oftheherd
Veteran
I put mine inside a notebook that is used to hold my plastic film inserts. Works as well, but I think in less than a month. It is flat both longwise and sideways.
No more curly fries! - Help stop 35mm negatives curling before you scan
- Thread starter Paolo Bonello
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I put mine inside a notebook that is used to hold my plastic film inserts. Works as well, but I think in less than a month. It is flat both longwise and sideways.
tj01
Well-known
Pherdinand
the snow must go on
i'm in the Netherlands where dry, hot air is not really an issue 😉 however my film hang-drying in the shower almost always results in excessively curled film. Keeping it under heavy books for 1-2 days is nto enough.
Rolling it backwards and putting it into a film can is what helps, eventually, and even 2-3 hours take care of the problem. Of course you should be careful and clean with this.
Rolling it backwards and putting it into a film can is what helps, eventually, and even 2-3 hours take care of the problem. Of course you should be careful and clean with this.
Ronald M
Veteran
Reverse rolling cures both issues.
Put in file folders and place under a copy of Webster for two days.
In time, it all happens by itself.
Put in file folders and place under a copy of Webster for two days.
In time, it all happens by itself.
_larky
Well-known
I can cope with length curl, but sideways curl is a real problem for me. It effects the scans a fair amount. How do you all cure this? Simply squashing the negs?
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
Negative holder from a Minolta Scan Dual IV. Keeps film quite flat. Hot and dry air does not help. Luckily the Netherlands alsways is quite moist (luckily... lotsa rain too... grmpf).
And I can confirm scanning RolleiRetro does make a difference. I also scan Tmax, Fomapan and Kodacolor but Rollei is the easiest to handle by far.
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_larky
Well-known
I use similar trays with my cheap canner, and the Plustek I just ordered uses them, but they can't cope with the super curve of the Acros 🙂
robbeiflex
Well-known
I dry my film in the guest room shower. Before I do so, I run the shower for a couple of minutes until the bathroom steams up. This serves multiple important purposes:
1.) Remove dust from air that would otherwise stick to film,
2.) Increase humidity so that film dries with less curl,
3.) Ensure that drain does not dry out and smell bad if we have not had guests in a while. 🙂
Using the Rollei and Ilford films this is usually sufficient. With Tri-X I have to either wait a couple of days, or I roll the film backwards and put it in a canister for a few hours / a day.
Given that my job has nothing to do with photography, I usually have the time to develop, dry for a day, then wait another day while the film is in the canister. Those who are more pressed for time have ironed their film:
http://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=97676&page=1
Cheers,
Rob
1.) Remove dust from air that would otherwise stick to film,
2.) Increase humidity so that film dries with less curl,
3.) Ensure that drain does not dry out and smell bad if we have not had guests in a while. 🙂
Using the Rollei and Ilford films this is usually sufficient. With Tri-X I have to either wait a couple of days, or I roll the film backwards and put it in a canister for a few hours / a day.
Given that my job has nothing to do with photography, I usually have the time to develop, dry for a day, then wait another day while the film is in the canister. Those who are more pressed for time have ironed their film:
http://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=97676&page=1
Cheers,
Rob
bobkatz
Well-known
I just put the film in the reel but this time with emulsion outside....
Works for me...
Works for me...
paulfish4570
Veteran
bob has the quickest, neatest, immediate idea: reverse roll the film for a few hours. works like a top, even with tri-x. i reckon i still will get some btr scn or anr glass anyhow ...
paulfish4570
Veteran
thanks for this thread as a reminder. i just ordered an anr insert ...
Darshan
Well-known
My medicine textbooks are quite heavy, a day beneath one of them usually cures their stubbornness. 😀
Paolo Bonello
3 from 36 on a good day.
I tried the reverse rolling technique. Thanks guys. Yes it does work. I used the spindle from a discarded film roll to help me. Sticky tape the curliest end to the spindle and start winding then drop it in a film canister. ( the curliest end is usually the last few pics on the roll I have found).
maddoc
... likes film again.
Just food for thoughts, since I am a little involved in physical-chemistry my explanation for the phenomenon of the film curling is the effect of "hydrogen bonding" ... Water molecules present in the emulsion side of the film have an attractive interaction and thus curl the film in the process of drying, when the amount of water molecules is drastically reduced.
When we stored the film pressed flat or rolled reverse then these attractive interactions of the water molecules are disturbed and the molecules diffuse through the emulsion layer in thermodynamically more favorable locations while drastically minimizing the curling forces. The diffusion process takes time so keeping the dried film against its curling tendency for a long time, keeps it flat for a long time. If the film is forced into a flat position already while drying, these bonds also can hardly form, same for the process of very slow drying in a humid atmosphere.
(One week work at a synchrotron facility on top of the mountain every month is not good for the brain ... 😱)
When we stored the film pressed flat or rolled reverse then these attractive interactions of the water molecules are disturbed and the molecules diffuse through the emulsion layer in thermodynamically more favorable locations while drastically minimizing the curling forces. The diffusion process takes time so keeping the dried film against its curling tendency for a long time, keeps it flat for a long time. If the film is forced into a flat position already while drying, these bonds also can hardly form, same for the process of very slow drying in a humid atmosphere.
(One week work at a synchrotron facility on top of the mountain every month is not good for the brain ... 😱)
_larky
Well-known
So, and thanks for the explanation maddoc, but my issue is curve along the length. Not curve as in it's just come out of it's can, but the other curve. You know what I mean. 🙂 Sticking the film under heavy books for a few days hasn't helped with my test roll, it's still very much curved.
This would be fine on a flatbed, but in film scanners it means the center of the neg is 4-5mm higher than the edges.
This would be fine on a flatbed, but in film scanners it means the center of the neg is 4-5mm higher than the edges.
maddoc
... likes film again.
Roll one film tight with the emulsion outside (wear some gloves to not scratch the film) put that tight rolled film into an empty card-board roll of a kitchen paper-towel (or toilet paper roll) let the rolled film snap back until it nicely blocks itself inside that card-board roll and leave it in your bathroom for 24hours. If you take a shower within that time you will temporarily produce enough water steam in the room to be adsorbed by the film and it will come out of the card-board roll plain flat.
_larky
Well-known
So this works for curve both ways? I'll try it tonight 🙂
bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
Gabor -- intriguing method! I will have to give that a try.
Just thought I'd chip only thoughts about this perennial subject.
After home-developing both color and BnW film for the past year, I have come to the conclusion that curling seems to primarily relate to film brand, and less on humidity or climate. I've experimented with humidifiers, showers, reverse-rolling, heavy books, ironing, ... It has been a personal crusade of mine to solve this problem and I have yet to find a magic bullet for it.
Brand-wise, it seems cheaper films are more curly for me ... Lucky is horrible, Ferrania color 200 dries in a warped manner all across the plane, Tmax dries reasonably well, Ektar is always splendidly flat, Fuji stuff is so-so. I could go on, but these are just my own observations. I'm sure everyone has had their own experiences.
In the end, I just decided to make life simple. I develop, dry overnight in my bathroom (hung with weighted clips) -- then I throw the cut strips into a calculus textbook for a couple days. Everything gets flat, not matter what.
I scan using a 'sandwich' of 8x10 museum quality 2mm glass sheets that I purchased at a framing shop. It works great. Much cheaper that other online vendors, btw.
Just thought I'd chip only thoughts about this perennial subject.
After home-developing both color and BnW film for the past year, I have come to the conclusion that curling seems to primarily relate to film brand, and less on humidity or climate. I've experimented with humidifiers, showers, reverse-rolling, heavy books, ironing, ... It has been a personal crusade of mine to solve this problem and I have yet to find a magic bullet for it.
Brand-wise, it seems cheaper films are more curly for me ... Lucky is horrible, Ferrania color 200 dries in a warped manner all across the plane, Tmax dries reasonably well, Ektar is always splendidly flat, Fuji stuff is so-so. I could go on, but these are just my own observations. I'm sure everyone has had their own experiences.
In the end, I just decided to make life simple. I develop, dry overnight in my bathroom (hung with weighted clips) -- then I throw the cut strips into a calculus textbook for a couple days. Everything gets flat, not matter what.
I scan using a 'sandwich' of 8x10 museum quality 2mm glass sheets that I purchased at a framing shop. It works great. Much cheaper that other online vendors, btw.
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