First shots... now drying

[JWMster]

So I developed Foma 200, and the first 5 of 6 shots came out. The 6th I blew on trying to figure out the shutter release vs. the shutter open to focus thingy (I'm sure there's a techy term). So this is actually better than I expected. No telling how they look just yet but hanging them up to dry, it's clear with 4X5 the metal spikey clips I'm using for 35mm and 120 are a little rough for this. Seems like a clothes pin might be gentler. What do you use?

 

[shutterfinger]

I used plastic clothespins but they turned brittle and broke so I switched to wood clothespins which will leave a mark on the negative so I make sure to only clip in the rebate edge.

 

[BradS]

I use wood clothes pins....just like Ansel Adams did.

 

[howardpan]

I use Mod45 hangars which can grip on to the film rebate accurately.

 

[Luckless]

I use wooden clothes pins, and carefully clip onto a corner.

Just bog standard wooden ones with steel springs. Picked the best ones out of the pack, and they've been 'good enough', but I do have a block of nice hardwood that I've been thinking of cutting up for custom clips.

Have also been thinking of switching to some metal clips that could grab onto a wider section of the edge, but I always seem to forget to grab a few packs when I'm at a store that actually carries them.

 

[MattiS]

I also use the Mod54 clips, like them even for 135 film. Get some stainless steel hanging clips in the local hardware store and peel off the black rubber tip. Then you have the Mod54 clips right in your hand... .

They hold the film safe, don‘t damage it and have the weight you need for 135.

 

[Ian C]

I don’t hang sheet films. I want nothing touching their surfaces. I prepare a clean shelf and lean the negatives at a roughly 20° angle from vertical against the wall, adjacent to the shelf, with the emulsion facing the wall for drying. The only contact is the bottom edge of the negative on the shelf and the top edge against the wall. Since the emulsion is on the bottom side, dust is less likely to settle onto the emulsion.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I don’t hang sheet films. I want nothing touching their surfaces. I prepare a clean shelf and lean the negatives at a roughly 20° angle from vertical against the wall, adjacent to the shelf, with the emulsion facing the wall for drying. The only contact is the bottom edge of the negative on the shelf and the top edge against the wall. Since the emulsion is on the bottom side, dust is less likely to settle onto the emulsion.

Very clever approach, Ian. I've never heard of anyone doing this. Is that just with 4x5? I would be a bit leery trying it with 8x10, though.

 

[Ian C]

For 8" x 10" I lean the shorter dimension vertically (less flex this way)

 

[Luckless]

For 8" x 10" I lean the shorter dimension vertically (less flex this way)

I've been debating designs for a drying cabinet [and dust filter] that would support my 120 and 4x5 film, as well as prints. But now I'm wondering if I might have to go back to reconsider how it would handle sheet film...

Have you had any issues with the films taking a slight bend after drying? Part of why I like hanging my sheet film from a corner is the assumption that gravity lets it hang as flat as it is going to want to, but that's merely an assumption without any actual testing against the films I use.

If I switch to a film-lean style, i might have to add a little channel to catch the bottom edge of the film to be extra sure it is unlikely to fall and slide. [My apartment is next to a busy road, and gets noticeable vibrations if a heavy truck hits the pothole out front...]

 

[Ian C]

The larger sheets curve under their own weight during drying. When dry and laid flat or placed in the storage sleeves, they return to their original flat shape. The larger sheets might have to be leaned at a shallower angle while drying.

It's obvious when you place them for drying which lean angle works best. Obviously, they must be placed where no draft can dislodge them while drying. I think that this is impractical for sheets larger than 8” x 10”. If thin pack films were still in use, they would probably be too flimsy for this to work.

 

[lantau]

I hang sheets of film and paper from a corner because it drains best like that. Using mod54 clips you only need a tiny bit of the corner, especially for film.

I touch the bottom corner with a towel after a while to remove the water drop there.

Standing up film sheets should result in the film standing in its own juice, shouldn't it?

 

[Ian C]

My films are essentially free of surface liquid when set to dry, so there is no “puddling” of water. Sheet films are leaned as described above. Roll films are hung using two “high-tech” devices—a couple of spring-type wooden clothes pins as used on clothes-drying lines, one to hold the top of the film to a string line, and the other clipped to the bottom to weight the film so that it hangs straight down.

I begin by carefully cleaning my plastic surfaced countertop. I use a scrupulously-clean sponge used only for film wiping. It’s wetted and wrung out as dry as possible. The film is wet with a water + Photoflow solution at this point, unless it's color film. Stabilizer is the last liquid to bathe my color films.

I lay the film emulsion-down on the countertop and lay the sponge on the top (base side of film) and very slowly draw the sponge over the film with no downward force, just the weight of the sponge. Keeping the movement of the sponge very slow allows it to absorb nearly all of the liquid, except for "micro drops".

I lift the film from the countertop and hold it in one hand while wiping the countertop dry with a towel with the other hand. Then I lay the film base-side-down on the countertop and repeat the sponge-wipe of the emulsion side, moving the sponge even slower than I did with the base side to ensure as much liquid removal as possible.

At this point the film surface has only micro-droplets remaining. I set the film to dry. The surface drops are too small to leave residue and the film is dry and ready for use the next morning. My film processing is generally done in the evening.

The sponge is carefully cleaned and allowed to dry. Then it’s srored in a clean plastic bag until its next film-drying use.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

I'm low-tech. Wooden clothespins on a string stretched across my darkroom sink do the job for me. I don't get any marks from them either.

Doremus

 

[Sirius Glass]

Wooden clothes pins

 

[JWMster]

So I thought I'd close the loop. Here's a shot of the Shoe Storage rack ($30 on line) I converted to a film drying rack in the new abode. In the rack, I threw away the cloth shelves and turned some of the crossbars vertical to get the height needed for 35mm and 120 rolls (see 35mm drying in the back). Ordered some clips similar to the MOD54 from Freestyle, and was amazed to find they fit the crossbars perfectly. The 2nd shot shows my 2nd round of drying shots. Yes, I'm still having some handling and exposure learning issues, ERGO a number aren't coming out yet. But the first 12 were all loaded at the same time, so I'm hoping that the next 12 will benefit from the mistakes I made this round, and start to deliver a better ratio of shots turning out to throw-a-ways. Not worried so far. Even not going to worry about the 1st 50 shots.... 'cause one of my fumbling errors knocked the sleeve of negatives on the floor. Uh oh. But we're living with it. Big part of learning is learning new ways to screw up... and then learning how to NOT do that. Meantime, let me thank all who posted here, entertained reading my struggles, and generally been kind enough to help out. Thank you!