Newbie Processing questions

[jj_calabro]

<p>Last time I was processing my film for my photography class the film came out having an under exposed line across the whole film roll, can some one explain what is going on? Also what is the best way to squeegee off the chemicals, one good roll had "scratches".<br>

Thanks,<br>

<strong>Student J </strong></p>

[thirteenthumbs]

<p>Load a scrap roll of film on each reel, put them in the tank, fill the tank with water to the top edge of the tank, pour the water into a graduate. This is the minimum amount of chemical to use. If you are developing 1 roll of film in a 2 reel tank put the reel with the film in the bottom and an empty reel on top.</p>

<p>Throw the squeegee away and invest in a bottle of PhotoFlo (Kodak) or similar wetting agent. At the end of the final rinse add 1ml (cc) to 2ml to the water, gently agitate for 2 or 3 seconds to mix, and let it sit for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour the water out, shake all the excess water of the reel with the film then hang to dry. The wetting agent will cause the water to run off the film without streaks. The amount of wetting agent necessary depends on your water. </p>

<p>An Eyedropper from a drug store works well for measuring the PhotoFlo.</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>In my experience, squeegee tools use to leave marks, <em>sooner or later</em>. My best method is to squeegee between the index and medium fingers (needless to say that you should use gloves, e.g. nitrile ones).<br /> The gloves are perfect, get too slippy when wet, and they are so smooth... the only issue is that you need to previously check the best finger position to not have a weak squeezing area. Follow Charles recommendation about the wetting agent and your negatives will turn out perfectly clean and free of scratches.</p>

[jj_calabro]

<p>Thanks for the responses! I use Photoflo, but after i undo the roll our instructor tells us to use our index and middle finger to squeegee the excess off of the roll. Would it be OK to leave on and put in the dryer? </p>

 

[lex_jenkins]

<p>I stopped squeegeeing years ago. Even my fingers were too rough for some emulsions.</p>

<p>I picked up a trick from Roger Hicks, either from one of his books or from a post on the old Compuserve photo forum...<br>

Use a photographic wetting agent like Photo Flo in the final rinse. I use it in the final in-tank wash, following the Ilford method. Don't squeegee. Suspend the negative strip diagonally. Residual water gravitates toward the lowest edge and drips from the single lowest corner. Any water marks are confined to the edge of the film, outside of the exposed frame.</p>

<p>For 35mm film I use unfolded paper clips and rubber bands to suspend the strip diagonally at top and bottom. For medium format film I use mosquito hemostat clamps and rubber bands. Unlike cheap plastic darkroom clips that invariably slip, the mosquito hemostats clamp the narrow unexposed film margin securely under tension. You can buy them at military surplus outlets, Micro Tools online and many other sources. They're often resold after being considered worn out or too poorly aligned for hospital surgical use, but still useful for darkroom purposes.</p>

[maya_eiz]

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