What chemicals do you use?

[eric-holmes]

Now, please understand I know nothing about chemicals. I have a hard time with my 35mm film curling and I had heard that if you use a fixer without hardener that the film will be more pliable and less likely to curl. True?

Here is what I currently use. Feel free to educate me.

Fixer
Kodak Fixer for Black & White Film & Paper 1971746 B&H

Stop Bath
illford stop bath

Developer
Kodak D-76 Developer 1464817 B&H Photo Video

 

[ann]

modern day films don't need a fixer with a hardner ( with the exception of one )and no that is not true.

Put a weight of some kind on the bottom of the film while drying and that should help with the curl.

 

[eric-holmes]

Yeah, I put a weight on it until it dries. I also put them in heavy books. No dice.

 

[compur]

You put 35mm film in a book to dry?

The way you dry 35mm film is you hang it up at one end with a weight at the bottom end until it is dry. Never have anything touching the film while it is wet.

 

[Josh66]

( with the exception of one )

Which is that? (Just want to make sure there's not some other one I don't know about.)

I shoot a lot of Efke, and I've always heard that it needed a hardener - so I've always used Kodafix.
Kodak Kodafix to Make 1 Gallon | Freestyle Photographic Supplies

For stop bath I use Kodak Indicator Stop Bath (but not with Efke - just water for Efke):
Kodak Indicator Stop Bath 16 oz. | Freestyle Photographic Supplies

For developers I mostly use HC-110 and Rodinal. (Both are easy to use and have a shelf life measured in years.)

After I wash, I soak in Photo Flo (mixed with distilled water) for two minutes, then hang to dry.
Kodak Photo Flo 200 16 oz. | Freestyle Photographic Supplies

I never have water spots using that. Just make sure you use distilled water.

After it's dry, I cut it up and put it in negative sleeves. If it's curled, I put the sheet under some heavy books for a day or two. Sometimes a week for really badly curled film, lol.

Some films just seem to always dry flat, and some seem to always curl.

I've heard that it curls because the edges dry faster than the middle. Some say running a hot shower just before hanging to dry (to get the humidity up - also to get rid of dust) works, but I haven't found it to be effective.

 

[Josh66]

Another thing I do, which kind of seems to help with curl (hard to tell how much difference it really makes), is that right after I hang it up I pull the bottom out so it's at a 45 degree angle and most of the water will run right down the edge.

Hard to tell how much it helps with curl, but it does cut about 10 minutes off drying.

 

[eric-holmes]

You put 35mm film in a book to dry?The way you dry 35mm film is you hang it up at one end with a weight at the bottom end until it is dry. Never have anything touching the film while it is wet.

Of course not. I put it in a book after its dry.

 

[compur]

OK, is the film curling end to end or are the sides of the film curling inward?

 

[Josh66]

OK, is the film curling end to end or are the sides of the film curling inward?

Not trying to hi-jack Eric's thread or anything - but what causes ene-to-end curl? (Just did a roll of Efke R25 (120) today, and it had some pretty serious end-to-end curl...)

Pretty sure the edge-to-edge curl is from the edges drying faster, but the end-to-end curl just seems to be the nature of some films... As far as I can tell anyway...

 

[eric-holmes]

Side to side. Like if you were to roll it like a cigarette. I think I may just end up buying some ANR glass and using that to help hold it down. But not to detract from the main topic, I just wanted to know about different chemistries. I see that some developers produce sharper images but more grain. There is a lot to learn.

 

[ann]

Efke is the one I couldn't remember . the film base of that specific film is very thin which enhances the opportunity for all that curl.

Negatives will have a side to side curve to them, but usually when placed in a negative carrier in the proper manner that is not a problem. Using glass carriers certainly will help element that issue, but that creates other issues, (or can)

ANd yes different developers create a different look; sharpness, grain pattern, loss of speed. etc. Photography is a life time of learning.

 

[KenC]

The curl decreases a little in time after storing the dry film in plastic sleeves in a book.

 

[unpopular]

When I was shooting film I used Ilford FP4 developed in a variety of cocktales before settling on first developing in slightly dilute Microdol-x and finished in Rodinal, 1:50. I used whatever fix and stop I had around and always used Kodak Photoflo at the end.

Splitting development like this allows for the sparsely-grained highlights to appear smoother under fine-grain, low accutence developers while the blotchy, large grained shadows to appear sharper under a high accutence developer like Rodinal.

Modern Microdol-X
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/749710-LegacyPro-Mic-X-Film-Developer-to-Make-1-Gallon

Modern Rodinal
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/9724-Compard-R09-One-Shot-Film-Developer-125ml-4-oz.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Not sure it would be legal to talk about.

 

[cosmonaut]

When you dry it make sure you clip clothes pins at the bottom, it helps stop curl long ways and across. I know you don't think it will help but I had the same problem. Plus some films, cheap, curl more than others.