Squeegee or not?

Squeegee or not?

  • Squeegee

    Votes: 93 33.0%

  • Drip-dry

    Votes: 189 67.0%
  • Total voters
    282
Re-rinsing will remove the spots, but I would not let spots stay on the film long. I would think it could ruin the film if they are on it to long.

DerekF said:
Hmm I've always used my fingers to squeegee the film after a brief dunk in Photo-Flo because that's how I was taught to do it in my photography course many years ago, but recently noticed some water spots on a roll of negatives I was scanning. I think I'll try without finger-squeegeeing next time... it's always possible to re-rinse later to remove water spots anyway, right?
Click to expand...
 
Tried squeegee once but got lots of scratches. Must have been a bad squeegee but I have been soaking with a few drops of Ilford wetting agent and hanging to dry.
I should try squeegee again because I have a dust problem sometimes and shorter drying time will be a plus.
 
I drip dry, following a method I picked up on another thread dealing w/ dust and scratches: after the last rinse, put the reel in a solution w/ a wetting agent (Ilford, in my case), and meanwhile turn the shower on w/ hot water to raise the humidity (I develop in a bathroom). Raising the humidity, and even getting a little steam in the bathroom, reduces the dust (at least, that's the theory). I then take the film off the reel, hang it up, and let it dry over night. Works like a charm.
 
From the Photo-Flo to the clothes pin hanging in the shower...I do not touch the film with anything...fingers or squeegee...I learned the hard way...
 
Tried it a couple of times when I (re)started developing myself a couple of years ago, but then gave it up. I did have some scratches in those days, but am not sure if they come from the squeegee or just my inexperience in loading the film.

Anyway, I don't see a reason to use it unless you are impatient or otherwise in a hurry to scan/print.
 
Using some wetting agent in the last bath/wash and just leaving them well alone until they're dry has always left me with clean negatives.

I used a squeegee once, awful idea.
 
benmacphoto said:
Re-rinsing will remove the spots, but I would not let spots stay on the film long. I would think it could ruin the film if they are on it to long.
Click to expand...

As far as I know, spots are only deposit on the base and do nothing to the film on the long run.
 
I rinse,
Then leave the film in distilled water for some ten minutes at least, then add a very small amount of foto-flo (and sometimes a bit of isopropyl alcohol), and take care not to have any bubbles, and leave for a few minutes, then hang the film.

I have very few spots, and even when I have some, I just carefully clean them after the film is dry, with a clean microfiber/lens cleaning tissue and alcohol.

From what I know, the emulsion, when wet is much more delicate than when dry. I avoid as much as possible touching it before complete drying of the film.
 
I should add that scratching the base is something that can be corected, while scratching the emulsion you get, well....a scratch.
 
Thinned out PhotoFlo diluted with distilled water, just let it drip dry. Rare water spots beats the hell out of scratched emulsions. I must hasten to add that some films are more prone to having their emulsions damaged. Fomapan comes to mind. Tri-X is more robust, as are most C-41 films.
 
I use Photowipes, no longer easy to get. They have always worked for me, never scratched a film, and by getting the bulk of the water/photo-flo off the film allow it to dry much more quickly than fingers and never with any watermarks.

They now are known as Tidi Products item #911898 (white) or 911900 (blue) 4-ply tissue towels. I cut them in half and use one per roll of film. I know most folks say I shouldn't bother, but when I've run out I get watermarks. A simple thing that makes all the difference for me.

I dilute the Photo-Flo a bit more for sheet film, which I drip dry hanging it from one corner. Same dilution on 35mm leaves marks, I'm guessing the extra length of the film concentrates the stuff as gravity does it's thing.
 
Steam up the bathroom (takes a couple of minutes with the shower on hot) then hang photo-flo'd film in the now dust free room. No scratches, no water marks and no dust.
 
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Paterson squeegee didn't work for me, but Kindernmann squeegee works fine. It's a pity I didn't buy a few of them... I cannot find a good film squeegee anymore in Toronto. For scanning it is usually not needed, those small spots are below scanner resolution or may be easily photoshoped out; but I do real printing.
 
Had some problems with 220 Ilford, and switched to adding hardener to the rapid fix to toughen up the emulsion, and a rinse in distilled water, then you can wipe or not with generally good results.

The rapid fixes seem to be formulated without hardener, I suspect for better suitability with prints to be toned?

Had a new squeegee, was living in a studio, gave it up after some scratches.

Anyone use a salad spinner with the film obviously on reels?

Regards, John
 
I use to finger my negs, but occasionally I get drop marks.
I think next time I'll let the film a drip dry try.
 
Only wetting agent in demi-water. But I hang the film first diagonally to let it dripped off from the perforation. After 5 minutes I hang it vertically with some weight.

No scratches and normally no drying marks. However if you have a clean squeegee and a sturdy film it's not impossible to use it sucessfully. In the press they did it in combination with IPA to have the film dry within 10 minutes.
But in general: Do not touch a wet film emulsion!
 
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