change the silver ions to which electrons are transferred from the
silver. developing agent into the crystal.
When an electron is given up by a The reduction of a silver ion is
chemical, in this case the developer, to accompanied by the liberation of a
neutralize a positive ion, the process is bromide ion. The bromide ion migrates
called reduction. The silver ion is said to through the remnant of the crystal into
be reduced to metallic silver, and the the gelatin portion of the emulsion. From
chemical responsible for this is called there the ion is dissolved into the
reducing agent. developer and is removed from the film.
The principal component of the developer The developer contains alkali compounds,
is hydroquinone. Secondary constituents such as sodium carbonate and sodium
are Phenidone and Metol. Synergism hydroxide. These buffering agents
occurs when the action of two agents enhance the action of the developing
working together is greater than the sum agent by controlling the concentration of
of the action of each agent working hydrogen ions: the pH (power of
independently. hydrogen).
Hydroquinone acts rather slowly but is These alkali compounds are caustic, that
responsible for the very blackest shades. is, they are very corrosive and can cause a
Phenidone acts rapidly and influences the skin burn. Sodium hydroxide, the
strongest alkali, is commonly called lye. Be The developer may contain metal
very cautious if you mix developer impurities and soluble salts. Such
solution that contains sodium hydroxide. impurities can accelerate the oxidation of
You should wear rubber gloves and, of hydroquinone, rendering the developer
course, never let your mouth or eyes. unstable. Chelates are introduced as
sequestering agents that form stable
Potassium bromide and potassium iodide
complexes with these metallic ions and
are added to the developer as restrainers.
salts.
Restrainers restrict the action of the
developing agents to only those silver With proper development, all exposed
halide crystals that have been irradiated. crystals that contain a latent image are
Without the restrainer, even those reduced to metallic silver, and unexposed
crystals that have not been exposed are crystals are unaffected. The development
reduced to metallic silver. This results in process, however, is not perfect: Some
an increased fog that is called crystals that contain latent image remain
development fog. undeveloped (unreduced), but other
crystals that are unexposed may be
A preservative is also included in the
developed. Both of these actions reduce
developer to control the oxidation of the
the quality of the radiograph.
developing agent by air. Air is introduced
into the chemistry when it is mixed, Film development is basically a chemical
handled, and stored; such oxidation is reaction. Similar to all chemical reactions,
called aerial oxidation. By controlling it is governed by three physical
aerial oxidation, the preservative helps characteristics: time, temperature, and
maintain the proper development rate. concentration (of the developer). Long
development time increases reduction of
Mixed chemicals last only a couple of
the silver in each grain and promotes the
weeks; thus, replenishment tanks require
development of the total number of
close-fitting lids for the control of aerial
grains. High developer temperature has
oxidation. It is easy to tell when the
the same effect.
developing agent has been oxidized
because it turns brownish. The addition of The temperature of the developer
preservative, usually sodium sulphite, solution in a 90-second processor unit
causes the developer to remain clear. may be as high as 92 to 94 degree
Fahrenheit. The high temperature results
Developers used in automatic processors
in swelling of the emulsion. Too much
contain a hardener, usually
swelling will prevent the film from moving
glutaraldehyde. If the emulsion swells too
easily through the transport system.
much or becomes too soft, the film will
not be transported properly through the
system because of the very close
tolerances of the transport system. The
hardener controls swelling and softening
of the emulsion. When films that drop
from the processor are damp, the casual
use is the depletion of the hardener.
ammonium thiosulfate is the fixing agent
that is used in most fixer chemistries.
Hypo retention is the term used to
describe the undesirable retention of the
fixer in the emulsion. Excess hypo slowly
oxidizes and causes the image to discolour
to brown over a long time. Fixing agents
retained in the emulsion combine with
silver to form silver sulfide, which appears
yellow-brown. Silver sulfide is the most
FIXING common cause of poor archival quality.
When development is complete, the film The fixer also contains a chemical called
must be treated so that the image will not hardener. As the developed and
fade. This stage of processing is fixing. The unreduced silver bromide is removed
image is said to be fixed on the film, and from the emulsion during fixation, the
this produces film of archival quality. emulsion shrinks. The hardener
accelerates this shrinking process and
Archival quality refers to the permanence
causes the emulsion to become more rigid
of the radiograph: the image does not
or hardened.
deteriorate with age but remains in its
original state. The purpose of hardeners is to ensure
that the film is transported properly
When the film is removed from the
through the wash-dry-section and that
developer, some developer is trapped in
rapid and complete drying occurs. The
the emulsion and continues its reducing
chemicals commonly used as hardeners
action. Stop bath is used to neutralize the
are potassium alum, aluminium chloride,
residual developer in the emulsion and
and chromium alum. Normally, only one is
stop its action. The chemical used in the
used in a given formulation.
stop bath is acetic acid.
The fixer also contains a preservative that
In automatic processing, a stop bath is not
is of the same composition and that
used because the rollers of the transport
serves the same purpose as the
system squeeze the film clean.
preservative in the developer. The
Furthermore, the fixer contains acetic
preservative is sodium sulfite, and is
acid, however is called an activator. An
needed to maintain chemical balance
activator neutralizes the pH of the
because of the carryover the developer
emulsion and stops developer action.
from one tank to another.
The terms clearing agent, hypo and
The alkalinity and acidity – the pH – of the
thiosulfate often are used interchangeably
fixer must remain constant. This is helped
in reference to the fixing agent. Fixing
by adding a buffer, usually acetate, to the
agents remove unexposed and
fixer. In the same way that metallic ions
undeveloped silver halide crystals from
are sequestered in the developer, so must
the emulsion. Sodium thiosulfate is the
they be sequestered in the fixer.
agent classically known as hypo, but
Aluminum ions represent the principal time, and be of generally poor archival
impurity at this stage. Boric acids and quality.
boric salts are used for sequestering.
DRYING
Finally, the fixer contains water as the
For the final step in processing, drying the
solvent. Other chemicals might be
radiograph, warm dry air is blown over
applicable as solvent, but they are thicker
both surfaces of the film as it is
and are more likely to gum up the
transported through the drying chamber.
transport mechanism of the automatic
processor. The total sequence of events involved in
manual processing takes longer than 1
Used fixer flows out of the tank; however,
hour to be completed. Most automatic
it cannot enter a drainage system because
processors are 90-second processors and
the dissolved silver is a polluting agent.
require a total time frame from start to
The dissolved silver can be removed from
finish – the dry-to drop time – of just 90
the used fixer solution, after which the
seconds.
fixer may flow into a drainage system.
WASHING
The next stage in processing is to wash
away any residual chemicals remaining in
the emulsion, particularly hypo that clings
to the surface of the film. Water is used as
to wash agent. In automatic processing,
the temperature of the wash should be
maintained at approximately 3° C (5° F)
below the developer temperature.
In this way, the wash bath also serves to
stabilize developer temperature.
Inadequate washing leads to excessive
hyporetension and the production of an
image that will fade, turn brown with
