Squeegee or not?

Squeegee or not?

  • Squeegee

    Votes: 93 33.0%

  • Drip-dry

    Votes: 189 67.0%
  • Total voters
    282
S

squirrel$$$bandit

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Pretty simple. I usually squeegee gently with a soft sponge dampened in the photo-flo water, but occasionally I get a scratch. I'm thinking of going without but fear water spots.

Do you squeegee or not?
 
I pull mine out of photoflo and give it a little shake before hanging. I have tried squeegeeing and almost always had problems with scratches, etc.
 
ive even stopped using one for prints. Just hang to dry over the sink and no water spots. I do run two fingers down my wet film. No problems.
 
Until recently I did a light finger squeegee after Photoflo. I don't recall any problems with scratches, but I've actually found that I have less water marks if I just shake and hang the film.
 
I normally wet my fingers and run them down the film and use a Jobo drying cabinet (plastic bag type) but I still get some water spots.

Maybe just photoflo and drip dry would be better.
 
mabelsound said:
Wow, I'm the only one. I think my squeezin' days are over.
Click to expand...


I've been using a Jobo squeegee for a while now but every time I use it I scrub the blades with a stiff brush under running water for a second or two. Depending on air born dust it can be a better option for getting the emulsion surface tack free in less time and a resulting cleaner negative ... provided the squeegee is used effectively and carefully there is little problem IMO!
 
I have always used a squeegee. And I had one little scratch back in 2006. It was the first one in five years. Fortunately it was small enough to clone out in Photoshop.

And I never have water spots and a bare minimal amount of dust spots. My wife of 43 years has many strong points but dusting is not one of them. We have two dogs and keep the windows open about 5-6 months a year so we do have potential for small airborne debris. I think the reduced drying time is very important.

One has to do what works for oneself and ignore the majority.
 
A lot depends on what minerals you have in your water. If you really want clean negatives get a Senrac film dryer. It blows heated air across the width of the film while on the reel. It's a lot easier to blow water across 35mm worth of film than down the 5.5 feet of a hanging film.

The heat is controled by a thermostat, the air is filtered, and it has a built in timer to turn itself off.
 
Photo Flo, then Kimwipes. Been doing this for years and works like a charm. Used to use a dedicated photo sponge but the Kimwipes are better.
 
I gave up the squeegee for good last month as I always got scratches. Now I do a last rinse in photo flow mixed with distilled water and wipe with my fingers. Doing a last rinse with the distilled mix stopped my mild mineral problem and not squeegeeing stopped my scratch problem.

After reading this thread I'm thinking of giving up on my fingers as well!
 
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After fixing I do a ten minute wash then 1 minute wash using Ilford wetting agent. Then I hang the film in a 6 foot tall film dryer at 90 degrees for 15 minutes. No water spots, and no scratching.
 
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?
 
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