Dust on film problem

[Disaster_Area]

I'm having a tough time with my 35mm development and it's gotten to the point where I'm almost ready to give up. Every roll I soup has a ton of white threadlike dust particles on it and it takes me forever to clone them out in photoshop. I tried switching to bottled water for developer and final rinse... no help. So last night I scanned a negative which I new was dusty. Then went at the negative like a madman with one of my lens brushes and scanned it again. Eurika!... well kinda of. The negative still scanned with a tone of dust... but it was moved around! So at least now I know when the dust is getting there. I can't have been during development or the dust spots wouldn't move. So it's not the effect of dust or bad water on development of the film... it's actual dust getting on my negs probably during hang dry.

Ok... so how do I solve this. Right now I know my developing conditions are deplorable. I have a cat in the house that sheds like mad, so I hang dry in a storage room that seems pretty dust free. I dont have room to build a dedicated drying cabinet. What about spraying the negs with canned air before scanning? Will this help or just move the dust around better than a brush?

 

[Disaster_Area]

I also tend to develop at night and leave the negs to hang overnight... maybe cutting down their hang time exposed to dust would help? Whats the shortest drying time I can get away with before sleeving them?

 

[Sparrow]

Dust is evil, as is static. It’s almost impossible to get rid of dust but 70% humidity and above will dissipate most of the static charge, and then a blast of air will then remove a lot of the dust from the negative.

 

[pau3]

Try to hang the negatives in the lest dusty spot without air currents you have.
I do that in the shower, with no problems whatosoever (except that you cannot
use the shower while they're hanging ;-) ).

 

[charjohncarter]

I hang them in a small closet, and even though there are no air currents, I make sure the air conditioner or heater is turned off. I still get some but not that many. I've been thinking of buying four or five feet of PCV pipe that is six inches wide and capping it and using it in the closet, but unless it get worse I'll probably stick with the closet.

 

[monemmer]

I hang my negatives to dry in the shower stall after running the shower with hot water for about two minutes. Then I lock the bath room for about 5 hours (e.g. over night). Handling the negatives before they are entirely dry, even after two hours drying time, results in dust particles being permanently attached to the emulsion side of the negative since the emulsion is slightly sticky when it is not entirely dry.

Before scanning, after putting the negatives into the negative holder, I use canned air to blow off the inevitable dust that the negatives pick up when you handle them. You must be careful with canned air, since the cans contain a propellant that might damage your film. Holding the can upright and only using short bursts of air seems to circumvent propellant from being expelled. You should practice that without film to get a feeling for it. An alternative is using a blower with food grade CO2 cartridges which do not contain propellant. That can get expensive at $2 per CO2 cartridge. However, if you have an M8, your price/value receptors might be calibrated differently...🙂

 

[payasam]

Rubber bulb with nozzle. Better, of course, to ensure that the dust doesn't get there in the first place.

 

[nikon_sam]

I hang my negatives to dry in the shower stall after running the shower with hot water for about two minutes. Then I lock the bath room for about 5 hours (e.g. over night). Handling the negatives before they are entirely dry, even after two hours drying time, results in dust particles being permanently attached to the emulsion side of the negative since the emulsion is slightly sticky when it is not entirely dry.

I made my film drying rack from some pieces of wood and wooden clothes pins....The long piece of wood spans the top of the shower stall and it has wooden clothes pins glued to it...extra pins are used as weights while the film dries...
If you have more than one shower use the one with less traffic...if you only have the one then do your developing late at night so they can hang over night with little to no traffic...
I don't have a dust problem with this set-up...if you keep checking on the film before it dries you can create a dust problem that otherwise may not exist...Hang the film and let it dry, undisturbed...😀 or you'll look like this>>>:bang:

 

[wde60]

You could also try an anti-static brush.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...ster_ST1C200_StaticMaster_Brush_for_Film.html

 

[Al Kaplan]

The best way to get dust free negatives is get a Senrac film dryer (if you feel rich) or build your own copy. It consists of a box on top with a tube coming out of the bottom large enough to hold four 35mm stainless steel reels. A squirrel cage blower sucks air in through a filter and blows it down through the reels. A variable heating element is there if you want speed and a timer for auto shut-off.

The one I built myself plugs into my Gra-Lab timer and sucks air through several layers of air condioner filter. The blower is mounted in a plywood box about 10x10x10 inches. A piece of PVC pipe can be used to hold the reels. Drill a hole on each side so a piece of coat hanger wire can keep the reels in. Assemble with epoxy. When I want heat because of a rush job a hand hair dryer directed at the air intake for a few minutes will do it.

Dip the reels in your Photoflo solution and stick them, still dripping, in the tube. Streaks aren't ever a problem because it's a lot easier to blow water across the width of the film than down the 5 ft. length of a roll. Hang the dry fil overnight with a weighted clip to pull out the curl. In a hurry? Rewind the dry film emulsion side out on the reel. A few minutes back in the dryer (heat helps) will leave it pretty straight.

Of course once the film is dry and dust fee it'd be best if your darkroom was also dust free. Don't forget to wash off the reels to get rid of any remaining Photoflo that will be dried on them.That might affect your developer.

 

[like2fiddle]

You could also try a clear plastic garment storage bag.

 

[monemmer]

Al, that sounds interesting. However, some films don't just curl but also 'cup' (curl across the width of the film). I see this problem for example with Agfa APX 400. How does your setup cope with this situation?

 

[oscroft]

Al, that sounds interesting. However, some films don't just curl but also 'cup' (curl across the width of the film). I see this problem for example with Agfa APX 400. How does your setup cope with this situation?

I always wind dried films back onto spools, emulsion side out, and leave them like that for a few hours (often overnight), and I get nice flat negatives - even APX400.

 

[nrb]

I have a dusty film problem but not with the film I develop.
My problem is dust, fingerprints and plain dirt with my c41 films developed in high street labs. Actually it is so severe as to make me develop my last color films in bw chemistry to avoid ruining them.
I've changed labs more than twice and the problem remains.
Any ideas how to avoid it?

 

[Beemermark]

I hang my negatives to dry in the shower stall after running the shower with hot water for about two minutes. Then I lock the bath room for about 5 hours (e.g. over night). ..🙂

I second that, helps a lot.

 

[colyn]

I made a drying tent out of clear plastic. A hair dryer on warm with filter blows warm air through and is expelled through the bottom which also has a filter..

 

[40oz]

I just use distilled water for the final rinse and hang in my bathroom with the door mostly shut. Dust is never an issue anymore.

When dry, the negatives hang in my living room until I cut, scan, and sleeve them. Sometimes this can be a couple days, and has not been a problem, even though I smoke and don't really keep a clean house at all.

If I need to rescan something or when wet printing I use a bulb with a brush and examine the negative very carefully under bright light, as well as use a scan/print to locate any stray pieces I missed. Honestly, since using distilled water, there is only the occsaional stray piece on a single frame that shows up any more.

 

[Al Kaplan]

I've never had a cupping problem, but that might just be a matter of my film choice. Right now I'm going through a couple of bricks of Ilford HP5 Plus that a digi-convert gave to me, but I mostly shoot Tri-X ~ no cupping problem with either. Once they're sleeved in individual glassines, which in turn are in manila envelopes, they get really flat.
The negative carriers in both my Kodak Precision and Omega B-22 enlargers seem to keep them flat while I'm printing them. A scanner might be another story but I still like the convenience of making wet prints and the look of a siver gelatin print.