AH! My negative!

Ghoste · Jan 20, 2006

Oh no! It got a drop of water on it and apparently wiping it is bad! It like got all sticky and smeared. Is it ruined?

stingray · Jan 20, 2006

as hertz has said before, lick it off

if it's smudged it would seem that it's more than water... and if you live in a place with hard water then it's probably dry now and you'll have to rinse them properly once more to remove the impurities.
hopefully that's a serious question and us newbs are not being set up to say silly things?....

Rob · Jan 21, 2006

If the mark's on the shiny side, then a polishing cloth should take it off, other than that - ask Hertz or Terri I would say!! Perhaps washing in distilled water would take it off the other side, but get a more expert opinion than mine.

Rob

markc · Jan 21, 2006

Water can soften up the emulsion again until it dries. I ruined a neg doing the same thing. I tried wiping it and ended up moving the emulsion around (it got sticky). Luckily it was in a non-detail area, so I was able to scan it and fix it in PHotoshop. I can still make digital prints, but I probably won't be able to use the neg again.

You might be able to scan it and try fixing it in Photoshop. It depends on the detail of the area and how big.

terri · Jan 21, 2006

Ghoste said:
Oh no! It got a drop of water on it and apparently wiping it is bad! It like got all sticky and smeared. Is it ruined?

If it was on the softer emulsion side, it may indeed be compromised. You won't really know if there's true damage done until you try to make an enlargement from it. Most ugly-looking water marks have absolutely no effect on your ability to make a good enlargement, and often it's best to leave them alone, especially if they're on the dull emulsion side of the neg. Dust and particle matter is another story - they can scratch the emulsion so it's worth trying to clean dirty negatives.

Just let it dry, resist the urge to touch it anymore, and check the print quality next time you're in the darkroom. I hope it's all right! :hug:: If that happens again, simply shake the water off and let it air dry in an enclosed environment away from dust - then inspect the negative. Chances are it will be fine. Good luck!

Ghoste · Jan 21, 2006

Well I wiped it when it was wet and smeared it. The water spot doesnt look that bad but it scratched very easily in the time of stickiness =P I scanned it in right before I ruined it. This is it http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39921

terri · Jan 21, 2006

Sorry it got scratched.

If you ever thought you'd want a print, you should probably rescan, save as a TIFF file and make whatever fixes you can in PS. You'll be able to print a decent image from a TIFF file.