How long does film need to hang to dry?

f/16 · Apr 26, 2015

I developed my first 2 rolls and they've been hanging in the shower for about 2 hours. About how long before I can take them down?

Pioneer · Apr 26, 2015

I usually wait for a day but sometimes I do develop in the morning and then scan in the evening. As an example, today I developed 3 rolls of TriX 120 roll film about 9 this morning. I just finished scanning them this evening.

EDIT - It is probably worth mentioning that the humidity today was 31% and indoor temp around 68F. If your humidity is higher then you may find it necessary to wait longer.

trythis · Apr 26, 2015

I wait till I cant see any sign of moisture. Usually what 19 said ^^

f/16 · Apr 26, 2015

The humidity here is usually 60-95% depending on what time of day it is. The hygrometer in the house usually says 55-60%.

Sirius Glass · Apr 26, 2015

I wait a day and the humidity in Los Angeles is a lot lower than 55% to 60%.

Old-N-Feeble · Apr 26, 2015

Less time than it takes for glossy enamel paint to cure but more time than it takes water to boil.

Fall · Apr 26, 2015

Dear f/16,

What the others say is spot on. However, in times of speedy processing I have found 1 hour in the shower, plus a squeegee (controversial) to be good for newspaper work. Although, most cities that still would use a darkroom would have a film drier. Anyway, for my work it is over night. I only mentioned that incase you needed the film fast, and I would not recommend for several reasons unless you really needed them fast. Have a good day, and congratulations on your first developed films. You will probably find you like the results much better.

If you don't already know about the "massive dev chart", you should try it as it is very useful. I would have linked the website, but I don't remember the policy on linking websites. Just google "massive dev chart", and it is the first website. Also I would recommend a high quality binder, and negative sleeves to protect them.

Slixtiesix · Apr 27, 2015

Over night (since I usually develop in the late afternoon or evening). If you develop in the early morning, it should be dry until evening like Pioneer said.

karl · Apr 27, 2015

Here in San Francisco, were the humidity in my apartment is generally around 50% it takes 3-4 hours.

IloveTLRs · Apr 27, 2015

I usually have mine dry within an hour or so. I've hung them in direct sunlight a few times, which dries them even faster.

Xmas · Apr 27, 2015

Well it is temperature and humidity dependent.

Since I use a squeegee to avoid water marks mine can be filed after four hours in summer although there may be water still on lower clip. I hang and squeegee.

That fast you will get curl with some films.

mfohl · Apr 27, 2015

Four hours is a good starting point.

NB23 · Apr 27, 2015

1 hour in my darkroom is enough.

piu58 · Apr 27, 2015

1 hour.

Rick A · Apr 27, 2015

It's not so much a mater of "dry" per say, but a matter of the emulsion being hard enough to not be damaged from handling. In my experience, it could appear dry in a couple of hours, but not hard enough for 12 hours or more.

Terry Christian · Apr 27, 2015

I, too, find that four hours minimum is about right.

winger · Apr 27, 2015

I have printed within less than four hours, but I usually wait 'til the next day before putting them in sleeves. Even when they seem dry, there can be a little bit of moisture left. If they dry more slowly (high humidity), they dry less curly.

fotch · Apr 27, 2015

As a general rule, overnight unless you have heat to dry the film.

removed account4 · Apr 27, 2015

i usually take dry fingers and run them down the roll of film
if my dry skin does not "catch" on a moisture i cut them down.
usually it is the bottom that is slow to dry, so i cut the bottom off after the
first hour leaving a little tail for the clothes pin.

YMMV

jacaquarie · Apr 27, 2015

I have found that photographs can improve with age. I suggest the film storage room not much different than the wine cellar for hanging your film. Controlled temperature and humidity storage. Do not cut your film and put in sleeves instead the dedicated hangers for each roll of film which is still one strip. I am guessing you use 35mm. I suggest you wait a few years before printing anything. Decades perhaps. The longer you wait the better your photographs become. If you are fortunate enough to pass on and leave the legacy of unprinted negatives then your descendants could become rich from your uncompleted works. You are going to build the film storage room in your house. In the emergency this could become your bomb shelter also. You do want your images to be preserved for the long term future, yours could be the post apocalypse showing of the only surviving images of the past.
As for me the quality of my images is only good enough to wait 12 to 24 hours between processing film to placing in the enlarger for printing.

andrew.roos · Apr 27, 2015

jacaquarie said:
I have found that photographs can improve with age. I suggest the film storage room not much different than the wine cellar for hanging your film. Controlled temperature and humidity storage. Do not cut your film and put in sleeves instead the dedicated hangers for each roll of film which is still one strip. I am guessing you use 35mm. I suggest you wait a few years before printing anything. Decades perhaps. The longer you wait the better your photographs become. If you are fortunate enough to pass on and leave the legacy of unprinted negatives then your descendants could become rich from your uncompleted works. You are going to build the film storage room in your house. In the emergency this could become your bomb shelter also. You do want your images to be preserved for the long term future, yours could be the post apocalypse showing of the only surviving images of the past.

Hahaha!

4-12 hours depending on conditions. I leave mine overnight. They must be bone dry before you try to put them in sleeves, otherwise the negs will bind on the plastic sleeve, and you risk kinking them.

roy · Apr 27, 2015

Pioneer said:
I usually wait for a day but sometimes I do develop in the morning and then scan in the evening. As an example, today I developed 3 rolls of TriX 120 roll film about 9 this morning. I just finished scanning them this evening.

EDIT - It is probably worth mentioning that the humidity today was 31% and indoor temp around 68F. If your humidity is higher then you may find it necessary to wait longer.

As a matter of interest, what scanner do you use for your film ?

RobC · Apr 27, 2015

depends how warm it is, how humid it is and how much airflow is passing over negatives.

Just a word of caution, you may think they are dry but they may still contain moisture. Putting them into clear negative sheet holders when they are in that condition can lead to them sticking to holder which is likely to ruin your negatives. For that reason I always use paper/glassine negative holders.

Greg Heath · Apr 27, 2015

I only wait overnight because I'm so busy. It's really dry in our basement so if they hang for about 90 minutes they are bone dry. I keep the Darkroom warm at about 77 degrees. I can cut them into holders after about 2 hours. Large Format I usually wait a day. Medium Format 2 hours, 35mm a couple of hours.

Saganich · Apr 27, 2015

My usual procedure is to hang film and squirt distilled water down the length of the film on both sides using a squeeze bottle. The fastest dry time is about 2 hours. If I need faster dry time I run a small fan on low to circulate air around the film. This will decrease dry time to 30 minutes or less. Room temp is about 70F and humidity about 30%.

How long does film need to hang to dry?

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