Film drying options

[hospadar]

Have been processing a bunch of black and white mostly 35mm (some 120) lately and have been wondering about improving my drying techniques.

Currently I:

• dip it in photo flow (mixed from distilled water - I think I'm using kodak's recommended dilution right now)
• put a clip on it
• give it a single gentle wipe with clean fingers to remove excess water
• let it hang vertically in the bathroom after running the shower for a few minutes

That has been giving me pretty good results, very little dust, but occasionally still some watermarking towards the bottom of the film.

I read that some folks hang the film horizontally so that if it watermarks, it happens on the sprockets - going to give that a try, but a whole 36 roll is inconveniently long for my bathroom.

I'm wondering about just leaving it on the (stainless nikor-style) reel and hanging the reel (so that the axis of the reel is vertical) in the the bathroom and drying it that way. I know that some folks use forced-air dryers that dry film on the reel in a tube with a fan and filter, but I (a) don't have one, and (b) am not in any kind of rush to have my film dry fast.

Any thoughts drying horizontally or on the reel? Any suggestions to improve my process?

 

[romosoho]

I don't squeegee with my fingers, but do as you do and no water marks or anything. Hang vertically with another clip at the bottom to help straighten out the film. How many drops of photo flo do you put into how much distilled? I use an eye dropper, and use 5 drops into 1L of distilled.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I do not squeegee with or without fingers. I use PhotoFlo following the instructions, hang with a clip top and bottom and draw off excess water with a paper towel at the lowest corner.

 

[Paul Howell]

Our water in the Phoenix Metro Area is very hard. Not has hard as it once with a new water processing plant in place, but still hard. I use distilled water, photoflow, I dont wipe just hang and let dry in the shower of my bath converted to darkroom. I very seldom get water spots.

 

[JerseyDoug]

I use a distilled water final rinse, no rinse aid. I shake as much water off the film as possible by holding the ends and snapping it straight. (It takes two people to do this with long 35mm rolls.) Then I hang the film vertically in the shower stall, with the bottom end weighted, and very gently wipe down both sides of the film with Kimwipes. I do this in a good light so I can see that there are no visible droplets remaining on the film. No scratches, no water spots and much less dust than any other approach I have tried because the film dries so quickly.

 

[Pieter12]

Photoflo for 30 seconds
Rap the reel on the edge of a tray to help remove excess Photoflo.
Hang to dry in the shower with a weighted clip on the end
About 30 minutes or so into the drying, gently dab excess water from the bottom end of the roll.

Never wipe the film with anything, fingers, kimwipes, chammy or squeegee. Just asking for trouble.

 

[Michael Firstlight]

Search the web for Film drying with Salad Shooter - several of us do this after Photo Flo etc.

 

[romosoho]

found this if it helps .

 

[Don_ih]

I generally have the film in photo flo solution then, when I put it on a clip , pour the photo flo solution down the strip of film (both sides). I don't touch it after that. Since I've started doing that, I rarely have any water marks or anything else. I'd think keeping you fingers away from wet film is a good idea.

 

[mwdake]

I hang my film diagonally rather than vertically after a final rinse with a couple of drops of wetting agent.
I don’t squeeze or wipe in any way.
This way the water has less distance to run off and does not run down the entire length of the film or collect at the bottom.

 

[Dave Ludwig]

A cap full of photo flo to 1 gallon distilled water. Also, I never reuse mixed photo flo. Soak and agitate for a minute or two, hang to dry in portable fully enclosed clothing storage unit. I never wipe the film. I have not had dust problems or watermarks for many years. Using only distilled water for final soak and rinse gave same result, started using photo flo again with weak dilution because it’s cheap.

 

[Michael Firstlight]

found this if it helps .

I saw one guy modify his salad shooter and attach two reel stems to the part that spins. He puts in two reels that have better balance and can spin harder without worrying about the reel tumbling around too much. Pretty creative.

 

[Pieter12]

A cap full of photo flo to 1 gallon distilled water. Also, I never reuse mixed photo flo. Soak and agitate for a minute or two, hang to dry in portable fully enclosed clothing storage unit. I never wipe the film. I have not had dust problems or watermarks for many years. Using only distilled water for final soak and rinse gave same result, started using photo flo again with weak dilution because it’s cheap.
View attachment 387829

Why not reuse Photflo? I usually use the same solution for a session, maybe 4-6 rolls. Then I toss it, but I guess if I were to be processing the next day or so, why couldn't I keep it?

 

[Dave Ludwig]

Further explanation, my 120 tank holds 4 rolls, then I dump it. I do not pour back into container. Its cheap and quite frankly the dilution I use is so small I may stop using it. Never had any problem with just distilled soak n rinse.

 

[MattKing]

Why not reuse Photflo? I usually use the same solution for a session, maybe 4-6 rolls. Then I toss it, but I guess if I were to be processing the next day or so, why couldn't I keep it?

Working strength Photoflo creates an environment where mould is almost encouraged to grow.
Next day shouldn't be a concern - I do that sometimes.
But if you delay much past that, you are likely to see unwanted growths in the working strength solution.

 

[snusmumriken]

I would like to point out that, although best avoided, drying marks are not the end of the world. They are always on the back of the film and can be very gently wiped off using a soft cloth and distilled water. If I have to do this, I place the strip of negatives emulsion-down on a clean sheet of paper, and hold it down firmly by the edges to prevent any movement. I take a piece of well-washed cotton cloth, like an old tee-shirt, wrap it round my finger and moisten the end of that finger in distilled water. You need very little water - be aware that it could reach the emulsion side through the edge perforations. Briefly and very very gently, rub the drying mark, then mop up with a dry bit of the cloth. So long as you are gentle, you will not scratch the film.

 

[hospadar]

Good tips, will try!

I did try just hanging the reels (used a t-shaped wire through the middle of the reel) and that seems like a no-go. Several hours later still visible water droplets on the film (which in my bathroom humidity combo would have been dry to the touch if hung vertical).

Salad shooter sounds great, will try that when i track one down at the thrift store.

Probably going to try setting up a horizontal rig for today’s rolls and see what that does.

Re photoflow concentration, not sure when i mixed it but i think it was about a capful in a gallon, i recently got my hands on a syringe and a small graduate though so next batch will be mixed more precisely.

Re not to squeegee - is the concern here just film damage or do you find leaving more water on the film results in cleaner or more reliable drying? Costs me nothing to try without any squeegee so I’ll give it a go, just curious.

 

[Dave Ludwig]

Re: Squeegee- Primarily scratches to the film. Secondary leaving contaminates on the film from fingers, sponge, etc. The only thing I do is shake the reel before hanging. When you go to hang your negatives they are totally clean..... don't touch them.

 

[Saganich]

My workflow for film drying:
1) hang film with clip on bottom for weight.
2) Use squeeze bottle to run a bead of distilled water (or DI water) from top to bottom on both sides. Done. I use an old tray to catch the runoff.

If distilled water isn't an option I mix 1/500ml photoflo tap water in a different squeeze bottle and run a bead down both sides of the hanging film. The photoflow squeeze bottle gets moldy in the bottom and sides after a couple months.

I found using too much photoflo and using it in the same tank as film development was trouble for me regarding foaming and cleaning.

 

[JerseyDoug]

Re: Squeegee- Primarily scratches to the film. Secondary leaving contaminates on the film from fingers, sponge, etc. The only thing I do is shake the reel before hanging. When you go to hang your negatives they are totally clean..... don't touch them.

I had similar concerns about using a squeegee. I was skeptical when an online friend recommended Kimwipes instead. But I learned that they are specifically made for such delicate tasks. I have been using them to wipe down my negatives for more than five years and have never seen a scratch or any contamination. And my negatives dry much faster than before I started using Kimwipes, which means less dust on the dried negatives.

 

[Paul Howell]

It may depend on the film. I shoot a lot of Foma which I think has a softer emulsion than Tmax. I just hang, at this point I am in no rush for negatives to dry.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

Try using Photo Flo with distilled water for the final rinse, especially if your water is hard. Let the film soak for a few minutes to help diffuse minerals out of the emulsion, i.e., longer than the 30 seconds recommended.

If your 36-exposure rolls are too long to hang comfortable, sacrifice exposure number 18 (i.e., shoot a blank frame) and then cut the roll there and hang the two halves separately.

If you mix your Photo Flo correctly, it will not form any droplets and run off the film well. That said, I always gently squeegee my film between two clean fingers, but I have nice soft hands If you have rough lumberjack callouses, then maybe that's not a good idea.

Hanging the film diagonally helps the water run to a corner, which you can then blot to remove the water that collects there. I use sheet film and have to do this three or four times a sheet.

A centrifugal spinner will remove lots of water and speed drying, but you still need the wetting agent and a good long soak in distilled water if your water is hard.

Best,

Doremus

 

[snusmumriken]

The photoflow squeeze bottle gets moldy in the bottom and sides after a couple months.

Regarding Photoflo growing mould ... For a long time I've used Tetenal's Mirasol rather than Photoflo. It is/was described as anti-static and anti-bacterial. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that it was anti-fungal too. The SDA lists only 'Isotridecanol, ethoxylated', which is a surfactant. I don't know whether the anti-microbial properties claimed are a side effect of this chemical, or the result of some other un-listed ingredient. Anyone got any insights?

Obviously Mirasol is now unavailable, like the rest of Tetenal's range. I have a stock that may possibly see me out, but it seems odd that no-one else has thought to put anti-microbial agents in any similar product. The nearest replacement seems to be Adox's Agaflo II, which is antistatic, but not apparently antibacterial.

 

[cliveh]

I would like to point out that, although best avoided, drying marks are not the end of the world. They are always on the back of the film and can be very gently wiped off using a soft cloth and distilled water. If I have to do this, I place the strip of negatives emulsion-down on a clean sheet of paper, and hold it down firmly by the edges to prevent any movement. I take a piece of well-washed cotton cloth, like an old tee-shirt, wrap it round my finger and moisten the end of that finger in distilled water. You need very little water - be aware that it could reach the emulsion side through the edge perforations. Briefly and very very gently, rub the drying mark, then mop up with a dry bit of the cloth. So long as you are gentle, you will not scratch the film.

I never get drying marks, as my last liquid immersion of film is in deionised water. But as to removing drying marks, all you need to do is breathe on the shiny side of the film in the way you would mist up a mirror and then wipe with a lens clothe.

 

[MattKing]

I may as well share my approach to anti-fungal Photoflo. I use it mainly because it improves consistency by making dilution less demanding/easier
Alcohol is the solution!
Photoflo Resource