danwilly
Established
I meant to say anti-static cleaners, not alcohol cleaners. Must get a keyboard that doesn't make so many typos.
Buze
Established
I'm really interested in the Alcohol base drying; what would you buy inthe UK to do that ?
How does it work ? I understand the emultion and the film base absorb some of the water we develop it in, so will Alcohol somehow replace that water in the material or just "fake drying" it on the surface ?
How does it work ? I understand the emultion and the film base absorb some of the water we develop it in, so will Alcohol somehow replace that water in the material or just "fake drying" it on the surface ?
CJP6008
Established
It is possible to use ethyl or isopropyl alcohol to which about 10 percent of water has been added. Methyl alcohol is not recommended as it can attack the film base. (Coote "Ilford Monochrome Darkroom Practice" 1982). The film will dry quickly. I understand that such techniques used to be emplyed in newspaper darkrooms when things were needed very fast. I understand that such techniques do carry risks and are not recommended for archival purposes. I would imagine that unless the alcohol was absolutely pure, residues could be left in the film that may damage it over time. Indeed the alcohol, even if pure when in the bottle might dissolve something from the vessel it was transferred into and leave it on the film.
Opinion is divided on whether to squeegy negs before hanging to dry. My thoughts are that, when wet, the silver bearing gelatine is at its softest and most delicate. A tiny speck of dust or grit caught on fingers or squeegy will put a scratch all the way down the film ruining all the negs. For me, the risk is not worth it.
A drying cabinet is a very good investment and, with darkrooms being torn out left right and centre, they are readily available second hand. I got one on eBay for GBP50.
A good archival washing cycle, and one I follow myself is to give 6-8 changes of water (at the processing temp), 30 secs agitation, then let it stand of for a bit (this helps get the pink dye out of the neg - I imagine that if left it it could affect the contrast at which the shadows print - think if the clour of high contrast filters!). The penultimate wash is in distilled water. The film is then dropped from the spiral into a container of distilled water with a little wetting agent in (tetenal Mirasol 2000), where it spends 30 secs to a minute. Grab one end (having first washed but not dried hands to avoid leaving any dust on the surface of the water for subsequent films to pick up) attacha clip and lft out. Hold at and angle, 45 degrees for a bit to allow the water to drip off. Attach a clip to the bottom and hang in drying cabinet at a low temp until dry.
Don't rush it. Act in in haste, repent at leasure!
Opinion is divided on whether to squeegy negs before hanging to dry. My thoughts are that, when wet, the silver bearing gelatine is at its softest and most delicate. A tiny speck of dust or grit caught on fingers or squeegy will put a scratch all the way down the film ruining all the negs. For me, the risk is not worth it.
A drying cabinet is a very good investment and, with darkrooms being torn out left right and centre, they are readily available second hand. I got one on eBay for GBP50.
A good archival washing cycle, and one I follow myself is to give 6-8 changes of water (at the processing temp), 30 secs agitation, then let it stand of for a bit (this helps get the pink dye out of the neg - I imagine that if left it it could affect the contrast at which the shadows print - think if the clour of high contrast filters!). The penultimate wash is in distilled water. The film is then dropped from the spiral into a container of distilled water with a little wetting agent in (tetenal Mirasol 2000), where it spends 30 secs to a minute. Grab one end (having first washed but not dried hands to avoid leaving any dust on the surface of the water for subsequent films to pick up) attacha clip and lft out. Hold at and angle, 45 degrees for a bit to allow the water to drip off. Attach a clip to the bottom and hang in drying cabinet at a low temp until dry.
Don't rush it. Act in in haste, repent at leasure!
jamiewakeham
Long time lurker
Buze,
you can still buy tetenal's Drysonal here in the UK. See Nova Darkroom, for instance.
Having said that, I'm still having dust issues even when using it. Perhaps I just need to dust my bathroom!
HTH
Jamie
you can still buy tetenal's Drysonal here in the UK. See Nova Darkroom, for instance.
Having said that, I'm still having dust issues even when using it. Perhaps I just need to dust my bathroom!
HTH
Jamie
T
Todd.Hanz
Guest
I use photoflo, I let the negs soak in it for about 4-5 min. Wile they are soaking I turn on my bathroom shower and shut the door, fills the room full of steam which traps the dust. I then shake the excess water off my negs on the spool, unspool and hang them vertically in my bathroom with some magnetic clips (one on top and one on the bottom) I found at an office supply store. It takes about 2 hrs to dry but dust is very minimal if present at all.
Todd
Todd
Buze
Established
Are there issues related to "shaking" the water off the film before hanging ? Is the image hardened enough not to "run" when doing so ? I do that and it has solved my drying marks problem, but I always wonder if it could damage something...
pesphoto
Veteran
Todd.Hanz said:
now thats an inventive method to be sure. I use photoflo as well and hang them in my drying cabinet which is all metal. No dust issues so for.
danwilly
Established
A lot depends on whether or not you are using a fixer with hardener. If you are using a store-bought fixer, it has a hardener in it and there is very little danger of scratching the negs. If you mix your own chemistry then the risk is greater. I mix my own chemistry and leave out the hardener (alum) because the hardener hampers the use of tints in the printing process.
Dougg
Seasoned Member
I steam the shower too, while soaking in PhotoFlo, then attach a hanging clip to the end of the film, and while leaning into the shower pull the film off the steel reel and hang it up, attaching another weighted clip to the free end. I swirl the squeegee in the tank then pour the tank's PhotoFlo down the hanging film strip and immediately squeegee down the film in one pass... close the shower door and wait. Hope no cats come in to use the cat box for a while. Actually dries pretty quickly, an hour or less, no scratches. 
Here's a shot of the crude cross-board I made to hang multiple rolls of film in the shower, spanning the distance from shower door rail to the opposite wall. (The center longitudinal rail in the pic has no photographic function...)
Here's a shot of the crude cross-board I made to hang multiple rolls of film in the shower, spanning the distance from shower door rail to the opposite wall. (The center longitudinal rail in the pic has no photographic function...)
Attachments
canonetc
canonetc
Drying Developed Film.
Drying Developed Film.
Not true. It was an old-style drying cabinet, the door got closed by a lab tech, and the excessive heat and time caused the emulsions to run. Read "Slightly Out of Focus" for the real story from Capa himself. Plus, I don't think they had hand-held hair dryers during WWII....
Kodak Photo-Flo is a good thing to use before you hang the negs to dry. It's a soap-based solution that keeps hard-water drops and stains from remaining on the film (and they are a nightmare to spot-tone or photoshop out). after your ten-minute wash of the film after fixing, you dunk your reel of film into the Photo-Flo for thirty seconds, then dunk in water to remove the suds, remove the film from the reel and hang using wooden clothespins. Close all windows to prevent dust. The film will curl while drying, then straighten itself out. Going to bed and cutting them in the morning is a great option, or, wait at least 45 minutes. And check for moisture on the emulsion water drops before cutting and sleeving.
Cheers,
Chris
canonetc
Drying Developed Film.
rxmd said:
Not true. It was an old-style drying cabinet, the door got closed by a lab tech, and the excessive heat and time caused the emulsions to run. Read "Slightly Out of Focus" for the real story from Capa himself. Plus, I don't think they had hand-held hair dryers during WWII....
Kodak Photo-Flo is a good thing to use before you hang the negs to dry. It's a soap-based solution that keeps hard-water drops and stains from remaining on the film (and they are a nightmare to spot-tone or photoshop out). after your ten-minute wash of the film after fixing, you dunk your reel of film into the Photo-Flo for thirty seconds, then dunk in water to remove the suds, remove the film from the reel and hang using wooden clothespins. Close all windows to prevent dust. The film will curl while drying, then straighten itself out. Going to bed and cutting them in the morning is a great option, or, wait at least 45 minutes. And check for moisture on the emulsion water drops before cutting and sleeving.
Cheers,
Chris
canonetc
canonetc
canonetc
Drying Developed Film
Drying Developed Film
No, longer drying does not promote harder, scratch-resistant films. But you may want to use a strong mix of fixer for a a longer period of time. I usually fix my films for 8-10 minutes.
Another way to help prevent scratching is to remove the roll of film from its canister when loading it into a reel. Dust or bits of stuff in the canister opening can scratch the film as you remove it (though this is rare).
Chris
canonetc
Drying Developed Film
ChrisN said:
No, longer drying does not promote harder, scratch-resistant films. But you may want to use a strong mix of fixer for a a longer period of time. I usually fix my films for 8-10 minutes.
Another way to help prevent scratching is to remove the roll of film from its canister when loading it into a reel. Dust or bits of stuff in the canister opening can scratch the film as you remove it (though this is rare).
Chris
canonetc
OlProfBear
Collec... er, Accumulator
Years ago I used to use a product called "Yankee Quickdry" (or "kwikdry" or some other alternate spelling).
I don't know what was in it (does anyone here know?), but it was reusable for quite a few rolls and it cut the drying time dramatically. The only side effects were a greater tendency to curl and a very slight purplish cast to the clear areas. Negatives I dried with this well over 35 years ago are still viable, so it doesn't seem to have any long-term ill effects.
A shortcut to drying time was necessary then, since the bathroom was frequently used to powder and diaper my son (who is now 38!). It will be necessary again shortly when I start developing again, because this apartment tends to be very dusty. I may try the alcohol method (I figure 91% isopropanol should work very well).
I don't know what was in it (does anyone here know?), but it was reusable for quite a few rolls and it cut the drying time dramatically. The only side effects were a greater tendency to curl and a very slight purplish cast to the clear areas. Negatives I dried with this well over 35 years ago are still viable, so it doesn't seem to have any long-term ill effects.
A shortcut to drying time was necessary then, since the bathroom was frequently used to powder and diaper my son (who is now 38!). It will be necessary again shortly when I start developing again, because this apartment tends to be very dusty. I may try the alcohol method (I figure 91% isopropanol should work very well).