problem with negatives...

[Firelance]

Hi all

Today I succesfully developed a Ilford FP4 Plus B/W film, and I mean that it came out pretty clear...
The bad thing is... well, I'm afraid I wasn't too patient enough when the film was drying; I constantly rubbed my finger against the film, trying to get it dry. Then I used the hairdryer, might have been to close... dunno.

Anyway, the film has some spots, I tried to clean them with a soft piece of towel, very gently, but I think it didn't really remove the spot and the stickyness of the film. So next to this still remaining stickyness, there's also a lot of dust sticking on the film, so my prints all got white sparkles on it...

Does anyone know how to deal with this problem?

Thanks in advance

 

[voodoocat]

Just wash them again in some water and photoflo. or some other sort of wetting agent to prevent water spots from appearing.

 

[ksmattfish]

I constantly rubbed my finger against the film, trying to get it dry. Then I used the hairdryer, might have been to close

There is no way to rush film; that's what digital is for

Both rubbing the film with your finger and using a hair dryer are probably bad ideas.

As Vood said, you can try to rewash. If the dust has become imbedded in the emulsion, or the hair dryer damaged the emulsion by drying it too fast, you are out of luck.

 

[Firelance]

yea mattfish, I guess you're right. I did rewash them with a wetting agent, but the dust indeed seems to stay on the film.

Luckily this was not such a great film afterall...

thanks

 

[ksmattfish]

One of the most difficult things about using film is overcoming the desire to see results quickly. In the new age of digital it is easy to get spoiled, and hurry to see our pics. But you have to be patient. Negs in a dryer (which isn't much than a hairdryer in a big box) will probably dry in 20 to 30 minutes, I usually let my negs (I don't have a dryer) hang overnight to be safe. You need to set up a rythym; develop yesterdays' film, hang it up, and then go print the neg's you developed last time.

 

[havoc]

Heated film dryers will usually dry one roll of film in 2-4 minutes. If its an unheated one then it will take about 20 minutes. If you heat you must keep a very close eye to the negs. They dry fast, and its a good way to avoid dust buildup, but they will melt quickly in the dryer.
I generally check my film every 45 seconds to a minute, if for nothing else then to flip the reel and dry more evenly. Usually with one roll it takes me 2-3 minutes, if its 2 or 3 rolls it takes about 8 minutes, But i still flip and rotate the reels every minute to make sure that the one closest to the dryer doesn't fry.