Stupid question about negs and squeegee...

Marco S. · Apr 5, 2007

Maris said:
An extra trick that works for me with 120 film is to pour about 500ml of diluted photo-flo down the film after the stainless steel clips are attached to its ends. The strong flow sluices away any stray grit or dust.

Immediately after the pour I hold the film up taut and at a 45 degree angle in a vertical plane. The Photo-flo solution then has to carry the grit down only a little further than the width of the film not its length. When the last of the Photo-flo has drained off the bottom edge of the film (or my arms ache too much) I hang it up until the next day.

I also do this and it works exceptionally well. I pour the remaining wetting agent down both sides of the film, give it a few shakes and hang it up to dry in a clean place.

Fotohuis · Apr 6, 2007

Any mechanical contact between a wet film and someting else is a risk which can cause scratches.
A wetting agent (photoflo) will do the job when your quality of plain water is under the regular "normal" conditions. Otherwise you have to use demi-water (e.g. when you have plain water with a high concentration of carbonates).
Too much wetting agent will also cause drying marks, to little it will not work in the right way.

A squeegee can speed up your drying time of the film of course but there are also some more tricks (e.g. salat spinner) but at the end the safest way for a wet film is no mechanical contact at all.

Try to prevent that the wetting agent is having contact with your developing tank to the fact it can cause a lot of foam which is then a next problem for the film you will develop after using your developing tank again.

Best regards and I whish you more success with your next films!

Robert

Tony Egan · Apr 6, 2007

I do the same as many others above with final soak in distilled water with a drop or two of wetting agent/photo flow being careful to avoid bubbles forming.

To remove water after hanging I made a tool from an old set of print tongs (rubber grips removed). I cut up and wrapped two layers of genuine chamois around the two bamboo arms of the tongs and stiched it up. Soak the chamois well before squeezing the film and it is soft and mushy a bit like loose human skin and very light pressure removes most water very effectively. Drying is in the shower recess with the aid of a small electric oil heater and generally takes around 30 minutes. I haven't had a water mark or scratched neg since I started this routine about 5 years ago.

CBG · Apr 6, 2007

I read on the web, I think at: http://www.heylloyd.com/technicl/D23.html to spritz the film with distilled or deionized water as the very last step. No squeegee. No detergent/photoflo etc. Theory being that if there are no offending minerals etc. in solution on the film as it dries, no marks will be left as it dries out, and there is no need to add materials to the film, nor need to touch it unnecessarily.

Another viewpoint was to mix the photoflo with distilled water for much the same reasons.

C

highpeak · Apr 6, 2007

WOW, really an eye-opener, learned a lot here, I think I over did the photo-flo a little bit

Alex W.

donbga · Apr 6, 2007

Patrick Latour said:
Any one has a "trick" to remove the water without scratching the strip?

Throw the squeegee in the trash. Use Photo Flo or equivalent and hang to dry in a dust free environment with a wieghted clip at the end of the roll.

Don Bryant

sepiareverb · Apr 6, 2007

I'm another fan of the Photo-Wipe method. Been doing this since 1982 and have never scratched a film. I currently use the Sprint Fixer with half the hardener they call for (I had somewhat curly sheet film with that much hardener, and I haven't seen any probllems with roll film being under hardened). After the final wash I use the Sprint End Run diluted as directed for a minute, then a quick, gentle (not too much pressure) wipe with the green towelette. FIlms dry faster, so less chance for dust to stick. I'd rather shoot and print than vaccum.

dancqu · Apr 6, 2007

Patrick Latour said:
One thing I know know is I have to put
my squeegee in the trash.

That's one thing I did, opened a package with new squeegee
and immediately set it for the trash. But I do use a squeegee,
an eight blade Jobo. That Jobo does sell by other names. Very
well engineered. I Photo Flo the film then the squeegee. One
long slow draw does it. Film dries fast. Dan

donbga · Apr 6, 2007

dancqu said:
That's one thing I did, opened a package with new squeegee
and immediately set it for the trash. But I do use a squeegee,
an eight blade Jobo. That Jobo does sell by other names. Very
well engineered. I Photo Flo the film then the squeegee. One
long slow draw does it. Film dries fast. Dan

You guys who are wiping your wet film are playing with the devil. Sooner or later you will ruin a negative or roll(s) of film.

One old pro told me that if you want to squeegee your film, simply wet your first two fingers in Photo Flo and use them as a squeegee. I guess if you have very short fingers that wouldn't work but I have done it in years past.

However, for decades I've not wiped my film and I have no spots or drying marks. If you do, you've probably got some kind of problem with your water which is why using filtered distilled water with Photo Flo is the easiest and safest way to go. Who cares if your film takes longer to dry if they are clean.

I also add Isopropyl alcohol to my Photo Flo mixture to speed drying. A 50/50 mix of distilled water and alcohol works great.

lee · Apr 6, 2007

I agree with Don on this not touching the film. Russian Roulette with film.

lee\c

Tom Hoskinson · Apr 6, 2007

I agree with Don and Lee. Don't touch the film - thow the squeegee in the trash. I final rinse in filtered DIW with a drop of Edwal added. I shake the surplus water off the film and hang it to dry. My film dries clean - every time.

bgilwee · Apr 7, 2007

Never EVER touch wet emulsion
Brian

fschifano · Apr 7, 2007

I do exactly as Don with one minor exception. He uses a 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol. My own personal brew for Photoflo is a 1+400 dilution with about 15% of the total being alcohol. I use filtered tap water. Never saw the need for distilled myself, but I have pretty good tap water here.

donbga · Apr 7, 2007

fschifano said:
I do exactly as Don with one minor exception. He uses a 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol. My own personal brew for Photoflo is a 1+400 dilution with about 15% of the total being alcohol. I use filtered tap water. Never saw the need for distilled myself, but I have pretty good tap water here.

I use distilled water to avoid biological contamination of the Photo Flo-alcohol mix. I mix the the Photo Flo according to the Kodak instructions for the volume of water + alcohol.

I reuse the Photo Flo and never have a problem with algae growth.

dancqu · Apr 8, 2007

donbga said:
One old pro told me that if you want to squeegee
your film, simply wet your first two fingers in
Photo Flo and use them as a squeegee.

There are squeegees and then there are squeegees.
As I mentioned I threw one abomination out as soon
as it came in the door.

That old pro likely never saw, let alone used, an eight
blade squeegee. I'm quite sure that what I'm reading this
thread is a whole lot of knock-it-before-trying-it. The eight
blade Jobo I use goes by other names.

I can though offer some solace to the anti-squeegee crowd.
I sponge dry my prints and did so for years with film using
the Yankee sponge tong film wiper. I feel more secure
using the bladed. Film dries anywhere fast. Dan

Peter Schrager · Apr 9, 2007

alcohol and photoflo

Dongba-exactly how much faster do the films dry with the isopropyl alcohol?
My 120 film dries pretty quickly but it would sure make sense to be able to reuse the photoflo solution more than the one or days max that I can keep it...
Thanks, Peter

pnance · Apr 9, 2007

I will admit to using a squeegee (Patterson), which is soaked in a Photo-Flo solution (1:400) with the film prior to use. I always test new squeegees before use to ensure they are grit free, on fingers, old film. A lot of squeegees out there are trash, you could sand wood with them! A squeegee that will touch film should be softer than a baby's bottom. Sometimes I will just hang the film after the Photo-Flo bath and mist with distilled water till I feel its ready. (Isn't it a shame that the last step can be harder than all the rest.)

Woolliscroft · Apr 10, 2007

Patrick Latour said:
Thanks all for you answers, fingers and photo flo seems the way to go. I never heard of photo flo before. Will give it a try for sure. One thing I know know is I have to put my squeegee in the trash.

I use fingers too, but make sure that they are really clean, otherwise you might still scratch the film with grit on your skin and you might also re-deposit fixer on the film which will harm its long term keeping qualities.

David.

donbga · Apr 10, 2007

Peter Schrager said:
Dongba-exactly how much faster do the films dry with the isopropyl alcohol?
My 120 film dries pretty quickly but it would sure make sense to be able to reuse the photoflo solution more than the one or days max that I can keep it...
Thanks, Peter

I would guess about twice as fast. I use the alcohol laced photo-flo mainly so my 8x10 film will dry faster. I store the photo-flo in a closed jug.

donbga · Apr 10, 2007

pnance said:
I always test new squeegees before use to ensure they are grit free, on fingers, old film.

Throw the frigin squeegees away. You don't need them!

I'm unsubscribing from this thread I can't take it anyone.

Stupid question about negs and squeegee...

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