Drying LF film

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wiseowl

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What's the prefered method for drying LF film, for my first attempt I pegged it up by a corner and left it to hang unweighed. This seems to have worked out OK, with the film laying flat.

I don't see any reason to not carry on using this method but I'm curious as to whether or not this is the usual method?

Cheers

Martin
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Yes, that's how I do it--1 minute in Agfa Sistan after the wash, then hang by a corner to dry. If you're short on space, I like the Jobo film clips that hold the film perpendicular to the drying line with a pin that pierces the sheet, so they can support any size sheet without risk of the film falling out. The Jobo clips are expensive, but very well worth it as you go up in format.
 

removed account4

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i have a line hung over my sink and a bunch of clothes pins. never had a problem.

-john

forgot to mention - i use photo-flo, but not nearly as much as they suggest to dilute - i put about 3 or 4 drops in the cap and put in the tray of film, or tank of reels ... i've been on the same bottle of photoflo ( label erroded off ) since 1980.
 
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wiseowl

wiseowl

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My word that was quick! Thanks for the replies, David I'll keep an eye out for the Jobo clips.

Cheers

Martin
 

Monophoto

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Martin -

Like everyone else, I rinse mine in PhotoFlo (diluted with twice as much distilled water as recommended by Kodak), and then hang them by a corner, slightly off level so that any drips drift toward the lowest corner.

For years, I just hung them from hooks on the shelf over the sink in my darkroom, walked out and closed the door, and didn't come back for several hours. A couple of years ago I built a drying cabinet that allows me to continue to work in the darkroom, raising all kinds of dust, while keeping the negatvies pristine. Air is drawn into the cabinet by a small fan through an air filter, and then passes through a second filter before entering the top of the compartment where the film hangs, flowing down over the film to an exhaust vent at the bottom. I have a 200w light bulb that adds heat to the process to speed up drying. The cabinet is tall enough to hang 36 exposure strips of 35mm film.

I used a scrap of Closet-Maid wire shelving as a rack to hang from in the drying cabinet. "S" hooks are attached to the shelving, and the hangers attach to the hooks.

Hanging clips are a problem - there are some good ones out there by they are hard to find outside the speciality stores in large cities like NYC. I picked up a few at flea markets, but you never seem to have enough, and the price of purpose-made hangers offends my sense of what is reasonable.

There is an old tradition of using clothes pins, but I was always afraid that wooden clothes pins would eventually become contaminated. Instead, I found some plastic clothespins at a "dollar store" that work just fine - they have serrated teeth that grip the edge of the film, and after heating screw-eyes with a blow torch, I was able to insert them into the handle end to permit hanging from hooks. (Hold them with needle-nose pliers while heating and inserting into the clothes pins.)
 

matt miller

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I use the small metal binder clips available at any office supply store. I can clip the film right at the corner, unlike wooden clothespins, which have to be clipped further in.
 

rbarker

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I use office-supply "binder clips", too. For roll film and 4x5, I use the large size, suspended from little hangers made from wire clothes hangers. For 8x10 film, I use the small binder clips, with two clips hanging from a full-sized wire clothes hanger. A short length of nylon twine, tied between the "wings" of the binder clip, centers the clips below the hanger.

Both types of hangers suspend conveniently from the tension pole that used to hold the shower curtain. :cool:
 

wilhelm

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I've also tried the small binder clips, but the ones I'm using seem to not be very even across the gripping surface. As a result, I have to grab the film a little into the image area to make sure that it'll stay there, which, of course, leaves little crease marks on the corner of the image. Bleh. I like monophoto's idea of using plastic clothespins; I'll have to hunt some up.

I used to just hang them on a string, but had SO many dust problems. I built a drying cabinet out of 1/4" plywood and 2x2s, inspired by Claudio Bonavolta's cabinet. There's a 12x12" furnace filter (the super-hypo-allergenic kind, for maximum dust eradication) at the top, and a 120cfm radial fan in the bottom blowing down, which pulls the air through the filter and over the films (radial fans pull better than they push). I've got 5 rows of removeable rods across the cavity, so I can dry way more films than I can even put in the Jobo at a time. Takes about 2 hours to be sure that everything is dry, but I've had zero dust problems. Still working on heating the air; using light bulbs just makes me a little nervous for some reason, and the heating element I've got my eye on is a little pricy for my current budget.

As far as weighting sheet film, the base is thick enough that I've never had to worry about curling. I just hang 'em up and let 'em dry. I've seen a tiny bit of "curling" from my E-6, but I think that's more from spending a good long while curved in the Jobo reel in 100º liquids, than any desire to curl by the film base.
 

removed account4

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i posted it here a long time ago, but can't find it -
office supply stores sell 6 foot tall metal office cabinets - the ones
with 2 doors and metal shelves ( battleship grey &C ) ...
for years i used one of these to dry my film IN, when i didn't have a
line above the sink. the shelves were taken out, and a drill was used
to make holes in the sides to string string or binders wire ( braided wire ) ...
no heaters, just air-dry in an enclosed place. it was tall enough to hang a 36 exp 35mm roll and enough room to hang about 50 sheets of 4x5 film without worries of anything touching ...

the cabinets cost about 50$ ( at least a few years back ) and sheet-metal construction.

good luck!
john
 

Jim Moore

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David A. Goldfarb said:
The Jobo clips are expensive, but very well worth it as you go up in format.

Agree... This is what I use and they are well worth the price.
 
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wiseowl

wiseowl

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Thanks for all the good advice, I currently hang my negs up in the darkroom and stay outa there for a few hours. Plenty of info there for me to think about with regards to building a drying cabinet. That would be much more convenient.

Cheers

Martin
 

Ole

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I came across a whole bunch of film hanger clips in a box that came with a lot of other stuff. I then took a wire coathanger, unwound it enough to slip 12 of the clips on, and rewound it. So now I have a special film dryer holder hanger on which I dry 12 9x12cm/4x5", or 6 5x7", or 4 8x10", or 2 12x16" films at the same time. Or two roll films. The different numbers are just to keep enough spacing between the films so they don't suddenly decide to stick to each other.
 

donbga

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jnanian said:
i posted it here a long time ago, but can't find it -
office supply stores sell 6 foot tall metal office cabinets - the ones
with 2 doors and metal shelves ( battleship grey &C ) ...
for years i used one of these to dry my film IN, when i didn't have a
line above the sink. the shelves were taken out, and a drill was used
to make holes in the sides to string string or binders wire ( braided wire ) ...
no heaters, just air-dry in an enclosed place. it was tall enough to hang a 36 exp 35mm roll and enough room to hang about 50 sheets of 4x5 film without worries of anything touching ...

the cabinets cost about 50$ ( at least a few years back ) and sheet-metal construction.

good luck!
john
This is more or less exactly what I did. It was very cost effective and had almost zero build time. I did bolt on a plywood base with casters so I could move it easily. I mounted threaded rods in the top to allow clips to be hung easily. I also put weather stripping around the edges of the doors to seal the cabinet.

Don Bryant
 

photobum

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I'm a luddite and a dinosaur. That's why my film is processed in hangers and dryed in hangers. I have a lot of hangers. Even with BTZS I go to hangers for the wash and dry.
 

John Kasaian

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I also hang my sheet film by one corner with a wooden clothes pin. Like john nanian I use photo-flo in a weak dilution. What can I say? It works! If you have access to an x-ray lab, they have all kinds of neat stuff for hanging up film that they'll be junking soon (my brother in law the dentist has a 'tree' thats pretty nifty) as digital medical imaging becomes more widespread but I plan on sticking with my wooden clothes pins 'cause if its good enough for Adams, Weston and Weegee its good enough for me :smile:
 

James Bleifus

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jnanian said:
i have a line hung over my sink and a bunch of clothes pins. never had a problem.

-john

forgot to mention - i use photo-flo, but not nearly as much as they suggest to dilute - i put about 3 or 4 drops in the cap and put in the tray of film, or tank of reels ... i've been on the same bottle of photoflo ( label erroded off ) since 1980.

I hang my film with clothes pins too, though I half the dilution of Photo-Flo (hope I said that right. My Photo-Flo is double the strength recommended) and then spray the film with the Photo-Flo after it's hung. Works great.

Cheers, James
 

waynecrider

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I use a bungee cord with clips that is used as a temporary bathroom cloth's line.
 

Changeling1

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Jim Noel

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By far the best clips for hanging film are dental X-ray clips. They are small stainless with a tiny piercing point to hold the film securely. As more dentists move toward digital xray equipment, more of these are available. Many dentists seem to either put them in a drawer and forget them, or throw them away.

My second choice is the Jobo clip. Although larger, it does make a tiny hole and provide a secure grip.

I have always had problems with clothes pins whether wood or plastic. It seems if I err and let it get oo far downon the film, that is the best negative of the day.
 

vet173

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Mine stay in the hangers till dry. I have a line over the sink to let them drip, after dip in lfn.
 

schrochem

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Changeling1 said:
How long does it take for the film to dry in this set-up? It looks like a great idea.

I've never really been in a hurry to keep checking on the drying status. If I develop at night, they aren't quite dry by the next morning. I just leave the lid cracked a little so no dust gets in. More holes, lid open more, etc. would accelerate drying times.

Scott
 
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