Relative susceptibility to dust/fingerprints of different films?

[polyglot]

Hi guys,

I do B&W work at home, for which dust isn't really a problem. A bit gets on the negs, I brush it off (sometimes requires a bit of a good wiping with isopropanol) and then it's all good.

I got some slides back from the local pro lab recently though and they were filthy. I'm gonna tell them they need to clean their processor out, but is it possible that different films have a different affinity for dust? This stuff seemed to be embedded right in the emulsion and would not brush off.

I've also noticed that fingerprints soak into E-6 in a nasty way, leaving colour-shifted patterns whereas with B&W negs I can just wipe the oils off the surface with some isopropanol. (I got cotton gloves for handling slides but somehow it still happens if I'm holding tightly onto a corner for a while, e.g. trying in vain to remove a pound of dust from a frame). Are C-41 films typically susceptible to this sort of damage or not?

 

[AgX]

There are different techniques employed by manufacturers to install antistatic properties.,

The issue with filthy films you have however seems to origin when the film was still wet. That would not be a a film but a processing issue. Either particle contaminated baths or dust while drying.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Sounds like you are using a lab with a roller-type processor that isn't keeping the rollers clean.

See if you can find a lab with a large tank E-6 dip-and-dunk line, like a Refrema. These are big processing machines that minimize film handling and don't have any rollers to get dirty or even reels to load. The film hangs straight down on a rack and is transferred from one bath to the next mechanically.

 

[hrst]

I find more dust and fingerprints in my BW films than in my E6 films. I do everything by myself. Slides may be more forgiving to dust as they are higher in contrast compared to negs, where you boost the contrast in printing, boosting also dust. If you get filthy slides, the processing is very bad. Ask for your money back.

 

[Sirius Glass]

The affinity for dust and finger prints on film is directly as the square of the importance of the negative.

Steve

 

[AgX]

That's the best formula I came across so far in our field.

 

[polyglot]

thanks guys. They're the only pro lab in the city that I know of. There's a better one in Adelaide (where I'm originally from) but that's 3000km away...

 

[nickandre]

you should ask if you can help with the processing. give them a little assistance

 

[DanielStone]

or look into starting processing your own. get a jobo motor base and a few tanks, fuji hunt or kodak chem's and a nice 5 or 1 micron filter for your tap, and you're set!


I've been doing my color and b/w at school, but as soon as I get out, I'll be doing as much of it as I can myself. Soon to start E6 as well. I have a line on a lab that does it for $5/roll (USD), but they're here in the US in santa barbara.

isn't there someone on here (not sure, but is steven frizza the right one?) who owns/runs a lab in sydney? might want to see if he can take mail-orders. he might make an exception for a fellow apuger.

-Dan

check on it. he's on here

 

[polyglot]

Spoke to the lab today (was there to drop off my Ektar/120 test roll) and they said they appreciated hearing about the dirty slides & apologised. They do have roller-transport processors.

I have no room to put a Jobo right now - I don't even keep my enlarger at home for space reasons and do my printing at a club darkroom. If I were to hypothetically purchase a house though, what would be a reasonable price for a Jobo setup? With temperature control, of course.

 

[DanielStone]

ebay and craigslist are your best sources for parts and accessories for the jobo.

watch, but don't rush it. you can get things at ungodly hours for much less than sane people bid at .

well, at least I do. but no one calls me sane


-Dan

 

[polyglot]

I'm in AU though, so we don't really have craigslist and I've never seen a Jobo for sale here except at an outrageous price from the local camera store. Prices on E-6 and C-41 chemicals are also pretty insane - they're about the same as having a lab do the work, unless I can figure out a way of importing a large kit that will not go off. I don't do that much colour film.