Curly negatives

marciofs · Aug 28, 2013

Any tip to make negatives become flat faster after drying. The AGFA APX is very curly even after hours dried. v

Konical · Aug 28, 2013

Good Morning, Marciofs,

After the film is dry, don't cut it immediately. Put it back on a processing reel with the emulsion side OUT, giving it a reverse curl. I do this with Foma 200 Creative. It works, but it does take some time, perhaps several days with the Foma. This problem is a reminder that Kodak T-Max and Ilford films do have definite advantages!

Konical

marciofs · Aug 28, 2013

Thanks. I try next time because I have cutter it already and I put in a book to make it flatter.

winger · Aug 28, 2013

One thing I've heard is to let them dry more slowly by using a slightly humid environment. Since I run the hot water in the shower before hanging my negs, this accomplishes that as well as batting down the dust.

K-G · Aug 28, 2013

All good advices. You can also try Ilford films. From my experience they dry perfectly flat. Better than any other brand.

Karl-Gustaf

cliveh · Aug 28, 2013

Winger gives good advice. I don't know how you are drying your negs, but perhaps if you leave them to dry in ambient temperature over several hours you will not get that curl.

Chris Lange · Aug 28, 2013

If you are using a hardening fix, switching to a non-hardening fix will make a huge difference. With Tri-X the difference in curliness is night and day.

Born2Late · Aug 28, 2013

I dry mine on the reel and they tend to have a curl initially. This really doesn't bother me too much when I scan and print them. I store my negatives in sleeves and they always flatten out on their own after brief storage. I do find that some films curl more than others as mentioned above.

cliveh · Aug 28, 2013

Chris Lange said:
If you are using a hardening fix, switching to a non-hardening fix will make a huge difference. With Tri-X the difference in curliness is night and day.

The downside to this advice is that the negatives are less resistant to abrasion.

marciofs · Aug 28, 2013

I am used to Ilford negatives and so to cut them after 30m it is dried.

But I am noting all the advices because I will use this APX negatives for my street shots from now on.

Chris Lange · Aug 28, 2013

cliveh said:
The downside to this advice is that the negatives are less resistant to abrasion.

True, Clive...I have heard that it can be an issue with some Foma and Efke films to not use a hardening fix due to their relatively soft emulsions...

Though Ilford and Kodak and Fuji say hardener is not necessary, and in fact can impede your washing regimen. I haven't used hardening fixer in my own darkroom for years, and have found that the only severe scratches I have incurred on any of my negatives have been the result of grit on the pressure plates/rollers in my cameras which I daresay a hardener in my fix would have done little to prevent.

It is worth trying a non-hardening fixer, like Ilford Hypam or the like (I use Kodak C-41 fix for both b/w film and prints, it's non-hardening and neutral ph).

If you haven't had issues with scratches prior to now, you'll probably be fine.

Edit: I too have also noticed that Agfa APX films are a bit more bowed than my Kodak and Ilford films...especially the APX25, though it flattens out reasonably after being in the sleeve for a day or two.

mauro35 · Aug 29, 2013

I simply dry my negatives as long as overnight and then put them inside negative sleeves with a heavy book on top for one day. It really works for me.

Helinophoto · Aug 29, 2013

I cut them after they've dried, then I more or less force them into my plastic-sleeves, no matter how curly they may be.
After a few days in my negative folder, they are flat.

The only film that I've not been able to flatten after a while in the sleeves, is Rollei ortho 25. This film is still pretty curly, even after 8 months of flat storage in the negative filder. Curls up like spring. Actually, the whole "page" holding the negatives like to bend and buckle as I browse =)

- It's just as potent today as it was when I developed it, really strange.

damonff · Aug 31, 2013

Hang them to dry; put them in a sleeve; roll the sleeve against the curl and place inside of a paper towel roll for a while, overnight ideally. Totally flat when they come out. I have been doing it this way for years.

marciofs · Aug 31, 2013

damonff said:
Hang them to dry; put them in a sleeve; roll the sleeve against the curl and place inside of a paper towel roll for a while, overnight ideally. Totally flat when they come out. I have been doing it this way for years.

Thanks,
As you describe it seems to be the easiest and fastest way.

clayne · Aug 31, 2013

It's always directly tied to humidity. All flattening is temporary if the emulsion is naturally curly as the emulsion will always pull against the base creating the curl.

marciofs · Sep 1, 2013

Even if temporary, it is much better to handle flat negatives than curly.

Curly negatives

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