My film drying technique...has anyone else tried this?

<p>The centrifugal force thing is a tad extreme to me. Force drying offers all kinds of things to go wrong. 30 years ago I used the alcohol trick because i was on a deadline for a daily newsletter every day for a convention--time was of the essence. But really--what's the rush? Blowing hot air with a hair dryer through a PVC tube with the film on reels will concentrate any dust in the air into the tube. Plus you may end up with curl due to the memory of the plastic film base.<br>

I do a PhotoFlo rinse, then soak a sponge squeegee in the PhotoFlo in the tank, hang up the film with a clip weighting at the bottom. Then I squeeze the excess PhotoFlo out of the squeegee, squeegee the film, tiptoe out of the romm and close the door. The film will be dry in half an hour or so.<br>

Keep it simple.</p>

<p>I may be the luckiest guy in this conversation. I have a real Omega film drying cabinet I got free when a Photo Express closed down and was ditching equipment. OK, it wasn't actually free, since I did have to drive a few hundred miles to pick up all the stuff my sister-in-law scarfed up for me. But a film cabinet and a slide mounter was worth the price of the gasoline.</p>

<p>I'm intrigued by Andy's method, "<em>i started drying my film in a pvc tube with a NO-heat hairdryer and have gotten superb results. (no dust or water spots</em>)" (December 28, 2008) and I believe it's worth some exploration. But, why did you abandon this method? Perhaps the environmental issue you mentioned, and to your description of that environment, I can well attest.<br>

Happy New Year to all, and thanks for the (sometimes) amusing comments.</p>

<p>donn, i must have confused you, i didnt abandon it. drying my film immediately after removing it from the bath without first removing excess water (by my bazaar centrifugal method) always resulted in drying spots. so now i dry it in my pvc tube after slinging the excess water from the film. </p>

<p>have you dried film in a polluted, tropical environment? how did you do it?</p>

 

<p>Hi Andy,<br>

Yup, that's pretty much the same as I do. I was having water spot problems and so I tried twirling the loaded film outdoors and it works just great! I loosely wrap the plastic spiral with a paper towel held on with clothes pins, poke a hole in the bottom of the paper enclosed spiral, run a three foot line through the spiral and twirl it around a dozen times or so outdoors and presto-zippo most of the water is slung off and then I hang it in the shower for a couple of hours and its dry. Works for me too.......Ron</p>

<p>If it works for you, that's all that matters. I use a similar technique to dry my cats after their baths.</p>

<p>lex, you bathe your cats? and most of you think im the weird one? dont you know cats lick themselves clean all on their own.....hey, wait a minute, that just gave me a new idea. maybe i can find some stray cat here in bangkok to lick my negatives dry. </p>

<p>thanks for the inspiration. </p>

<p>I don't know, Andy. When my cat licks my hand it feels like emery paper. I wouldn't want that abrasive tongue to touch my films. :-)<br /> Back on topic, one of the first things I've learnt about photography was that force drying spells trouble.</p>

<p>Twirling your film about sounds like a disaster. I so lke most folks, photoflo in distilled water, then I hang it in the shower, since I don't have a drying cabinet. I also keep my Persian cat out of the room, since her fur will get all over everything. And yes, I also bathe my cat. When you have a persian, you either bathe it yourself or you spend forty bucks to have a groomer do it. The joy of listening to her meow makes it worth the few scratches I get when doing the deed. :^)</p>

<p>Throw away your rope, Yoy are going to break something and your wife will not be a happy camper.</p>

<p>I use only distilled water for the final rinse. Then I hang the film(s) to dry in a small cabinet I made for this purpose. I leave them there for twelve or more hours. At the top of the film I use two metal film clips. One on each corner and at the bottom I use a metal film clip with a small weight in it. The film dries perfectly clear, flat and with no dust, specks or watermarks on it. Why bother with extra chemicals and risky drying methods that can destroy your hard work?</p>

<p>Just bumping an old thread, since there were so many old farts making fun of using centrifugal force to get excess water of the film. :)</p>

<p>I would suggest to the OP (if he is still alive and shooting), to keep the reels inside the empty tank and swing the arm back and fourth, empty tank, and do it again.<br>

I find that after I did this, water-spouts went away. (yes, I use photo-flo, I've always used it, yes, I hang my films in the shower, yes, I run the water first. Doesn't matter, the excess water-droplets are still there and they aren't running anywhere, even when the film hangs diagonal, they stick and dry where they are).<br>

<br />By keeping the reels inside the tank and then forcing the water out via centrifugal force, by swinging your arm back and fourth, you:<br>

- Avoid forcing potential dust-ridden air trough the reel.<br>

- A firm grip on the tank keeps it in place (just make sure you have room).<br>

- No more water-spray around the room.</p>

<p>Some people actually DO use salad-spinners to get the water off before drying.<br>

This is simple logic; Unless you rinse in isopropanol - or force most of the water off, you will have water-spouts. All water has materials in it, even distilled water will pick up crap from the tank and reels or the air. <br>

All air has dust in it, even if you put the shower on (which minimize the dust issue greatly, but not completely).</p>

<p>Old farts may laugh, then again, vision gets worse with age :P</p>

<p>I presume warm air drying is what professional labs and minilabs do, and that films are designed for it. </p>

<p>http://users.snip.net/~joe/Kodak_E6_Manuals_Z99+Z119.pdf</p>

<p>(The links on the Kodak site seem to be broken.)</p>

<p>E-6 says not more than 63C or 145F, and that higher drying temperature means more curl. </p>

<p>Most of the time, I am not in much of a hurry, but films are designed for warm drying. Just not too warm, and do filter the air.</p>