Rolled 35mm negatives and how to make them flat again?

[Hovig]

Hello everyone,

I have a bunch of 35mm b&w negatives, kept in rolled condition (curled, as if in their original cans) for many years. I want to scan them, but seems impossible with their current state, as the tips curl every time I try to set them flat in the negative holders. Any advice on how to remove the tension from them, so that they can be set and stored flat?

Thank you,

Hovig

 

[tjaded]

Re-wash and dry, weight them when drying.

 

[Hovig]

As simple as that? Thanks, I will try.

 

[Bill Burk]

Woah, tjaded, isn't that "kind of" risky?

I took the other tactic with my rolled negatives... I cut them and put them in negative sleeve pages... Took some boards (mat board if you want to keep it archival)... And I'm letting time flatten them out.

They're still a little curly, but not as bad as when I first unrolled them a couple years ago.

 

[Hovig]

Bill, I tried your approach putting one example in a book pressed between other books for months, they were still quit curly afterwards. May be it depends also on the base material.

 

[pentaxuser]

If pressing between books hasn't removed the curl fully then I don't see what harm a re-wash and dry could do. Just be prepared to hang heavy metal clips to the bottom of the film and to leave it that way for several days.

pentaxuser

 

[ruby.monkey]

Lay a sheet of anti-newton-rings-treated glass on top of each strip (if you're using a flatbed scanner).

 

[damonff]

I put them in negative/positive sleeves and then roll them against the curl and place them in paper towel rolls. Let them sit there for a few days and they should be ready to scan.

 

[NedL]

...Woah, tjaded, isn't that "kind of" risky?...

Bill, can you elaborate the concern? My dad has some negatives we made in Tanzania in 1987. He's been scanning them and making inkjet prints, and complained that they had gotten dusty. I was thinking about the idea of rewashing them and making some enlarged prints. They are not replaceable, so if there is some danger I definitely would like to know!

 

[summicron1]

i can't think how re-washing and drying will harm the negatives as long as you do it carefully, in 68-degree water (or close enough), rinse in photo-flo and allow to dry.

Museums that deal with negatives and even highly valuable artwork use water most often as a general-purpose cleaner. So can you.

 

[Bill Burk]

Only risky in that if they are clean you might make them dirtier/scratched by the additional processing/handling.

In my case the negatives were rolled in cellophane-type original development sleeves and thus pristine. Any additional handling for my negatives would have risked them. A little curl wasn't going to be problematic.

In the case of dirty negatives which need a cleaning... there's risks but the benefits probably outweigh them.

 

[Bill Burk]

i can't think how re-washing and drying will harm the negatives as long as you do it carefully, in 68-degree water (or close enough), rinse in photo-flo and allow to dry.

Museums that deal with negatives and even highly valuable artwork use water most often as a general-purpose cleaner. So can you.

Every time I've had a negative that I felt needed cleaning... when I was done, it was worse than before. Perhaps I wasn't careful, used the wrong fluid or otherwise botched the process... but now I try to keep my negatives dry once they have been processed.

 

[NedL]

Thanks Bill, I understand. Definitely agree with minimal handling, that's probably the one thing I'm really rigid about in my darkroom, the negatives are only out while in the carrier, only when they need to be, and put away 1st thing before everything.

 

[cmacd123]

Older film was softer than the stuff made today, and apparently if film is attacked by Fungus it can be made softer still.

Trying to just hang the film for a while may help, also the store between boards for a couple of weeks, might be sufficient.

The careful re-wash may work, rewashing is also supposed to help with minor emulsion side scratches. If you look at the Eastman Colour Processing manuals there is even a special "rewash" solution designed to soften the emulsion to float away dirt.