Help film developing

[lZr]

I think I do it right, but my Tri-X or Tmax final results have concave or convex forms. Bad for my Epson 4990 flatbed scanner. I want them flat and after rinsing the film I use liquid soap, but nothing helps. With or without blower for drying - nothing again. I develop, stop with water and fix with Kodak liquids 1:4 and the negatives are beautiful. Is there any idea? :bang:
Thanks

 

[kully]

Using the blower is going to make the buggers curl even more.

I had this hideous problem, but I've taken to putting a peg on the bottom of the film when it dries and then sleeving them once dry and cut.

Then they're good to go.

 

[lZr]

Thanks Kully. I do exactly the same and the film is not curly, but got convex shaped. Don't know how to sleeve it before drying

 

[davidbivins]

I have the 4180 so I feel (well, felt) your pain. One thing I did realize though, and you probably have too, is that if you leave the negative strips in the holder overnight, they flatten up quite a bit. You could potentially buy several extra holders and slide your film in when it's dry. Kind of silly though.
I gave up on it and bought a nice Nikon Coolscan. The flatbed negative holders make it far too easy to scratch the negatives.

 

[RayPA]

hang dry for as long as possible, cut and sleeve and place a flat object (a big thick book) on top for a while. I keep my sleeved sheets of negatives in a binder. I have lots of pages in there that flatten negs nicely. However, I used to have a 4180, but now I have a dedicated film scanner. I haven't seen a neuton ring in a long time! 🙂 I also use a film dryer. I use the heat sparingly, but the air constantly.

.

 

[Magnus]

You can buy glass holders for epson flatbeds which do the trick. I have them, browse on the internet and you will able to find them for I cannot remember where I bought them.

 

[Ash]

Probably just repeating the above, this is my method.

Hang them up somewhere to dry, and have a weight at the bottom to keep it drying straight. Once COMPLETELY dry place in a storage device (neg sleeve, etc). Leave it under a weight, flatten out overnight if needed

 

[kaiyen]

curling in any direction occurs when the air is too dry. if you're drying in the bathroom, run the shower as hot as you can for 3-5 minutes (relatively long time) before drying. then try to avoid letting that room dry up while the film is hanging - don't let the heater come on and blow dry air through the vent, keep the door closed, etc. it'll help.

allan

 

[RayPA]

curling in any direction occurs when the air is too dry. if you're drying in the bathroom, run the shower as hot as you can for 3-5 minutes (relatively long time) before drying. then try to avoid letting that room dry up while the film is hanging - don't let the heater come on and blow dry air through the vent, keep the door closed, etc. it'll help.

allan

True. My film drying unit is in the garage, no chance of dry air out there. 🙂


.

 

[kaiyen]

as long as it is _in_ the garage, and is not _the_ garage 🙂.

I used to dry film on the reels, with a hair dryer, due to space limitations and dust issues. worked great, film was dry in just 5 minutes, but curly as heck.

allan

 

[lZr]

Oh, helpful ideas. I like them all. Glass holders are new for me. The heavy book was tested and works nice to some degree. After developing I want the scans NOW, immediately - not after .... you know!

Ash, can you wait so long?

Last question - As you know, Kodak asks to add 40 ml Hardener to the fixer. Any connection to our workflow? As far as my Chemistry guru say - no any connection - don't forget to add it

Thanks

 

[Bob Helmond]

Not allowing the film to dry "crisp" in heated air will help.

For years I've made my contact prints by sandwiching the negative strips between two sheets of plate glass hinged with gaffer tape. In order to have nice flat negs to lay on the paper, I reverse the natural curl of the negs by gently winding the recently developed roll with the emulsion side out and letting it sit in a 100-foot bulk film cannister overnight.

However....for to curb the generation of static electricity AND keep dust from floating about the room, humidity should be kept in the range of 40-50%.

 

[Ash]

lZr,,

I typically wait for the film to dry, in a hot room (often by a portable radiator, or in the airing cupboard by the boiler if it's a short roll). When it's dry I scan to see if anything's worth printing, then maybe do a few wet prints. THEN I store the negs, and they're nice and flat for next time.


OK, ok, in reality that falls through, I'm overwhelmed by short lengths of curly film and laziness 😀

 

[lZr]

Thanks all. Nice approach everyone. And I'll check some ideas