Is there a way to shorten film drying time?

[sanmich]

Hi all

I wandered if there is a technique to quickly get dry negatives without, of course impacting the film quality or archivability.
I suppose minilabs are not exactly hanging the films and wait for then to dry.
So is there a chemical that makes film dry faster?
How about a last rinse in pure alcohol?

Thanks!

 

[sanmich]

A filtered drying cabinet...

Anything smaller? 🙂

I just want, in special occasions, to get a film developed in a minimum of time.
Trying to compete with digital....(I know, stupid..)

 

[MartinP]

A drying cabinet isn't that hard to make (think of a few melamine-chipboard shelves fixed together vertically, with a cooker-filter and a light-bulb at the bottom, and a draught baffle at the top) but there is also Drysonal and it's modern imitations.

 

[thomob]

what about a simple hair dryer on a very low heat at a distance that isnt going to effect the surface of the film...?

 

[Pete Boyd]

With the hair dryer solution in mind, and so too with Dennis Banks at Life magazine drying Robert Capa's negatives in mind, I recently tried a blow torch but it was much too labour intensive. Surprisingly controllable though. 🙂 It was maybe the 10th time I'd tried washing these negatives, each time differently, unable to get them to dry without marks.

 

[sanmich]

Gentlemen,

thanks very much for your inputs.
The thing is: I would like to be able to quickly dry a film specially when I'm away.
The idea came to me when I consider taking a workshop where using film is a real problem.
If I could use for last rinse a chemical that dries much faster than water, it should do the trick....

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Gentlemen,

thanks very much for your inputs.
The thing is: I would like to be able to quickly dry a film specially when I'm away. The idea came to me when I consider taking a workshop where using film is a real problem. If I could use for last rinse a chemical that dries much faster than water, it should do the trick....

You mean something like denatured alcohol? I believe it's been tried but your local airline might not be too thrilled about you packing it!

I second the hair dryer idea. Most hotel rooms have them or you can pack a small travel one, and it does work quite quickly. Just hang the film clips in the shower or on a clothes line in the bathroom, use low heat or keep a bigger distance and be prepared to spend 10-15 minutes on it.

I use very dilute Photoflo or similar and the edge of a soft cellulose sponge to gently wipe both sides of the film as soon as I hang it. After that it's an easy job.

 

[ferider]

I'm always surprised how quickly my film dries: half an hour to an hour max. I attribute this to the environment (California), hanging it vertically (with a weight at the end), close to a slightly open window, and use of photo-flo (spell?).

Where you live it should be even quicker, Michael. You sure it's too long ?

Roland.

 

[yoyo22]

Rollei Rapidry Eco is quite convenient for quickly drying film without a drying cabinet.

 

[sanmich]

I'm always surprised how quickly my film dries: half an hour to an hour max. I attribute this to the environment (California), hanging it vertically (with a weight at the end), close to a slightly open window, and use of photo-flo (spell?).

Where you live it should be even quicker, Michael. You sure it's too long ?

Roland.

Roland

Most of the year here is hot, but wet. The drying times when I'm at home are usually not really an issue, but certainly longer than half an hour (I can always switch on the heating, although I am concern about drying the air too much, which is supposed to make dust more easily airborne).
I am mostly asking if there is a shortcut for drying when on the road (hotel room, friends etc.)

 

[Pablito]

There used to be something called Yankee Film Drier. It was a liquid something like alcohol and you soaked the film in it and then it would dry in minutes when you hung it up. If you researched it, you could find out more. I suspect it was mostly made of alochol.

 

[sanmich]

There used to be something called Yankee Film Drier. It was a liquid something like alcohol and you soaked the film in it and then it would dry in minutes when you hung it up. If you researched it, you could find out more. I suspect it was mostly made of alochol.

Right on Pablito, Thanks! :
http://www.chemcas.com/msds112/cas/522/75-45-6_7732-18-5.asp

Name:CHLORODIFLUOROMETHANE
CAS:75-45-6
RTECS #😛A6390000
Fraction by Wt: 5.66%
OSHA PEL:1000 PPM
ACGIH TLV:1000PPM; 9192
Ozone Depleting Chemical:2

Name😀ISTILLED WATER
CAS:7732-18-5
RTECS #:ZC0110000
Fraction by Wt: 28.3%

Name:ALCOHOL (TYPE NOT SPECIFIED)
Fraction by Wt: 65.6%

 

[sanmich]

Rollei Rapidry Eco is quite convenient for quickly drying film without a drying cabinet.

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

 

[tlitody]

Anything smaller? 🙂

I just want, in special occasions, to get a film developed in a minimum of time.
Trying to compete with digital....(I know, stupid..)

Look out for a Durst UT100. Its a little drying unit you fix to wall about 6 ft up. It has a plastic drying tent which hangs from it and you can fold up when not in use so it really takes no space at all.
designed for roll films. It will take about 6 films max at a time. Not really any good for LF films.

It just hooks onto two screws you put in wall so you can even unhook it and put it away between use.

Or you can easily rig it to hang from a doorway or wherever cos its small enough and light enough.

 

[Ronald M]

Final bath with alcohol/water. There was a commercial product like this at one time, but I am showing my age.

Newspapers used to print wet negs. Rapid fix, rinse, print, then complete wash sequence.

 

[btgc]

Just wanted to be sure if starting point is wet film or excess water is wiped off (chamois leather, say) ?

 

[JohnTF]

Back in my newspaper days, aside from actually printing wet negatives, we had some of the Yankee stuff as I recall. It worked, but dipping wet film in to the stuff did dilute it, and most of the time we could wait. Seemed to smell like a strong alcohol of some sort.

I have seen plans published with a clothes storage bag and filtered hair dryer rigged, but I once built my own print dryer from a set of plans, powered by 3 light bulbs, and after I fell asleep and it caught fire I reconsidered plans from magazines.

Perhaps an alcohol distilled water mix would be a mid road? We also used a film squeegee , which has to be kept very, very clean and used carefully. I think you are going to want a rapid fix with a hardener added to help the film take the handling with minimal damage.

I think I recall seeing one enlarger that was saved for printing virtually straight from the fix at a newspaper-- you can imagine what it looked like.

I seem also to recall some sort of outfit that dried film directly on stainless reels with warm, (hot?) air blown through them. If he air is clean I would think a hair dryer might work with film on the spool? I am assuming 35mm?

Regards, John

 

[JohnTF]

Minilabs use stabilizer in place of a real wash and then use heated dry, I do not know how the stabilizer would work with B&W emulsions. It is different chemistry, for RA4 prints at home I skip stabilizer and just wash five minutes and hang with or without a hair dryer.

Regards, John

 

[sanmich]

Just wanted to be sure if starting point is wet film or excess water is wiped off (chamois leather, say) ?

Wet film.
I don't really wipe. Too afraid of scratches.

 

[sanmich]

John, Thanks!

I intend to scan the film, and no, I don't think I'll be feeding my coolscan with film dripping of fixer.😉