Drying film in the reel

[siverta]

A long time ago I posted a thread regarding filmdrying in the reel to avoid dust.

Yesterday I did it for the first time.

Film curling wasn't that big of a problem.. contrary to what people told me.
Ofcourse, there was a little bit curling. To get rid of that I simply put the negatives (in sleeves) in my trusted Mapplethorpe photobook (because it is big and heavy) overnight.

In a few days I will scan them and post a few examples here. If it is less dust on these negs, I will always dry my films on the reels.

I did not make a designated film-on-the-reel-dryer. I simply hung them in my showercabinette. Perhaps I will make a designated film-on-the-reel-dryer later.


Sivert

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I would be afraid that, in the future, some yellowing will begin to show up, if you never took the film out of the reel prior to doing the final wash. Interesting findings, though. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Dean]

I'd be interested in your results. I live in a small and rather dusty apt. and have been condidering the various options for a DIY enclosed dryer of some sort.
I've seen a few plans on the net for hanging/in reel, hair dryer/light bulb heat source etc.

All opinions on this thread would be welcome.


Thanks

Dean

 

[T_om]

I'd be interested in your results. I live in a small and rather dusty apt. and have been condidering the various options for a DIY enclosed dryer of some sort.
I've seen a few plans on the net for hanging/in reel, hair dryer/light bulb heat source etc.

All opinions on this thread would be welcome.


Thanks

Dean

If you have a bathroom, run the shower (with HOT water running) for about five minutes, with the bathroom door closed.

Let stand 10 minutes (keeping the door closed) then hang your film on a hook, hanger or rod in the shower area. Close the bathroom door and leave it closed until the film drys.

No dust.

Tom

 

[kaiyen]

Gabriel,
Why would the film yellow over time, assuming you have washed properly and your reels are clean?

I've been drying 35mm and 120 on the reel in a hair dryer-based rig for about 1.5 years now and it's been great.

allan

 

[Jeff_S]

Drying Film on the Reel

Drying Film on the Reel

I have been drying film on the reel for quite some time with no ill effects. After my final rinse with Photo Flo I take the reel out, shake it a little to get the excess water off, put my tank's little cap in the bottom of the tank, and put the reel back in the tank on top of the cap. Then I just let it dry. I was told once that by using this method the water only had to travel across the width of the film as it sheeted off. Not sure if that really helps but my negatives have come out a lot nicer since I started doing it this way.

Good luck,
Jeff

 

[siverta]

Well, my first experiment with drying film on the reel failed. My dear Tri-X 400 was, very very dusty.
My theory was that the reel would attract less dust because it has very little surface. This was not so. I have to make a dedicated wind-tunnel of some sorts (out of a PVC tube, or something), and fit it with fans, a heater and dustfilters.

I tried the very next day T_oms idea (run the shower with hot water 5-10 minutes before drying your film), and that got me the best results yet. A large humid aera = little dust.

Well, back to tinkering with my wind-tunnel!

Sivert

 

[Pherdinand]

hmm, running hot water for 5-10 minutes might not be the most economical way to dry your film. Nor ecological. Humid area, i can understand - but why does it have to be large?

Forgive my ignorance, i don't do (yet) my own dev.

 

[Solinar]

The steam from the shower removes the dust from the air. Hence, the reason for leaving the door closed. The eco-minded folks will take their shower moments before pouring the developer into the tank. 😀

 

[Pherdinand]

The steam from the shower removes the dust from the air. Hence, the reason for leaving the door closed. 😀

That was clear. But i do think that it is a waste of water and energy, esp. if you dev regularly 1-2 rolls of film, not in "bulk". I'm not really "eco-minded" but i don't like useless waste both regarding the waste itself and the bill that is associated with it🙂

 

[Pherdinand]

Don't misunderstand me- i love to take looong showers (my former girlfriend hated it when i was in the shower for over 10 minutes) (maybe that's why she's "former"?)
Hey, maybe the film can be washed while taking a shower - to save even more?😀

 

[siverta]

I live in Norway and we have tons of water and energy =)

...too much water and energy, at times. I hate rainy days.

Sivert

 

[varjag]

You must be in Bergen 🙂

 

[siverta]

Not exactly. Bergen is situated on the east end of Norway (towards the North Sea/Scotland), and Trondheim (where I live) is in the middle. But we get the outskirts of the low-pressure weather here too. It has rained for several days - non stop =( ...and as I am writing this, it begins to hail as he..!

 

[kaiyen]

You definitely need some kind of tube in which to place the reels. I used the shutterbug article:

http://www.shutterbug.net/features/0902sb_how/

I didn't use a filter between the dryer and the reels, by the way. The built-in filter in the hair dryer has been fine.

allan

 

[siverta]

Thanks! Thats the kind of rig I had in mind, btw.

But, what if one were to dry 3-4 reels in one go... is there a problem with water dripping from the reels on top? I mean, will I get watermarks on the lower reels?

Sivert.

 

[kaiyen]

I've dried 2 120 reels (which is like 4 35mm ones), and 3 35mm reels at once in my rig. While I didn't compare different methods (if one didn't work, that would suck), what I did was put the hair dryer on high for 5 minutes, then low for 15. I figured the high would push more of the water off initially so that it didn't pool on any of the lower reels.

I usually just leave it on low for 10 minutes. Though, now that I think of it, I don't know why...

allan

 

[Mark Wood]

At one time (early 1980s in the UK), you could buy a dedicated film dryer into which you dropped the spiral and (I assume) air was blown through it. Somewhere, I have a copy of Practical Protography (I think) with an advert for it in the back. If anyone has some early 80s magazines, wade through the pages of adverts for "glamour studios" and "discreet film processing" (what happened to them?!?) and you might find a picture of it.

 

[einolu]

I have actually heard of drying film by squeezing it between two pieces of metal, but havent tried this myself. Has anybody else heard of/tried this?

 

[kaiyen]

At one time (early 1980s in the UK), you could buy a dedicated film dryer into which you dropped the spiral and (I assume) air was blown through it. .

If the reel was dropped down into a counter-top thing, that was a kindermann. I've seen a few on ebay now and then.

The shutterbug one is a variant of the Senrac, which was used heavily in military labs. You load it from the bottom rather than the top.

I would never dry film by running anything along it at all. Squeegees, metal, whatever. That's my personal belief.

allan