I Hate Canned Air - Negative Problem

John Simmons · Feb 17, 2007

I use canned air in the darkroom and I can't stand it. I use a quick burst of air to clear dust from my negative and negative carrier prior to enlarging. If the angle that you are holding the can is off then it will shoot out this supercold white crap that evaporates quickly at room temp. Problem is that it leaves a film on your negative which then shows up during enlarging. Recently a prized negative got stained up pretty bad with this stuff and all attempts to remove this film from my negative failed. Worse still, a large can of AIR costs about $10. What a waste.

Does anybody have any suggestions to get this film off the negative?? Does anybody use an electric air compressor in the darkroom. If so any make or model suggesstions would be helpful. Thanks.

Regards,
John

Bill Mobbs · Feb 17, 2007

I have had liquid come out a few times when starting up a new can, but have not had any stains. I use Beseler Dustgun 100. Maybe rewashing the negative with Kodak Photo-flo solution will help.

Ray Heath · Feb 17, 2007

g'day John
i've had the same problem in the past so i stopped using the air and bought a blower brush

MurrayMinchin · Feb 17, 2007

Hi John,

This works like a charm;

http://www.kinetronics.com/cgi-loca...at.html?L+scstore+ldmj6777ff4cc34c+1178000860

Murray

Whiteymorange · Feb 17, 2007

We buy nitrogen in a tank from a local gas supplier. Works great and doesn't have the canned air drawbacks. Something like a "B" tank should last a good long time.

dlin · Feb 17, 2007

Hey John, sorry to hear about the negative. Does a resoak in distilled water do anything for the stain?

I've been wary about using canned air for this reason. In addition, the less I stir the air/dust around my darkroom, which unfortunately happens to be in the old coal bin of my house, the less likely I am to have more dust settle on the negative and glass cover. A soft antistatic brush (Kinetronic) usually does the trick for me.

Good luck,

Daniel

raucousimages · Feb 17, 2007

Hold the can very still, don't shake it side to side. Cosco has 12oz Dust Off in 4 packs for about $10.00

Harrigan · Feb 17, 2007

Have you tried the popular film cleaner, but i forget the name. someone will chime in and the stains should come off as I remember from my lab days.

if you put in a compressor it is critical to get the air filtered to remove any oils in it. If you print alot a compressor is great otherwise its a waste of power and noisy imo. I use an ear wax remover bulb to blast the dust away found at your local drugstore and a grounded staticbrush. i also have an air inlet port in my dkrm that is filtered to trap dust. If you have exhaust fan with no way to let air in this will add to your dust problems, so I try to control and filter the air that comes in. I use a simple furnace filter and since my woodshop is in the same basement as my dkrm i try and fight dust any way I can.

MikeM1977 · Feb 17, 2007

Get a "Rocket Blower" from www.micro-tools.com

Dead Link Removed

Only $10. Not as much air pressure as compressed air, but it is pretty darn good. I avoid anything that actually touches the negative.

MurrayMinchin · Feb 17, 2007

Harrigan said:
Have you tried the popular film cleaner, but i forget the name. someone will chime in and the stains should come off as I remember from my lab days.

Pec-12;

http://www.photosol.com/pec12.htm

Murray

eclarke · Feb 17, 2007

MurrayMinchin said:
Hi John,

This works like a charm;

http://www.kinetronics.com/cgi-loca...at.html?L+scstore+ldmj6777ff4cc34c+1178000860

Murray

Kinetronics made an anti static blowgun called the Static Blaster. I bought two of them in very gently used condition on eBay for about $45 total. You need a little air compressor, mine is a pancake type by Campbell Hausfield. I have one by the enlargers and one on my worktable and they are just great..EC

FrankB · Feb 17, 2007

I can't help with the film, I'm afraid.

I would also vote for the Rocket Blower / Hurricane Blower, plus I filter all my processing and washing water which also seems to help.

Best of luck,

Frank

resummerfield · Feb 17, 2007

eclarke said:
Kinetronics made an anti static blowgun called the Static Blaster. I bought two of them in very gently used condition on eBay for about $45 total. You need a little air compressor, mine is a pancake type by Campbell Hausfield. I have one by the enlargers and one on my worktable and they are just great..EC

I have something similar, made by Simco. It works great. Here is the Kintronics model.

User Removed · Feb 17, 2007

Surprisingly, most of the dust that lands on your negatives while printing is coming from your hair. It's a good idea to wear a hat or visor in the darkroom while printing. If you see any pictures of Edward or Brett Weston in the darkroom, they were usually wearing one.

Having a air compressor in the darkroom would be a great advantage, but loud. Canned air works well, but you have to be very careful with it. I always do a test spray away from my negative EVERY TIME I go to dust something off. Also, never depress the trigger completely, because this causes to much pressure inside and can cause the liquid nitrogen inside to bubble and some come out the nozzle.

When you dust off your negatives, always hold the negative somewhere away from the counter top, so you are not also blowing any dust that could be on your enlarging space into the air, soon to just land back on the negative.

Cosco sells Dust off cans (4 pack) for around $10. This is by far the best deal I've found on canned air.

Regards,

Ryan McIntosh
www.RyanMcIntosh.net

wildbill · Feb 17, 2007

John, what kind of air are you using? I hear about people having this issue on occasion and it's always air from the office supply place or the drug store. Dust-off plus is the only type i know of that won't shoot out liquid unless you turn it over. Movie camera crews here use nothing else and i've never had the problem you speak of. It's not cheap. The 360 deg rotating removeable nozzle is about $25 and each can of air runs about $9. Here's a link to filmtools.
http://cinemasupplies.stores.yahoo.net/cannedair.html
vinny

User Removed · Feb 17, 2007

wildbill said:
John, what kind of air are you using? I hear about people having this issue on occasion and it's always air from the office supply place or the drug store. Dust-off plus is the only type i know of that won't shoot out liquid unless you turn it over. Movie camera crews here use nothing else and i've never had the problem you speak of. It's not cheap. The 360 deg rotating removeable nozzle is about $25 and each can of air runs about $9. Here's a link to filmtools.
http://cinemasupplies.stores.yahoo.net/cannedair.html
vinny

Vinny,

That is the exact same product they are selling for $9 per can, that Cosco sells for $10 for FOUR cans. Same exact size and everything.

If someone does not live anywhere near a Cosco, I suggest finding a friend that does and having them ship you some...as that would still be cheaper.

wildbill · Feb 17, 2007

Ryan McIntosh said:
Vinny,

That is the exact same product they are selling for $9 per can, that Cosco sells for $10 for FOUR cans. Same exact size and everything.

If someone does not live anywhere near a Cosco, I suggest finding a friend that does and having them ship you some...as that would still be cheaper.

Do they sell the 360 deg nozzle for them as well? They crack over time from the cold and i need a new one.

vinny

Mick Fagan · Feb 17, 2007

I've been using compressed air supplied by a small compressor in my darkroom for about 16 years now.

Probably the best thing I had done in years.

As the set-up I bought at an auction (one where you attend and hold up your hand to bid) was from an air-brush artist's workshop that had gone under, it was perfect for a darkroom set-up.

There is an in-line oil filter which eliminates any foreign atomised particles, being deposited on your film.

I cannot tell you how much cheaper in the long run this would be, but I remember doing my sums and realised that this set-up, which cost me $140 at the time, would pay for itself in about 8 cans of bought air and one swivelling nozzle.

Mick.

tbm · Feb 17, 2007

I, too, experienced a problem re keeping dust off my negs between selecting one and inserting it into the neg carrier of my Saunders/Omega DXL dichroic enlarger. One spray can offering I tried left a horrid white substance on my negs. I then tried Dust-Off and, lo and behold, it worked brilliantly without impacting my negs with any substance. Now, I gently spray each neg once they are in the carrier with Dust-Off, just before I insert them into the enlarger base for printing, and everything is dandy.

I tried to find Dust-Off locally here in Los Angeles but my attempts were unsuccessful. A search via Google revealed a site that sold it. I ordered 6 cans from them, which arrived two days later, and I am now happy with dust-free negs!

Terry

Curt · Feb 17, 2007

I bought a Kodak Static brush setup with a heavy transformer, switch, extension with a brush on the metal tip of the unit. I got it new on the bay while looking for a kinetronics unit. It works great, my staticmaster brushes are shot so this was the best solution I have found.

Dan Henderson · Feb 18, 2007

John: I bought a small, inexpensive air compressor from Menard's, and installed it outside of my darkroom to avoid the noise problem. It comes with an intake air filter, and I have the oil filled filter in line with the supply line. I ran an air line to to a connection in the darkroom wall, through a modified cable tv wall plate to make the connection light tight and look good. Then inside the darkroom I have short length of coiled hose with a blower on the end. I regulate the air down to 20 or 25 psi so I don't blow the emulsion off of the film. I also use an anti static brush, but sometimes give it a shot of air too, especially when some dust has fallen onto the negative in the enlarger.
Dan

Papa Tango · Feb 18, 2007

I am using a fairly identical setup. A small Campbell-Hausfield compressor (under $50) is outside of the darkroom (in the basement). I have run a PVC line through at ceiling level, terminated it in a snap connector. The yellow coiled cord has a blowoff nozzle, that conveniently has a hook on it that can keep it up out of the way. A trick is to lightly dust off the negative with a Static Master brush prior to blowing it off. This dislodges the stubborn particles...

PS--I set mine to about 10-15 psi to keep the air stream from blowing the neg out of my hands. Problem with 4x5 negs..

eclarke · Feb 18, 2007

resummerfield said:
I have something similar, made by Simco. It works great. Here is the Kintronics model.

Mine are older and a little slicker in design, more ergonomic. Apparently the man got them from a professional lab of some kind, he had lots of them on eBay for a long time....EC

robat · Feb 18, 2007

I use a duster which uses CO2-Cartridges from a company called "Genuine Innovations". It uses cheap 12g cartridges and doesnt leave any residue on the film. The cartridges are very cheap on ebay as they are used for paintball guns too.

Woolliscroft · Feb 20, 2007

I mostly use a blower brush where you just squeeze to get air, but I have never had trouble with canned air. You just have to hold the thing close to vertical.

David.

I Hate Canned Air - Negative Problem

John Simmons

Bill Mobbs

Ray Heath

MurrayMinchin

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Whiteymorange

dlin

raucousimages

Harrigan

MikeM1977

MurrayMinchin

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eclarke

FrankB

resummerfield

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wildbill

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wildbill

Mick Fagan

tbm

Curt

Dan Henderson

Papa Tango

eclarke

robat

Woolliscroft

I Hate Canned Air - Negative Problem

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