Dusty negs

How do you guys deal with the epic amount of dust?

I like b&w films, but I hate dust, I cant use Digital ICE on b&w =[

Should I just give it up and use chromogenic black and white so I can use Digital ICE? (i also do C41 dev at home, so thats not too much of a prob).


Whats a good option to get basically dust free scans only needing a touch up here and then of like 2 min work, not like 20 minutes.. (6x7).

Wash the negs I want to scan and put them in a dust free place to dry before scanning? (washed plastic container?)

You are going to be told by someone here that scanning and Digital ICE are topics outside APUG's scope, and are better asked on hybridphoto.com . I think the beauty of conventional B&W films is such that it's worth using them and dealing with the dust, ICE or no ICE.

But dust is an issue in the analog darkroom as well, and you can handle it the same way as there: compressed/canned air; hand-operated blowers (eg Giottos Rocket); antistatic brushes; bursts of hair-singeing profanity to charge the air with negative ions and draw it away from your negatives.

In addition to what Mike said, get some Pec 12 and Pec pads for stubborn dirt and grime.

Since this thread is looking for analogue solutions to the dust problem, which are relevant to enlarging as much as to scanning, rather than closing it, I've retitled it and left it open.

I like canned air and Kinetronics brushes myself.

If your air is particularly dry, consider adding a humidifier. For that I recommend the Venta Air-Washer, which also filters the air somewhat, and is less likely to spread mold around than an old-style humidifier with a fan and a cloth covered drum, but it does require regular cleaning.

Athiril said:

How do you guys deal with the epic amount of dust?

I like b&w films, but I hate dust, I cant use Digital ICE on b&w =[

Should I just give it up and use chromogenic black and white so I can use Digital ICE? (i also do C41 dev at home, so thats not too much of a prob).


Whats a good option to get basically dust free scans only needing a touch up here and then of like 2 min work, not like 20 minutes.. (6x7).

Wash the negs I want to scan and put them in a dust free place to dry before scanning? (washed plastic container?)

Click to expand...

What a lot of folks do is work on the process of keeping the dust down. A shower can work. When your negatives are done, leave them in the full tank and put the lid back on. Go turn on the shower with just hot water, this should create some steam. The dust in the bathroom air will collect water droplets and fall to the floor, give it about 5 minutes. Turn off the water and hang the negatives, the air in the bathroom is now dust free, it's also damp, so you should get fewer drying marks as things dry out slowly.


When the negatives are dry then go carefully into the bathroom, and take them down. You want to keep them away from dust though, a Tupperwear type container large enough with a tight fitting lid can be good for transporting them to where you cut them.

Realize that some dust will get there, a good blower brush can help blow dust off negatives, also if your scanning, make sure you clean the scanner glass and light source before you start, and clean it again between strips. An anti-static cloth can be good here, as long as it's intended for use on glass. Open and close the scanner carefully, lifting the lid will create a vacuum that will suck in dust, the faster you lift it, the more dust you get.

Another thing that can help, is have a humidifier in the computer room, this will keep down the static electricity which will also mean less dust.