[re. IR film] Maybe a simple question, but anyhow...

Magnus W · May 5, 2006

I have actually never in 30 years of picture-snapping faced this question:
Are the Paterson tanks IR-safe?

less than IR savvy -- MW

winger · May 5, 2006

I used a plastic Yankee tank to do mine. It's not like I was in full sun while I did it, but it seemed safe. I don't think there was any fogging.
I just wasn't going to try and use a stainless reel twice. Being lighter in weight, I just couldn't get it on without sections of film touching other sections - and got blotchy development.

wildbill · May 5, 2006

Yep. I've never had a problem.

Dave Miller · May 6, 2006

I use them without any problems.

Magnus W · May 6, 2006

Thank you.

-- MW

dolande · May 6, 2006

My problem with the Paterson was that I couldnt load the film and ended up using a metal reel. Too stiff maybe? Any one had the same problem?

htmlguru4242 · May 6, 2006

Short Answer, yes. I've done this with a Patterson tank and my AP / Omega tank, and it worked fine, no fog issues. I've used Konica and Kodak B&W IR stuff.

Just don't do this in super-strong light, and you'll be fine. If you're not comfortable with normal light, use a green safelight, as the film has reduced sensitivity here and there'll be less of an issue if any light-leaks are present.

glbeas · May 6, 2006

htmlguru4242 said:
Just don't do this in super-strong light, and you'll be fine. If you're not comfortable with normal light, use a green safelight, as the film has reduced sensitivity here and there'll be less of an issue if any light-leaks are present.

I wouldn't trust a green safelight to stop IR as most color dyes are transparent to IR. Maybe a green led with a sharply defined cutoff in its spectrum.

Besides that most all name brand plastic tanks block IR quite well. I'd be suspect of a brand never heard of or of a flimsy construction.

htmlguru4242 · May 6, 2006

I wouldn't trust a green safelight to stop IR as most color dyes are transparent to IR. Maybe a green led with a sharply defined cutoff in its spectrum.

Oh, I'm certainly not saying use this without a tank; I'm just saying that if you're unsure and you need a light on, it should probably be green, which is the safest (relatively speaking).

And actually, the Kodak 7B (dark green) doesn't have too much transmittance ...

glbeas · May 6, 2006

htmlguru4242 said:
Oh, I'm certainly not saying use this without a tank; I'm just saying that if you're unsure and you need a light on, it should probably be green, which is the safest (relatively speaking).

And actually, the Kodak 7B (dark green) doesn't have too much transmittance ...

Thats pretty stout. Is it for a glass filter or a plastic one? I'd make a bet that those inexpensive plastic ones, especially the off brands, would leak a significant amount of IR.

fschifano · May 7, 2006

You shouldn't have any problems with IR light leaking through a black plastic tank unless it's a really flimsy thing. And you know, if it's that flimsy, you probably shouldn't be using it anyway. Same goes for stainless steel tank with a black plastic lid.

That chart is for the Kodak glass safelight filter. I have a 5 1/2 inch round one that fits a bullet style safelight. With a 15w bulb in the safelight, you can't see a thing other than the safelight itself. Maybe if you give yourself 10 minutes of so to become dark adapted it might be of some use. Otherwise forget it.

David Lingham · May 8, 2006

They work fine for me. I don't go to white light whilst proccessing but keep a safelight on only and aim it at the ceiling. The worst bit is extracting the leader and getting it onto the spiral. It's well worth the effort.

Dave L

[re. IR film] Maybe a simple question, but anyhow...

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