Print Tongs - recommendations?

TheFlyingCamera

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I'm having a devil of a time with getting chemical transference on my silver gelatin prints in the upper corner where I grab them to move them from tray to tray. If I use the old el-cheapo bamboo tongs with the rubber tips, or if I wear nitrile gloves and even wash the gloves between print batches, sooner or later I get an ugly purple blotch in the corner of the paper. Does anyone have suggestions for how to deal with this, and do they have any preferences for types of paper tongs?
 

cliveh

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In my entire experience of working in photographic darkrooms and at various institutes of learning, I can safely say I have never encountered any print tongs that do not fall apart or work well. In my own darkroom I use barbaque tongs. Unfortunately, I think photographic tong manufacturers have never used their own products with prints.
 

David Brown

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They are not made anymore (as are so many things) and so if you find a set they will be a little pricy, but the Kostiner stainless steel tongs are the best.
 

Jim17x

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I also have never experienced this with tongs but i have experienced the purple blotches due to chemicals on my thumb while removing paper from the box..
 

Gerald C Koch

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Some people find that they can use tongs with small prints, <= 8x10. However for larger sizes there is a risk of damage to the print.. This is the one area where I overlook my rule on not contacting developer solution. Just use your fingers and them immediately rinse them off. Yes there are gloves but they have their own downside.
 

tkamiya

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Are you careful in using one tong for developer, one tong for stop bath, and one tong for fixer, AND only use them forward, not backward?

I use those cheap bamboo kind with rubber tips also, and with RC and fiber. I have them labeled D, S, and F and I use each exclusively for the step. I only use D to carry paper from Dev to Stop and it never actually touches Stop. All other tongs are used the same way. I have never experienced the purple blotch issue you are describing.

I'm thinking you have an issue different from just tongs.
 

Patrick Robert James

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It sounds to me like your stop bath isn't strong enough or you are not leaving the print in it long enough. I have gotten purple stains because of that before.

The plastic ones referenced above are about the best out there that are normally available but buy a few since they will eventually crack. Kostiner's are good but you will never find a set and if you do you will have to trade your car for them.... I have seen some other stainless steel tongs over the years as well. I don't use those bamboo contraptions. They are more annoying than anything. Some people take the rubber ends off of them. I don't see the point.

If you want to use a glove, find one that is heavy duty and stiff, like industrial heavy duty, and covered in rubber or pvc. I think they are used for concrete. If you get one large enough you can get your hand in and out without touching it with your other hand. I would recommend that route. It would last forever too. I knew a famous printer that used that method regardless of how big a print he was making. Works great for toning too.
 

jimjm

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Agree with tkayima. I follow the same process with the bamboo tongs and have never had a problem. Also, I don't let the tongs sit in the tray when I'm not moving or picking up the print. I let them sit outside the tray so they don't get too saturated with chemical. After every print session I also rinse all tongs thoroughly in hot water and let them air dry.

Eventually the rubber tips will start to crack with age, I just replace the tongs or the tips if I have spares.

I also rinse my hands/fingertips frequently after touching the edge of a tray or anything else that may have chemicals on it. I don't touch the next sheet of paper or a negative until they are completely dry. I've never used gloves, but I've been fortunate to never have had an adverse skin reaction.
 

Sirius Glass

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I have never found a good set of print tongs. I might spring for two sets of the B&H ones if they are any good.
 

bdial

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My favorite has always been stainless tongs with no tips. My preference has been to avoid bamboo because it can retain the chemistry.
Going forward only is good, but it means a little extra time to get the print into the stop or fix without immersing the tongs, then switch. In the production darkroom I worked in the routine would be to use the tongs all the way through with a quick swish in the water holding tray before going back to the developer. Stains as you describe haven't been a problem.
 

Bill Burk

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I have a pair of wooden tongs that I made over 30 years ago from scraps of birch wood - but I hardly ever use them.

They have a wonderful patina - dark brown for the developer and whitish gray for the fixer.

But I just use gloves these days.
 

mooseontheloose

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My favourite print tongs are the stainless steel type like these ones: click. I have never liked print tongs of any kind where they are connected at the ends - it makes it more difficult to pick up the paper in my opinion.

I have never had any problems of chemical transference using tongs, but I have using gloves, which I use when lith printing. To stop that, each glove gets used once -- after the print is in the holding bath I toss the glove and put on a new fresh one. Gloves are extremely cheap, and putting on a new one for each round of developing stopped all problems I was having with spoiled prints.
 

Bob Carnie

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Never used them ... ok lied.. used them in my college darkroom... hate them..

I use fresh gloves for every single pass in the trays.. tests I use one glove finals I use two gloves.


A little darkroom tip -- when I have made my first good print.. I evaluate and then make two finals that are usually slightly different in style.. I process them together back to back holding with gloves on and flip in the chemistry.
Never touching the face of the emulsion or the back of the print... This eliminates any possibility of dimples due to pushing the print in the chems...
I follow with two more finals based on which print I like the best of the three I have just finished. Once again I always process finals two at a time emulsion out back to back.
 

scheimfluger_77

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I as well am guessing that it's a contamination issue. I use Nitrile gloves, rinse after each tray transfer and when going for fresh paper rinse and dry thoroughly. Old cloth diapers work very well for the drying. Usually I have no problem but once in a while I'll have the purple blotch, it's probably when going for a fresh sheet of paper. I just try to be careful everytime.
 

fotch

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I prefer the bamboo with the rubber tips. Set of 3, replace as they where out. Don't know where you can just buy tips. The plastic & Stainless Steel work OK for smaller prints.
 

Neal

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First, I like these tongs.

Second, as others have noted, it doesn't sound as though the tongs are the problem. I use one for the developer, a second for the stop and fixer, a third to move from a wash tray to a tray of hca. From there, fingers to a running water rinse and then into the print washer.

Good luck,

Neal Wydra
 

fotch

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Nice to know. Thanks.
 

Arklatexian

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David Brown said:
They are not made anymore (as are so many things) and so if you find a set they will be a little pricy, but the Kostiner stainless steel tongs are the best.
Click to expand...

Some years ago, I bought two sets of these and they are, by far, the best that I ever used. Why two sets? Once in a while I have been known to drop a tong in whatever chemical I was using and as they don't float, I use a fresh tong to take the immersed tong out to be washed later. Lazy, I guess. They came in sets of three....Regards
 

Renato Tonelli

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I still have two Yankee-branded print tongs from High School and they are still my favorite - they still work after -/+40 years later; then they changed (improved?) the design by curving the tip end to supposedly make it easier to pick up prints... which slip off as soon as the print is almost out. I have cracked a fair number of Paterson print tongs. I find most other types cumbersome, especially the bamboo-type.
Like others, I use nitrile gloves and pick up prints larger than 8x10 by hand and then rinse off.
 

MattKing

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