X-tol

You might try a wetting agent such as Photo-Flo or LFN, Lori, just before you hang them to dry. Sometimes I do a finger squeegee... sometimes, I don't!!!

A little wetting agent goes a long way in helping to prevent those nasty marks.

I do use photo flo...but I don't think I've ever nailed the correct dilution.

Lori.. for photo-flo, I dip my pinky finger into it, and let the water that I am pouring into the tank flow over my finger. With LFN, it's a little easier... just a few drops in a tank as I am filling it.

Lori V said:

I do use photo flo...but I don't think I've ever nailed the correct dilution.

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1:200

FWIW, after letting my negatives wash in tap water for app 10 minutes, I soak them (reel and all) in two pints of distilled water with just a tiny drop of plain detergent (for washing up) for a minute or two, drain the tank, then soak for another minute in distilled water without detergent. This produces clean (35mm) negatives consistently. I do worry a bit about traces of the detergent settling on the reels, though, but it has not been an issue so far.

Lori, I too have a rather extensive water filtration system ( a 5 micron sediment ( 20" x 4"), then the water softener, then a 0.5 micron carbon filter (20"x4"), and last a 1 micron particle filter (10"x2.5") at point of use) but will always use distilled water for my developer and photo flo. I use photo flo at half the recommended solution (twice as much water), add a little bit of 91% iso alcohol, soak for 30 seconds, and then use a Jobo film squeegee and find that my negs are immaculate. I use the solution for only one day and dump it as there seems to be some sort of mold that accumulates in old photo flo solution. The alcohol helps in this regard but I still dump the solution every day.

Also some advice, a bit off topic. It is not advisable to use a shoot that you value as the test source for trying a new developer. If you want to try a new developer or film you should shoot a test specifically for that and not risk photographs that could be valuable or irreplaceable. While the results came out to your satisfaction this time, the potential for there being some real issues with testing a new film/dev combo are quite high.

Kvistgaard said:

FWIW, after letting my negatives wash in tap water for app 10 minutes, I soak them (reel and all) in two pints of distilled water with just a tiny drop of plain detergent (for washing up) for a minute or two, drain the tank, then soak for another minute in distilled water without detergent. This produces clean (35mm) negatives consistently. I do worry a bit about traces of the detergent settling on the reels, though, but it has not been an issue so far.

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Kvistgaard, it is pretty risky using detergent. While many soaps and detergents have wetting agents built in, and it is a wetting agent that you are looking for, detergents may also contain solvents, dyes, fragrances and other ingredients that have potential to cause harm to the film. Additionally you are adding extra steps that may not be needed. Once you have thoroughly washed your film all you need is distilled water and a weak wetting agent (photo flo) and you're done. By using the detergent you have potentially re-contaminated your film and then dry it unwashed.

I wash my 35mm & MF in a Kinderman washer for 10’. I put the reels & film back in the developing tank and soak them in a solution of H20, alcohol & photo Flo. I have mixed 100 oz distilled water and 25 oz alcohol + a cap of Photo Flo in gallon jug. I use this as a stock solution. After soaking the film for 30 seconds or so I pour the solution back into the jug. I quickly hang the film and give it one pass with a Paterson squeegee. The film dries fast and spotless with the alcohol. I have been using the same jug of stock solution for two years (200 rolls of film).

Lori:

About Photoflo. It's pretty easy to get that right. You need only enough to break the surface tension of the water, ie to make it "wetter". The normal dilution of 1+200 is recommended by Kodak as a starting point. What ultimately works for you is highly dependent upon the local water conditions. For my local water, I use a 1+500 dilution for spot free negatives. That works out to 2 ml. per liter of working solution. Any less, and I get water droplets on the film. More does not help, and if carried too far, will leave marks as well. Pouring the working solution from one container into another should leave just a slight amount of foam. It is too strong if there's lots of foam.

photoflo

I just use about half of a small cap top-it used to come with the smaller bottles of photoflo
I put this into 32 ounces of distilled water....works every time
Best, Peter

Everyone does it a bit differently depending on their situation and their druthers...

I use a single drop of dishwashing detergent in the final water soak - when I use it... I use a pipette so it is a small drop... The dab on your finger routine will work also...
I have an RO filter on my well water for drinking and cooking - my well water is VERY hard and has gone through a water softener before the RO unit.. I cannot see any difference in the RO compared to distilled water and it is lots cheaper...
I tap water rinse the negs X3 after I empty the fixer (salt from my softener helps clear the fix)
Then I use Kodak Hypo CLearing Agent X5 min...
Then two X5 minute soaks in RO water - 16oz each roll of 120 - 32 oz of RO/Distilled total per roll for the final soaks... Supposedly one soak of 5 min will do it, but anything worth overdoing is worth overdoing...
Then the reel is popped in the drier for ten minutes on low heat...
Then the reel is set into a cabinet for several hours, to overnight, to let the gelatin equilibrate with the atmospheric humidity...
Then the negs are unrolled, inspected and cut into strips and popped into sleeves...
Working this way I have LOTS less dust when printing... And I have zero scratches... I have no water spots... Life is good...

denny

Thanks, this is very helpful. I think I've been using too much photo flo...there is always foam. I'm going to try the pinky method and then go back to the squeegie.

I take a gallon jug of distilled water, write "photoflo" on it with a sharpie, put 1/200 gal of photoflo in the jug, then use it one-shot style until it's empty.
For me, the few drops at a time method usually results in too much photoflo to water.

I separate the 2 halves of the Patterson reel and put the washed film back in the tank.
I use an old Dristan nasal spray container (well rinsed) filled with PhotoFlo to dispense 1 or 2 drops as I am running water into the tank with the film. Not sure what 1 drop per 500 ml is but pretty dilute. Seems to be just right with the water in this area.

Martin

Lori V said:

Mike Sullivan, WOW, you made my day!

Mike Seb...I hope you hit that mute button

It seems unanimous...Today is X-tol!!!

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Hi Lori,

Seeing your work made my day, so I guess we're even.

I usually don't like music on websites, I generally have Itunes running in the background, but I thought that the piano music combined with your photographs made the experience more enjoyable.

Regards,

Mike

Adding some more praise to Xtol is difficult, but here is a point: it's dirt cheap compared to all those cabalistic Über-developers. I use it as a one-shot developer, a 5 liter package is good for 50 films.

Regarding the old rinse-flo-dry problem, I have a slightly different method:

1. I use Amaloco X88, an almost odorless fixer, 2 minutes is even enough for Tmax films.

2. No hypo.

3. The Ilford method to wash films: fast efficient and it saves huge amounts of water:
"After fixing, fill the spiral tank with water at the
same temperature, +/-5ºC (9ºF), as the processing
solutions and invert it five times. Drain the water
away and refill. Invert the tank ten times. Once
more drain the water away and refill. Finally,
invert the tank twenty times and drain the water
away."
Well, I always add a repeat of the last 20-inversion step

4. No photo-flo, just distilled water for one minute. If you want Photo-Flo, consider 1+200 as the maximum. These wetting agents can also create trouble, e.g. foam, stains, marks etc.

5. No squeegie. Just hang up the films.

I have no scratches, no spots, nothing at all.