Using a film dryer

[PhotoManiac3000]

i guess i'm a rank ameture at this, not nearly the kind of expert a lot of you guys are. anyway, so i was hopng you could help me out. i just setup my own lab and i've got everything i need...but i thought it was appropriate to let film dry on its own. i have heard things from like using a hair dryer to dry your finished print to buying your own film dryer. what do you guys recommend?

 

[kaiyen]

Best way is to setup some kind of dust-free cabinet and let the film hang dry. You can also add maybe a computer fan at the top to push air into the cabinet (with a filter, of course), which will speed things up a bit.

Of course, right now I'm using a hair-dryer-based Senrac-style dryer, but that's because of severe space constraints. The curly negs aren't worth it if you have the room.

allan

 

[John Cook]

As a pro working with impossible deadlines much of the time, there was often a need for me to force-dry films with heat and a fan.

These methods introduce dust and/or expensive attempts at adequate filtration. Heat is not the best thing for film either.

If you have the time, just air dry the film in a closed empty room in still air. No need to go crazy with bathroom steam nor excessive cleaning. Hang up the film, get out fast and stay out of there, lest you stir things up.

 

[Erkki]

I would recommend TETENAL Drysonal. I have dryied first the water from the film. Drysonal is used simply as last bath (2 minutes) and evaporates then 10 times faster than water (in 3 minutes) in warm air.

It is mostly ethanol (not as good as it sounds, it's denatured to prevent drinking). Cleanly shining and free of marks dried films wait for you.

 

[jimdavies]

I use a closed box (sealed swing top bin) with a 60w bulb in the bottom. Raises the temperature to about 28 deg C from 18. I've strung the opening with wire to hang film.
Regards