Negative drying ...

[eosandy]

Guys,

Ran a few rolls of critical B&W through a shop a Peninsular, and the negs have come back with consistent, fine scratches along the emulsion along whole length of each. It is quite visible when scanning and will need considerable PP to repair for enlargements.
Contact print however looks okay.

Options to remove post development moisture from negs so far seem to be:
1. Squeegy.
2. Fingers.
3. Drip-dry with wetting agent.

I go with #3 at the moment without any drying marks (using mama lemon) but drying time is quite long (over-night usually)

What works for you? I was considering a squeegy but this has put me off...

[0200903C]

I heard that using fingers to squeeze off the water might cause scratches due to the fine dead skin particles, squeegee might have that effect too?

For me, i use the third option, after the final wash, immerse in Ilford Ilfotol for 2 mins, and then hang to dry, usually for 3-4 hours.

[Tachi]

I tried to swing as much as possible when the negative is still in the spool between taking it out for drying. However, I find drying in an air-con room helps a lot, if your room is dusty & humid.

[catchlights]

I use sponge to wipe, but don't think this type of sponge is available nowadays, is similar to the sponge use for facial makeup.

hope this help.

[Celebring]

Originally Posted by 0200903C For me, i use the third option, after the final wash, immerse in Ilford Ilfotol for 2 mins, and then hang to dry, usually for 3-4 hours.

Ditto, except I only add a few drop of the wetting agent to my final wash, which is about 30 seconds.

Was told that the bathroom is the best place to dry since you could wash the room frequently to keep dust down, but don't really notice a difference from film that dried hanging in my study.

[Xtol19]

Originally Posted by eosandy Guys, Ran a few rolls of critical B&W through a shop a Peninsular, and the negs have come back with consistent, fine scratches along the emulsion along whole length of each. It is quite visible when scanning and will need considerable PP to repair for enlargements. Contact print however looks okay. Options to remove post development moisture from negs so far seem to be: 1. Squeegy. 2. Fingers. 3. Drip-dry with wetting agent. I go with #3 at the moment without any drying marks (using mama lemon) but drying time is quite long (over-night usually) What works for you? I was considering a squeegy but this has put me off...

There is no need for squeegy in Singapore's climate. Daytime it can dry within 2-3 hours in a bathroom with ventilation. Night time it should take 4-6 hours.

If you're really in a hurry, hairdryer is possible. But great risk of hair and dust particles, of course.

[chiif]

shake off excess water while the negative is still in the reel and then hang it dry in an air-con place.

Using hair dryer will introduce more dust particles faster and once it got stuck and dried on the negatives, it cannot be removed anymore.

I used to hang it out like the clothes outside my kitchen. Though it get dried in 15min, the amount of PP I had to do was a nightmare.

It's like wine and beer.. the longer you hang and dry in a still condition, the better the negatives you get. Patience....

I never sent my B&W to anyone to develop anymore after just once incident that it got badly scratched. It's almost like defacing a beautiful painting.... can u imaging?

[plsoong]

Yeah i can understand the problem with scratches issue!

Well, for me, at the last rinse with photoflo/mama lemon dilute, i use my already wet rubber gloved fingers to run through the film . Thereafter i clip the negs to a clothes hanger and hung it inside my wardrobe in the dark

LOL!

[clubgrit]

I second Chiif, try to develop yourself. But if time is really precious, then just tell the folks to be very careful. This doesn't work always, as I get some color negatives back with water marks . Haven't these folks ever heard of a wetting agent !#@#? Tempted to tell them that I will supply it for them to keep for my negatives :-). I did once tell them I'll supply them with gloves so they won't get fingerprints again on my negatives ...

I use a liberal mix of Ilford Ilfotol as wetting agent ... never again will I just use plain water and dry, water marks for sure (at least in my environment). Dries up within 1 hour or less in ventilated room without aircon, nighttime. I don't like aircon room, it curls the film, at least at my place.

I use a squeegee selected for smoothness, run twice only, and film must still be wet. Have to be quick (within 1 minute or less after taking out from Ilfotol solution), as it dries up very fast. Fingers also fine. One can also skip this step, shake it as Chiif mentioned, it dries up fast anyway.


.

[enivre]

I've scratched negs with a squeegee before, now I just use wetting agent and my trusty fingers (make sure no rough skin first).

[eosandy]

Originally Posted by 0200903C I heard that using fingers to squeeze off the water might cause scratches due to the fine dead skin particles, squeegee might have that effect too? For me, i use the third option, after the final wash, immerse in Ilford Ilfotol for 2 mins, and then hang to dry, usually for 3-4 hours.

Originally Posted by chiif shake off excess water while the negative is still in the reel and then hang it dry in an air-con place. Using hair dryer will introduce more dust particles faster and once it got stuck and dried on the negatives, it cannot be removed anymore. I used to hang it out like the clothes outside my kitchen. Though it get dried in 15min, the amount of PP I had to do was a nightmare. It's like wine and beer.. the longer you hang and dry in a still condition, the better the negatives you get. Patience.... I never sent my B&W to anyone to develop anymore after just once incident that it got badly scratched. It's almost like defacing a beautiful painting.... can u imaging?

Many thanks for your valuable feedback guys. Appreciate all yr input.
Not losing any more precious time repairing good shots. Doing all the processing myself from now on.

Will the wetting agent be much better than mama lemon?

[eosandy]

Originally Posted by catchlights I use sponge to wipe, but don't think this type of sponge is available nowadays, is similar to the sponge use for facial makeup. hope this help.

Originally Posted by Celebring Ditto, except I only add a few drop of the wetting agent to my final wash, which is about 30 seconds. Was told that the bathroom is the best place to dry since you could wash the room frequently to keep dust down, but don't really notice a difference from film that dried hanging in my study.

Originally Posted by Tachi I tried to swing as much as possible when the negative is still in the spool between taking it out for drying. However, I find drying in an air-con room helps a lot, if your room is dusty & humid.

Originally Posted by Xtol19 There is no need for squeegy in Singapore's climate. Daytime it can dry within 2-3 hours in a bathroom with ventilation. Night time it should take 4-6 hours. If you're really in a hurry, hairdryer is possible. But great risk of hair and dust particles, of course.

Many thanks for your valuable feedback guys. Appreciate all yr input.

Catchlights... will the sponge be the same as provided in a compact?

I will give the hairdryer trick a miss, unless I build a drying cabinet with dedicated filtration.

[eosandy]

Originally Posted by plsoong Yeah i can understand the problem with scratches issue! Well, for me, at the last rinse with photoflo/mama lemon dilute, i use my already wet rubber gloved fingers to run through the film . Thereafter i clip the negs to a clothes hanger and hung it inside my wardrobe in the dark LOL!

Originally Posted by clubgrit I second Chiif, try to develop yourself. But if time is really precious, then just tell the folks to be very careful. This doesn't work always, as I get some color negatives back with water marks . Haven't these folks ever heard of a wetting agent !#@#? Tempted to tell them that I will supply it for them to keep for my negatives :-). I did once tell them I'll supply them with gloves so they won't get fingerprints again on my negatives ... I use a liberal mix of Ilford Ilfotol as wetting agent ... never again will I just use plain water and dry, water marks for sure (at least in my environment). Dries up within 1 hour or less in ventilated room without aircon, nighttime. I don't like aircon room, it curls the film, at least at my place. I use a squeegee selected for smoothness, run twice only, and film must still be wet. Have to be quick (within 1 minute or less after taking out from Ilfotol solution), as it dries up very fast. Fingers also fine. One can also skip this step, shake it as Chiif mentioned, it dries up fast anyway. .

Originally Posted by enivre I've scratched negs with a squeegee before, now I just use wetting agent and my trusty fingers (make sure no rough skin first).

Many thanks for your valuable feedback guys. Appreciate all yr input.

Is colour processing at 120 size similarly problematic, or can you recommend a particular shop to process? Gonna try some slide film as well but can't dev that at home (yet!)

[adamadam]

After drying, I have spots on the film from the beads of water
What's the best way of getting rid of these? I tried breathing on it and rubbing off with my finger, which got rid of most of it, but there's still the outline, and then my fingeroils remain instead! HAHA
What's the best way to clean it off?

[enivre]

Originally Posted by adamadam After drying, I have spots on the film from the beads of water What's the best way of getting rid of these? I tried breathing on it and rubbing off with my finger, which got rid of most of it, but there's still the outline, and then my fingeroils remain instead! HAHA What's the best way to clean it off?

You can consider washing them again (CAREFULLY!!) then redrying them after soaking in some wetting agent.

Alternatively, I believe you can use pec pads and pec 12 emulsion cleaning solution. Can buy from Cathay.

[adamadam]

Originally Posted by enivre You can consider washing them again (CAREFULLY!!) then redrying them after soaking in some wetting agent. Alternatively, I believe you can use pec pads and pec 12 emulsion cleaning solution. Can buy from Cathay.

Thanks!!! I will look for pec 12 emulsion cleaner locally

I was wondering how you would wash carefully - reel it back onto the spiral and agitate with water and wetting agent? Or give it a bit of a scrub with a sponge?

Thanks!

[Francis247]

No need to reel it back, just prepare a basin of water and dip some wetting agent (Ratio 1:400 - 1 part wetting agent is to 400 part water), drop your negative into the basin for 1min, lift up and hang to dry.

[eosandy]

Originally Posted by enivre You can consider washing them again (CAREFULLY!!) then redrying them after soaking in some wetting agent. Alternatively, I believe you can use pec pads and pec 12 emulsion cleaning solution. Can buy from Cathay.

Interesting advice enivre, pec 12 seems to be an IPA type solution, where you can work on the cut negs you want to scan just prior to scanning for best results? In your experience, does it soften the emulsion at all? Thanks

[adamadam]

Originally Posted by Francis247 No need to reel it back, just prepare a basin of water and dip some wetting agent (Ratio 1:400 - 1 part wetting agent is to 400 part water), drop your negative into the basin for 1min, lift up and hang to dry.

Thanks Francis247!

I was just wondering....What are those drying marks from? Are they water-based?

Thanks!

[adamadam]

I'll probably try find some wetting agent this weekend. So far, I could only find ilfotol 1L bottle. For something that I'm only going to us 1 part to 400.... I don't think I want to buy 1L! haha ahhh any alternatives?