Rich Ullsmith
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- Jan 26, 2007
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- 1,159
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I came across a lot of ortho and graphic arts film, most of it 10+ years old, some opened and some not. Who knows how it was stored. I plan on doing some testing, but to help eliminate an unknown up front: Is the spectral sensitivity of these films similar to x-ray film? I ask because I have a red LED that was pulled from a medical x-ray processing room. On my fog checks with a fast RC paper that was preflashed, no fog with the coin test out to 15 minutes, regardless of how close the light was to the paper.
My understanding of the test would be, process one piece of film in total darkness, and another under the light. But does the ortho film need to be sensitized for a true test, like paper? Any suggestions or wisdom here would be appreciated.
As an aside: I have been following the LED safelight discussion with interest, as this is how I plan on lighting my new darkroom. On a recommendation here, I went to superbrightleds.com and picked up three 635nm bulbs and one amber. The level of illumination is fantastic, as is the fog on the paper at 15 minutes. After several tests, it was down to one red bulb bounced off the ceiling, and my x-ray bulb direct to avoid fogging. I can only assume that apugers that are using LEDs are conducting their tests differently, or using slower papers. There are 660nm bulbs out there, but they are expensive so I'm building my own.
My understanding of the test would be, process one piece of film in total darkness, and another under the light. But does the ortho film need to be sensitized for a true test, like paper? Any suggestions or wisdom here would be appreciated.
As an aside: I have been following the LED safelight discussion with interest, as this is how I plan on lighting my new darkroom. On a recommendation here, I went to superbrightleds.com and picked up three 635nm bulbs and one amber. The level of illumination is fantastic, as is the fog on the paper at 15 minutes. After several tests, it was down to one red bulb bounced off the ceiling, and my x-ray bulb direct to avoid fogging. I can only assume that apugers that are using LEDs are conducting their tests differently, or using slower papers. There are 660nm bulbs out there, but they are expensive so I'm building my own.
