THIS IS NOT A SCANNER POST - It is a query about film

[copake_ham]

First off, I'll 'fess up that I have my film processed rather than develop it myself. That said, I understand this puts me at the mercy of ham-handed folks at the one-hour places for my C-41 film.

My problem arises when I scan the C-41 negatives with my Nikon 5000D. I scan in RAW (or TIF) so the files are huge and the scans are extremely detailed (that's a good thing). But the scanner is a brutal truth teller and shows every minor scratch, dust thingey etc. Much of this crap "disappears" later when you "shrink the image" and convert it into a JPEG for upload say to The Gallery here.

Now I know I cannot do anything about the scratches before scanning. But I'm looking for advice on how to "clean" the film strip before putting it in the scanner. Besides using some "canned air" or a "puffer" what are some other simple ways I could "wipe" the negative strip clean of what ever dust is there?*

*[Note: the first (and nowadays, only) time the strip comes out of its plastic sleeve after being inserted by the developer person, is when I take it out to scan. And I know the developer folk are reasonably careful at least to the extent of wearing latex gloves when inserting the film into sleeves; thus avoiding finger prints. So the problem seems to be whatever dust gets on there just after coming out of the developer machine - or what is picked up from inside the machine.]

 

[Helen B]

How about finding a better lab? This isn't a scanner question, so I won't mention ICE because you shouldn't have to use it in the circumstances you describe.

Best,
Helen

 

[Eric Rose]

Kodak use to make a film cleaning solution I believe. Maybe they still do.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Indeed, find a better lab, but Edwal No-Scratch should work in a scanner the way it does in an enlarger. There are also a variety of film cleaners available (which you need to remove the No-Scratch after use) and PEC pads for cleaning film if it has fingerprints.

 

[SuzanneR]

I tend to wipe down my negs with one of those orange anti-static cloths before scanning, or enlarging in the darkroom. It can't do much for the scratches, but reduces a lot of the dust.

 

[Peter Black]

I used to have a very small table-top ioniser that was supposed to (among other things) make dust drop off film if you held the film in front of it. I had it in the darkroom in the general vicinity of my enlarger and it's fair to say the counter around it got dirty, so it must have worked at least partly. The other thing to try would be an anti-static brush, but perhaps not one of the radioactive ones!

 

[bjorke]

PEC-12 and pec pads

and this is SO a scanner post

 

[Mark_S]

I have a thing which has two sets of brushes, with long soft hairs which are pointed at one another, and a grounding connection. It is large enough for me to swipe 4x5 negatives through it and it does a great job of removing dust and static from negatives before they go into the enlarger.

 

[Silverhead]

PEC-12 and pec pads

Ditto. Pec-12 is so powerful it'll even remove Sharpie marks...though why someone would want to use a Sharpie on their negatives is beyond me.

 

[Kino]

Pec-12 sounds like ISOBUTYL BENZENE. The MSDS makes it sound as bad as what we use at the lab; PERCHLOROETHYLENE; which is also our wetgate fluid.

 

[copake_ham]

I tend to wipe down my negs with one of those orange anti-static cloths before scanning, or enlarging in the darkroom. It can't do much for the scratches, but reduces a lot of the dust.

Suzanne,

Without dismissing the other suggestions (e.g. bjorke's PEC-12) I'd like to stay "dry" if I can.

Are these cloths readily available at your "average" camera store? I've got one left near the work place. After that, it's either mail order or being sent to the B&H gulag.

 

[SuzanneR]

Ilford, I think, makes them. If your local store has a darkroom section, they may well carry them. You can certainly find them through B&H, etc.

 

[Derek Lofgreen]

Try this:
1. Use a new 1/2 inch artificial artist paint brush, the ones with the white bristles. Wash it good to make sure there is no oil left from manufacturing. You can test the brush by brushing it on a UV filter to see if it leaves any residue. If it does, clean it some more.
2. Once it's clean spray the bristles liberally with your canned air. the air passing through the artificial bristles creates a temporary static charge. With the brush charged you can then wipe the neg and the dust will stick to the brush. It works great for me.

D.

 

[radiantdarkroom]

I'm no digital person but I've heard that scanners that use a wet gate, do wonders for scratches.

 

[Robert Brummitt]

I would also look for a lab that does dip and dunk processing. A professional lab. Roller transport processors (All of the one hour labs) rely on moving film thru chemistry by use of friction. Where a dip and dunk processor, the film is drape over a rack and the rack is moved by machine pick ups. The film has less chance of scratching. Its floating in tanks with gas bubbles for agitation.
Also ask the film lab techs to sleave the film and uncut. Another area of potential scratching.
Finally, if you want prints with that roll? You open yourself to more damage. The film is usally dragged across a scanner or film printer. So again, ask for the film to be processed only. Less contact and it will be less costly as well.

 

[Bob F.]

Borrow six cats and obtain six bars of amber. Take a large bicycle wheel and make a frame for it so that it rotates freely in a vertical orientation and attach a hand crank so you can rotate the wheel. Make a solid framework to hold the amber bars equidistant around the wheel, about four inches away from the tire.

Gaffer tape the six cats to the wheel around the outside, also equidistantly for the sake of balance (it is possible that gloves may be needed at this stage of the construction) adjusting the amber bars so that the cats' fur just brushes the bars. If you now rotate the wheel using the hand crank, you have a handy static electricity generator that you can use to remove the dust from the negative.

It works well, but is a trifle noisy in operation...

Cheers, Heath (Bob) Robinson..

 

[copake_ham]

Borrow six cats and obtain six bars of amber. Take a large bicycle wheel and make a frame for it so that it rotates freely in a vertical orientation and attach a hand crank so you can rotate the wheel. Make a solid framework to hold the amber bars equidistant around the wheel, about four inches away from the tire.

Gaffer tape the six cats to the wheel around the outside, also equidistantly for the sake of balance (it is possible that gloves may be needed at this stage of the construction) adjusting the amber bars so that the cats' fur just brushes the bars. If you now rotate the wheel using the hand crank, you have a handy static electricity generator that you can use to remove the dust from the negative.

It works well, but is a trifle noisy in operation...

Cheers, Heath (Bob) Robinson..

Bob,

Oh c'mon now, really! Cat's are easy to obtain; but have YOU checked out the price of amber bars lately?