Darkroom Tip: Pre-Soak Is Optional — Consistency Isn't

A few minutes of plain water before the developer swells the emulsion evenly and rinses out anti-halation dye — that alarming blue or green water pouring off Kodak and Fuji films is completely normal and harmless.

Whether it helps is genuinely contested. Stand and semi-stand workflows often benefit; for ordinary tank development the difference is subtle. Ilford advises against pre-soaking their films, Kodak permits it. What is not contested is that a pre-soak changes how fast developer reaches the emulsion, so your times shift with it.

So pick one and hold it constant for the whole project — switching mid-way is how you end up with two batches of negatives you can't compare. Note which way you went in your Analogly Roll Log entry.