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It mostly becomes apparent to me when I scan my film - lots of dust spots to clone out. I'm seeing far less of it after wiping with the Pec Pads.
I do not see lint when I wipe the wet film down with the Kimwipes. But I do use Pec Pads when I use a cleaning solution on dry film.
I use photo flo, just a few drops, in the tank with wash water, then hang. After that, I pour the water from the tank on to the top of the hanging film so that it runs down in a sheet. Hardly ever do I have problems, and alcohol or similar solvent will remove any residue.When I was in college 55 years ago, I took a few photography classes for fun. My professor harped on NOT putting Photoflow solution in the roll film developing tank with reels of film. He claimed that it damaged the reels and cans because it leaves a residue that is hard to remove. This is also a problem with the film itself, that this solution will remain in the emulsion and cause future problems. He taught that this should only be a surface treatment. So he taught removing the film from the developing reels and swishing it through the photoflow soution a single time with the photoflow in a bowl in the see-sawing motion that once was using from developing film at home. I've continued this treatment method, which makes me favor bulk loading 35mm rolls 30 exposures long since my arms aren't long enough to handle 36 exposure length rolls.
In recent years, I see on Youtube nobody is doing it this way and nobody talks about this. They just dump some photoflow in their developing tanks with water and film in them, and swish it around for a while. I think my professor was right. The water on the surface is what causes streaking on negatives, not the water that has soaked in to the emulsion being released later through drying. The emulsion dries from the outside surface so it would be unlikely to contribute to spots and streaking. Photoflow solution can't be very good for the long term storage of negatives. I've never had any spots or streaks on my negatives when done our way, so it works for me. I may be OCD, but this bothers me enough to talk about.
Comments and discussions are very welcome on this topic.
That works for you? A final distilled water rinse does not prevent water spots for me. I need to use some surfactant.
It's difficult to know if everybody in this discussion is talking about the same product because 'Photoflo' has become a generic word and is quicker to type than 'wetting agent'. But not all wetting agents are the same and some are better than others, or should that be some work better in different types of water? For example I used Fotospeed wetting agent for many years with no problems at all in a soft water area, but I moved to a hard water area and got drying stains. I changed to Ilford Ilfotol and have not had a streak or drying mark since. In fact I went to college in the same soft water area and we never used a wetting agent, nor were we taught we needed one, and nobody got drying streaks or stains.
But thinking about how many hours I've been out getting the photographs my conclusion comes down to 'is it worth skipping a simple step that works (whether or not it's needed)'? A lot of photography today seems to be about how many things can be ignored or avoided rather than how many things you can add to make it super-reliable. But then I'm also the sort of person who tapes his Holga up to stop any light leaks.
For over 50 years every roll of 35mm, 120, every sheet of 2x3, 4x5, 5x7 film that I have developed has been treated with PhotoFlo. I have had ZERO problems with my Paterson or Jobo reels. I do rinse the tanks and reels in hot water as the final step. If you are having problems with sticky reels then I suggest you soak them overnight in clean water and then dry completely.
And also, you don't need to see-saw. Just slowly lower the film into a bowl or container, letting it curl naturally into the solution.
You can agitate by gently picking up one end of the film and lowering it back down a few times.
The concentration is quite important - @BrianShaw is correct about avoiding too much.
This is what I use to make it easier to be sufficiently precise: https://www.photrio.com/forum/resources/making-and-using-a-kodak-photo-flo-stock-solution.396/
I find a 1 litre measuring graduate to be perfect for the container.
I just finished a litre size bottle of Calumet photo flo (after 20 yrs!) I have a single plastic Kinderman developing tank i use just for the purpose.....dipping the stainless reels. I just rinse the reels after hanging the film. We'll see if there's any change when i start using my vintage bottle of Kodak photoflo.
Matt, I don't see-saw the film in wetting agent. I was trying to describe very old school manual way of developing roll film without using reels. I place a bowl about ten inches in diameter with a very rounded bottom on top of a sigle step, about ten inches above the ground. I'm holding the film with one hand on each end and the drooping in a big U. I take the leader end of film and place it in the wetting agent with my other hand as high as I can reach and then slowly raise that end while lowering the tail end at the same speed, maintaining a loop submerged in the wetting agent. After the film passes through once, I hang the film in that orientation with the leader up. The film only passes once and a given section is submerged for one a second or two. This smooth motion avoids creating any bubbles and makes the solution run down the surface of the film instead of soaking in. Oh, and the emulsion side is toward the inside of that loop to avoid scratches.And also, you don't need to see-saw. Just slowly lower the film into a bowl or container, letting it curl naturally into the solution.
Re: the final rinse in demineralized water. It makes sense, although I use my regular filtered darkroom supply. Would water gathered in a dehumidifier tank be useful? I have lots of that!
I still use the one shown here - but I decant new stuff into it.
Portal of a different Sort
- MattKing
- 7
I thought Id try something different for this assignment.
In my mind, a Portal is an...
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