been using these tips on all my home developed film since we shot this video! back in North Carolina the water didn’t leave spots, but in California it does. so helpful 😍😮💨♥️🎞
Dust removal tutorial on how to minimize them b4 scanning. Esp home development where we don't have a dedicated drying cabinet with down flow filtered air.
I let them dry in the bathroom tub. Bathroom is generally the less dusty room in a house. If you run some steam hot water for a minute in the tub, it will drag all the dust in the air with it. Then hang your negs to dry. In my experience it helps a lot. Also, static electricity is your ennemy. Don't wear clothes prone to static charge (like polyester fabric) and discharge yourself by touching something connected to the ground (washing machine for example). Otherwise the static charge you carry will transfer to the plastic base of your film when you touch it. And it will grasp all the dust around you.
Very valid point on minerals, I bet many who say here they have no issue live in a soft water area. I love in SW UK which is pretty much a limestone plateau with very hard water. Totally agree with Linus on the distilled water, rinse many times! I do use Fotoflow but any small bubble will leave a calcium spot unless the PF is mixed with distilled water. I also have found drying the film too quickly increase water spots.
There are many common non-ionic wetting agent liquids as a final rinse before drying films. They are not expensive, available in all film shops and the liquid can be used multiple times depending the hardness of tap water. It is the ideal and a secure method to avoid any water spots.
For Cs-41 kit. I believe there should be a new step in the between Step 4 and Step 5 where you pour the distilled water and agitation for about 1-2 minute before pour the color stabilizer. That way most mineral can be removed.
Standard C-41 includes a stabilizer, which is basically a surfactant (similar to Photo-Flo) and miconazole to prevent mold growing in the negatives. If you live in an area with hard water, mix this in distilled water. It should be enough to prevent water marks from forming. Some amateur kits may be lacking this chemical. Try Photo-Flo in distilled water instead, if this is the case. C-41 final rinse is also sold separately, but only in large quantities.
It took months for me to figure out that it was hard water not dust that was causing this on my film, and after starting a final wash in distilled water with photoflo the problem resolved. Good video, good tips.
Just use one or two drops of dishwashing soap (not more) and let it stand for one minute (not more). Then use the squeegee to remove the water and hang to dry. -- Using more soap or for a longer time might leave stain of the soap on the film.
After main rinse, do two minutes with a wetting agent such as Ilfotol (1+200). Then two short final rinses with demineralised (or distilled) water. Dry in the least dusty area you have (shower cubicle is good). And NEVER squeegee ...
A final rinse with photoflow + distilled water completely removes water spots for me. No inversion, 5 mins, wait until there is no bubble or get rid of all bubbles on the surface before get the reel out. No need for squeegee / Kimwipes at all.
i'm not shooting film any longer but i DSLR most of my time. i started to photograph in 81 and accumulated a huge stockpile of material on films. both negative positive and B&W. some of the negatives are very dirty, even though i tried to preserve them the best i can. i do wash the negatives from time time prior to scanning cause the camera doesn't have any dust removal tool. before i dry them i dip the negatives in Agepon solution. fortunately i have a bottle left since the happy film days. the water round here contain a lot of calcium and this agent is clearing the surface almost perfectly. this bottle i'm using i bought in 1984! and i still have some left. it's still can be purchased online. AGFA wetting agent Agepon.
you forgot the most common way of dealing with them. cotton balls (or microfiber) and rubbing alcohol! before printing or scanning, you really need to give the negatives a quick wipe with that. it will remove any dust particles and any water spots and is completely safe.
before scanning or printing, just get a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and wipe your negatives. it will instantly remove and water spotting and dust.
There no way i wash my negative film with regular tap water i live in a hard water area, so only small amount of distiled water should do the work, i know a photo friend who also do homebrew devellop, he recomend me to use dish washing liquid as a photo Flow, just a small drop it's do the job before the final rince.
Put them into an archival sheet after they are completely dry, roll the sheet sideways and use two or three rubber band to keep this tube together. Works faster than putting heavy weights on the negatives, but might still take some days. -- Kodak Ektar 100 and Portra 400 don't need flattening, they are perfectly flat when dry.
to get flat negatives, you need to weight the film while it is drying. It does not take too much, I use large binder clips with a few large sized nuts (as in "nuts and bolts") hot glued on them to act as the weight. having the bottom end of the negative strip weighted as your negative dries makes for nearly totally flat negatives.
A related tip for drying without dust. If you don't have s drying cabinet, and most do not, consider buying one of those old-style hanging bags designed to store hanging clothing. Hang it in a closet, and hang your film inside to dry. If you want to do further, flex tube in warm air from a source, like a hair dryer, cutting some small holes in the bottom of the bag to exhaust. Do some sort of air filter over the warm air intake.
You won’t catch me squeegeeing film, heck no! I reach for two very clean cellulose sponges and make a film sandwich with them. Pro tip… I use an old pair of chopsticks to hold it firm and pull the film through. Is that freaky enough for you?
so, you are still squeegeeing film, you are just using sponges as your squeegee..... you fingers are way better suited for the job and wont scratch the negatives or smudge the emulsion like sponges can.
been using these tips on all my home developed film since we shot this video! back in North Carolina the water didn’t leave spots, but in California it does. so helpful 😍😮💨♥️🎞
Dust removal tutorial on how to minimize them b4 scanning. Esp home development where we don't have a dedicated drying cabinet with down flow filtered air.
Thank you!!!!
I let them dry in the bathroom tub. Bathroom is generally the less dusty room in a house. If you run some steam hot water for a minute in the tub, it will drag all the dust in the air with it. Then hang your negs to dry. In my experience it helps a lot.
Also, static electricity is your ennemy. Don't wear clothes prone to static charge (like polyester fabric) and discharge yourself by touching something connected to the ground (washing machine for example). Otherwise the static charge you carry will transfer to the plastic base of your film when you touch it. And it will grasp all the dust around you.
Very valid point on minerals, I bet many who say here they have no issue live in a soft water area. I love in SW UK which is pretty much a limestone plateau with very hard water. Totally agree with Linus on the distilled water, rinse many times! I do use Fotoflow but any small bubble will leave a calcium spot unless the PF is mixed with distilled water. I also have found drying the film too quickly increase water spots.
Oh man I live in Phoenix and we have the HARDEST water here, I always go full distilled
There are many common non-ionic wetting agent liquids as a final rinse before drying films.
They are not expensive, available in all film shops and the liquid can be used multiple times depending the hardness of tap water.
It is the ideal and a secure method to avoid any water spots.
I use a soft cloth and my breath lol, thanks for the tips. Would love to see a future one about Newton rings
For Cs-41 kit. I believe there should be a new step in the between Step 4 and Step 5 where you pour the distilled water and agitation for about 1-2 minute before pour the color stabilizer. That way most mineral can be removed.
Standard C-41 includes a stabilizer, which is basically a surfactant (similar to Photo-Flo) and miconazole to prevent mold growing in the negatives. If you live in an area with hard water, mix this in distilled water. It should be enough to prevent water marks from forming. Some amateur kits may be lacking this chemical. Try Photo-Flo in distilled water instead, if this is the case. C-41 final rinse is also sold separately, but only in large quantities.
I use a wet and rung out synthetic chamois cloth used for cleaning cars. Removes the water and most importantly scratch free.
It took months for me to figure out that it was hard water not dust that was causing this on my film, and after starting a final wash in distilled water with photoflo the problem resolved. Good video, good tips.
The Kimwipe idea and technique is great! I'm going to try it.
Just use one or two drops of dishwashing soap (not more) and let it stand for one minute (not more). Then use the squeegee to remove the water and hang to dry. -- Using more soap or for a longer time might leave stain of the soap on the film.
I know a friend that using this method, it works but use a clear one and no more than one or two droplet before the final rince with distiled water.
After main rinse, do two minutes with a wetting agent such as Ilfotol (1+200). Then two short final rinses with demineralised (or distilled) water. Dry in the least dusty area you have (shower cubicle is good).
And NEVER squeegee ...
A final rinse with photoflow + distilled water completely removes water spots for me. No inversion, 5 mins, wait until there is no bubble or get rid of all bubbles on the surface before get the reel out. No need for squeegee / Kimwipes at all.
i'm not shooting film any longer but i DSLR most of my time. i started to photograph in 81 and accumulated a huge stockpile of material on films. both negative positive and B&W. some of the negatives are very dirty, even though i tried to preserve them the best i can. i do wash the negatives from time time prior to scanning cause the camera doesn't have any dust removal tool. before i dry them i dip the negatives in Agepon solution. fortunately i have a bottle left since the happy film days. the water round here contain a lot of calcium and this agent is clearing the surface almost perfectly. this bottle i'm using i bought in 1984! and i still have some left. it's still can be purchased online. AGFA wetting agent Agepon.
you forgot the most common way of dealing with them. cotton balls (or microfiber) and rubbing alcohol! before printing or scanning, you really need to give the negatives a quick wipe with that. it will remove any dust particles and any water spots and is completely safe.
Thanks for the video. 👍
Thank you!
That’s big my biggest problem with developing film.
thanks mate, great video
Thank you!!!!
Kimwipes absolutely wrecked my film negatives. Should I not use it in combination with archival film washing?
I do the final wash using distilled and have no issues.
Still getting water spots using both distilled water _and_ Kodak Photo-Flo 200. Grrr.
Reduce the amount of photoflow and do a final rinse with just distilled water
before scanning or printing, just get a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and wipe your negatives. it will instantly remove and water spotting and dust.
One question? Do you have a kit that develops color negatives film 🎞️
There no way i wash my negative film with regular tap water i live in a hard water area, so only small amount of distiled water should do the work, i know a photo friend who also do homebrew devellop, he recomend me to use dish washing liquid as a photo Flow, just a small drop it's do the job before the final rince.
Wet? Paterson squeegee. Dry ? Isopropyl and micro fiber cloth ☀️
Flattening negatives please! Leaving them under weight takes a long time
Put them into an archival sheet after they are completely dry, roll the sheet sideways and use two or three rubber band to keep this tube together. Works faster than putting heavy weights on the negatives, but might still take some days. -- Kodak Ektar 100 and Portra 400 don't need flattening, they are perfectly flat when dry.
to get flat negatives, you need to weight the film while it is drying. It does not take too much, I use large binder clips with a few large sized nuts (as in "nuts and bolts") hot glued on them to act as the weight. having the bottom end of the negative strip weighted as your negative dries makes for nearly totally flat negatives.
A related tip for drying without dust. If you don't have s drying cabinet, and most do not, consider buying one of those old-style hanging bags designed to store hanging clothing. Hang it in a closet, and hang your film inside to dry. If you want to do further, flex tube in warm air from a source, like a hair dryer, cutting some small holes in the bottom of the bag to exhaust. Do some sort of air filter over the warm air intake.
I use a salad spinner. (I’m not kidding, it works well).
same, really works good
God bless
You won’t catch me squeegeeing film, heck no! I reach for two very clean cellulose sponges and make a film sandwich with them. Pro tip… I use an old pair of chopsticks to hold it firm and pull the film through. Is that freaky enough for you?
so, you are still squeegeeing film, you are just using sponges as your squeegee..... you fingers are way better suited for the job and wont scratch the negatives or smudge the emulsion like sponges can.
I feel like im watching a college lecture video
Water spots and dust. FUCK!!!!
Nope. Photoflow works every time.