Is there a way to shorten film drying time?

[jljohn]

You could use a space heater near the film in a dust free room--same effect as a hairdryer, but with less moving air and you don't have to hold it

 

[robklurfield]

I throw a few drops of alcohol into each gal of my high-diluted photoflo. not sure if speeds drying by much, but it does seems to significantly reduce water spots.

 

[Vics]

I bought a pair of Honeywell Kleen-Dri film dryers at a garage sale. You put the film (still on the SS reels) and run the thing for 45 minutes. Dry and no dust or water spots. They come up for sale now & then.

 

[rxmd]

Pure alcohol works fine. Isopropanol 70% does the job. Take the film, put it in the alcohol bath, take it out again, wait under a minute, voilá! Dry film.

Commercially it went under the name Drysonal. Same stuff, different name, more expensive.

 

[sanmich]

Pure alcohol works fine. Isopropanol 70% does the job. Take the film, put it in the alcohol bath, take it out again, wait under a minute, voilá! Dry film.

Commercially it went under the name Drysonal. Same stuff, different name, more expensive.

I think that Alcohol is my best bet.
I guess it replaces the water on the surface of the film, and then evaporates quickly, leaving the film with the water in the emulsion.
Tell me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't take a minute to dry the emulsion, right?

OK, so if that works, one question remains:
why aren't we using this all the time?
It should also help with drying spots, right?

 

[tlitody]

I think that Alcohol is my best bet.
I guess it replaces the water on the surface of the film, and then evaporates quickly, leaving the film with the water in the emulsion.
Tell me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't take a minute to dry the emulsion, right?

OK, so if that works, one question remains:
why aren't we using this all the time?
It should also help with drying spots, right?

because most of use don't need drying times that quick and it costs money. And yes it aids even drying and helps minimising any drying marks/mineral deposits on film.

 

[sanmich]

because most of use don't need drying times that quick and it costs money. And yes it aids even drying and helps minimising any drying marks/mineral deposits on film.

I don't see the big costs here.
You could recycle the alcohol almost endlessly.

 

[yoyo22]

Yup, sounds like what I had in mind. Thanks.
Did you actually used it?
any known adverse effect?

Yes, I have used it. It takes around 5 minutes to completely dry the film without any residues.

When you order it keep in mind that this stuff is only good for 12 months from the production date. So don't overstock it. It is also reusable several times.

 

[rog]

wipe it

wipe it

just wipe it. works perfectly, hardly scratches more then bulkloading (if ever) and shortens the amount of drying time seriously.

To wipe: use the same thing people use when they wash the windows and wipe it dry (sorry don't know the english word for that piece of equipment).
I put my film to the 9glawall of my shower (almost no dust) and wipe it then turn it around and wipe the other site.

 

[muser53]

The cottage I live in has a small bathroom. While I'm processing my film I generally turn on a plug in radiator and by the time I'm ready to hang it in the shower the room is more than warm enough to dry things quickly. If you turn on the shower briefly before hanging the film it takes care of any dust issues.

 

[FrankS]

Rxmd is correct I believe, from what I know. Process and wash film as usual, then as a final step, dip the (wet with water) film into a bath of isopropol alcohol. It will absorb water from the film. Hang it to dry, which will happen very quickly. This alocohol bath can be reused many many times before it becomes slowly ineffective due to increased water content.

 

[sanmich]

Rxmd is correct I believe, from what I know. Process and wash film as usual, then as a final step, dip the (wet with water) film into a bath of isopropol alcohol. It will absorb water from the film. Hang it to dry, which will happen very quickly. This alocohol bath can be reused many many times before it becomes slowly ineffective due to increased water content.

Thanks Frank

Do you think I can use pure alcohol as a start (it will get slightly diluted with use)?
Any known adverse effect on the film? Short or long term?

 

[Mablo]

Alcohol is my best friend too, but I don't spend it on film.

For the last 3-4 years I've used a shoe box size "Kindermann Rapid Trockner (Dryer)" film dryer with great success. The only gripe is you must use smaller diameter SS reels (35mm or 120mm). One small dryer can handle four 35mm reels or two 120mm reels easily and my usual drying period in cold and humid environments is 45mins.

 

[tmfabian]

I used to use spot free dish detergent instead of photoflo combined with a heated drying cabinet...i could get my negs dry in about 10 minutes.

 

[rxmd]

Do you think I can use pure alcohol as a start (it will get slightly diluted with use)?
Any known adverse effect on the film? Short or long term?

You can use pure alcohol, but you have to make sure it's really pure. If you buy the cheaper denaturated spirits, they are denaturated with something, and those substances might leave residues.

Methanol is technically possible too, but might be a bad idea because of the risk of poisoning yourself with the fumes. (There's a funny way to combat methanol poisoning by getting really drunk, the ethanol displaces the methanol in the body.)

Isopropanol or something might be the best idea, because it doesn't need denaturation and is non-toxic upon inhalation. Anything over 70% should be fine, it's cheap and will last for a long, long time.

There aren't really any adverse effects on the film that I know of. (Don't use alcohol with colour film, though; it has a competely different chemistry and you might end up with a blank film. This includes XP2, BW400CN etc. But most people don't develop these at home anyway.)

 

[sanmich]

You can use pure alcohol, but you have to make sure it's really pure. If you buy the cheaper denaturated spirits, they are denaturated with something, and those substances might leave residues.

Methanol is technically possible too, but might be a bad idea because of the risk of poisoning yourself with the fumes. (There's a funny way to combat methanol poisoning by getting really drunk, the ethanol displaces the methanol in the body.)

Isopropanol or something might be the best idea, because it doesn't need denaturation and is non-toxic upon inhalation. Anything over 70% should be fine, it's cheap and will last for a long, long time.

There aren't really any adverse effects on the film that I know of. (Don't use alcohol with colour film, though; it has a competely different chemistry and you might end up with a blank film. This includes XP2, BW400CN etc. But most people don't develop these at home anyway.)

Thanks for the details.
I had to go to Wikipedia to follow you..🙂
In fact, what I meant by pure alcohol and what I have at home, is Isopropyl alcohol. I see that I was wrong and that it's not pure alcohol.

So, would you recomand using pure IPA as a last rinse?

 

[rxmd]

I don't see a problem with that.

 

[sanmich]

I don't see a problem with that.

Thanks,
You're right, I'm Hypnotized 🙂

[EDIT] only now do I read that Isopropanol and IPA are the same.

 

[Chris101]

Isopropyl alcohol evaporates MUCH slower than does methanol. If you prefer ethanol, get lab grade denatured alcohol - it is ethanol denatured with 5% methanol and 5% isopropyl alcohol. The mixture all evaporates together.

 

[Peter S]

Tried alcohol based last rinse, I think Tetenal made it, but I did not really like it. Never trusted it when it turned pinkish (maybve did not rinse Tri-x well enough with water). So now I use a salad spinner to dry my negs, but if you follow this link http://public.fotki.com/BlueWind/drying-film/

you can find a more portable, but similar solution.

If you travel by plane you will have to source the alcohol locally all the time as I think you are not even allowed to put it in the luggage that will be carried in the planes hold.