Managing Dust in 4x5 Film Holders

I am looking for advice :confused:

I have been developing 4x5 for about 6 months and have tried to have good house keeping when I load my film holders.

I carfuly brush each film holder and darkslide before loading it in a Harison Changing Tent.

However, I still manage to get dust (clear film base) on my negs when I view my negs with a lupe.

I also have tiny clear holes on my negs - about the size of film grain - which I also assume to be miroscopic dust.

I am using Toyo Darkslides & HP5 film

Thanks

Martin

Martin, After loading you film, how do you store your film holders? I place mine into small ziploc bags. I then store each bagged holder in a larger ziploc. From a static perspective I leave a used dryer sheet in the bigger bag and that eliminates the static. Brushing your holders can actually charge your holders up and attract more contaminants, hence using the dryer sheet. It may sound strange, but I found out about the dryer sheet through another hobby.... I shoot a lot of high power rifle ammo and reload that. My electronic scale used for measuring powder can get a positive static charge and the dryer sheet discharges the build up. Not good if it arcs out!

Even with this much retentiveness, I can still occasionally get some small pinholes, or dust that get's introduced when removing the darkslide. The most reliable was to stop this from being a problem is by using readyloads. I have not gone down that path yet as I can get by using regular sheets.

Hi Martin,

I sympathise with you, one of the reasons I switched to Kodak Readyloads. I know this won't solve your problem because you are using HP5, sadly Ilford don't produce a similar system as Kodak and Fuji.

When I was using holders I tried almost everything, short of working in a vacuum, and no matter what I did I still got the occasional 'pin hole', small black speck(s) in the print. If they were small enough I was able to knife them out on the print.

Good luck,
Trevor.

Newbie question here. How do "readyloads" work?

I dampen a cloth with distilled water, make sure it is well wrung out, then wipe down the inside of my changing tent (and the sleeves) before each use.

I use a hand held vacume cleaner to dust the holder, I too keep my holders in a plastic bag, I had not thought of using the antistatic dryer sheets, may give that a try as well. Even then shooting in the desert I get dust on the film when I remove the dark slide in the camera.

bobwysiwyg said:

Newbie question here. How do "readyloads" work?

Click to expand...

Each individual sheet of film is factory sealed in a thin cardboard packet. These are then inserted in a film holder such as the Polaroid 545 or preferably Kodak's own Readyload film holder. The sheaf/packet is 'pulled' similar to a dark slide to expose the individual sheet of film. To prevent the packet from being completely removed there is a cardboard stop to prevent this. After making the exposure the packet is pushed back in the holder. Push the button to release the packet and stick on the 'exposed' label which are thoughtfully supplied, one for each packet/sheet of film.

BTW each packet has the film area marked on it for correct orientation of the emulsion, facing the lens of course.

Readyloads are from Kodak and Quickloads are the Fuji equivalent. Each sheet of film is in a light tight cardboard cartridge arrangement that is quite thin. You need a special film holder that you slide under the groundglass just as you would a regular film holder. Then you slide in the Readiload, pull out the cardboard protector part way, expose the film, slide in the cardboard protector, label the readiload "Exposed" with any other notes. Each sheet is separate and easy to keep track of with exposure information. The down side is that is costs about $3 per sheet. Works great for weight savings with backpacking but eats money.

I load film holders in a very clean room with a clean, dust free counter. I have a central vacuum system and vinyl floor in my darkroom which greatly reduces dust. I use a small air compressor to blow the dust out of each film holder before I load it. I blow dust off the darkslides and under the light trap also. I know that blown dust might blow back but the amount is small and I aim the air compressor away from the work area. I don't use plast bags but I do store the loaded film holders in clean, dedicated film bags, or sometimes in a Pelican case that is dust proof. I rarely have problems with dust. Don't forget that dust can get on the film when you are moving it from the film holder to whatever you use to process the film. I use BTZS tubes so the film goes straight from the holder into the tube which is then sealed tight.

Thank you for the explanation, it was very clear.

I use a small air compressor to blow out the holders and especially the felt traps. I also blow the dust out of the bellows from time to time. This helps a great deal but there's really no way to avoid some dust. When I have small dust specks I use Crocine dye on a tiny brush to put a dot on the speck. This way I don't have to remove a black spot but have a white spot. It easier to add spotting dye to the print to match the tone around the white spot.

I've also found some brands of film have trash on the film. Efke sheet film is the biggest problem for me.

Tim has got the solution, or at least a good one. To fight static charge, it helps to up the humidity in your work area. I do all my holder emtying, cleaning and refilling in a small bathroom that I leave wet towels hanging around beforehand. It's the only room in the house that can be made light-tight with a bedcover clamped between door and frame, too. I think your film changing tent is part of the reason you have dust problems.