How do you dry your film

hello all,

I have a question - do any of you shutter bugs out there ,that do

your own film processing ,have a personal method for drying your

film?

 

I develop my film myself -try-x these days- but I like to scan

and see my pic's as soon as possible. So I let the film dry for

about an hour and then I use a blow dryer to excelarate the process .

Does anyone of you do the same thing? is it a bad idea for me to

hurry the drying process a little?

 

also I don't use a hardener.

 

what do you think?

 

jon

I've never used a hair dryer to speed up drying (and I'm a woman with plenty of hair dryers) but I wouldn't rule it out in an emergency; I always use hardener for film but not for paper. I've been developing film for 33 years.

No hardener is the prefered way (at least for me).

<br><br>

I wouldn't use the blow dryer as it sounds like a good way to blow extra dust or dirt on your wet negs. Don't think it would damage the emulsion, so if you don't mind dust then go for it. Of course some things that stick to the negs could eventually lead to scratches if you try cleaning then off.

<br><br>

Best and simplest way is to just hang 'em up for a few hours in a moderately warm and clean room or closet. If the space is too cold, get a small space heater (w/o a fan) and put it on a low temp setting or I've even known people to use a lamp (with a tungsten bulb) to add heat (just don't get it too close to the hanging negs).<br><br>

Also, clip some small weight (like a clothes pin) to the bottom of the neg when they hang. Letting then dry like this will also help prevent the film from curling.

In the beginning, I was worried about dust and went to what I now consider excessive measures to prevent it. After a while, I found that I have no dust problems just hanging the film in the room where I keep my light table, with a clothespin or twp clipped to the bottom as a weight. In a few hours the film is dry and clean. I have never used a hair dryer, or hardener, and I have had no problem scanning the negs shortly after development. Just be sure that they are dry before inserting them in the archival sleeves.

 

- Randy

Electronic or HEPA air filter in the film drying room. Hand till dead- I mean dry.

 

I wouldn`t dream of blowing dust on a wet net.

\

I will blow dry test strips for developing, not not real work.

A home made version of the Senrac, which blows warm filtered air down therough the stainless steel reels. Dust isn't a problem.

I'd shy away from the blow dryer, myself. While it would probably work most of the time, I'd be afraid of the time you get too close to your negatives and they get too hot. I let my film dry slowly in a humid environment. It's worked for me in the past, so I'll continue down that route.

 

How do I speed up the drying process? If I want to see my negs an hour earlier, I start developing an hour sooner. <grin>

 

 

Eric

Tip:

I used to get noticeable water marks, without distilled rinse, or slightly notieceable watermarks with distilled rinse with photoflo. Now I just use distilled water without photoflo, and don't even care for water droplets. They won't leave a noticeable stain on the negatives.

Look for a used DSA/Senrac film dryer on the net. I just picked one up 4 months ago for

$90.00 including the shipping.

I have never experienced scratches or dust from blow drying my negs.

Thats why I was wondering if its a good idea.

I do also wait about an hour first, so they are practically dry anyway.

 

My real concern is if I might be hurting the emultion or preventing

proper harding of the film, or somehow messing up the silver in

the film. Though the prints look O.K. from what I can tell.

 

maybe I'll get one of those dryers mention in this thread.

 

Thanks.

jon<div></div>

I don't know about the blower, but I started doing my own processing for two reasons:

one, for the fun of it and its possibilities and, two, because I had some pretty dirty negs

coming out of my friendly lab around the corner. And they used a blower all the time.

 

Just hang your negs in the bathroom - generally the less dusty room in the house - for

three hours, with a weight, and go out shoot some more in the meantime.

 

Oh, and take a shower just before hanging the negs. Let's say during the final wash, er...

the negs' final wash, that is. It removes what little dust is in the bathroom.

Here is how I do film drying. Take a metal wire coat hanger and carefully untwist it at the top. Then take a stainless holder, I've got one with a small hole in the side at the top, thread the coat hanger wire through the hole. Carefully twist the coast hanger back together. Twist the loop of wire on top that would normally be used to hang it up ninety degrees. Then take a rubber band and put it through the hole on the stainless steel film hanger and then hook the rubber band to the hanger on the top where the wire is twisted. This will center your film holder and hold it in place on the hanger.

 

Hang this from any shower rod. I hope you have this type for a shower curtain.

 

You've got your film holder. Hang the film to dry and attach another stainless film holder on the bottom of the film to keep it from curling.

 

You should be able to get a 36 exposure roll of film drying without it touching the floor.

 

 

When I'm not drying film I hide the coat hanger by placing it between the towels hanging in the bathroom on the hanger for the towels. My wife likes that!

Hope this helps you.

I keep a portable HEPA recirculating air filter going in my darkroom area at all times. Besides removing dust it speeds up drying without causing problems.

 

My final rinse includes a droplet of Photo-Flo or something similar.

 

I hang the negative strip at a diagonal so the water gravitates to the lowest edge and drips from the lowest corner. This minimizes water spots.

 

The air flow from the HEPA filter simply increases overall room air circulation. It doesn't blow directly onto the film. But it does speed up drying enough that I'm certain it's dry enough within several hours.

I've always wanted to dry film using centrifugal force. Can't figure out how exactly .... a salad spinner?

I use a Senrac

 

Red: hold the reel in the open tank, with the side of the tank against your palm and a

finger or two keeping the reel in the tank. Make a rapid windmill motion with your arm,

having the opening of the tank pointed directly away from your shoulder. Not

recommended if your rotator cuff is weak...

I turn the hot shower and leave the room steamy. The steam carries the dust to the floor. Then I hang my negatives for 2-3 hours.

roy

To Red Jenny: I'm using a salad spinner: Perhaps the best investment I've done, as far as price/results ratio goes. I have fitted carpet everywhere in my rented flat, toilets included (nice to live in the UK :-)) and fighting dust is quite an oddysey. After a gentle shake in the salad spinner, most of the water is gone from the negatives and, as it takes shorter to dry them, I get noticeably less dust on them