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Drop marks on BW film


tuanvo1982

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IIRC, you live in Basignstoke, or somehwere similar. The water in that part of the country is some of the hardest anywhere, so you need to be extra careful. Use distilled water for the final rinse and make sure that you give the film in the reel a good sharp tap on the counter before removing the film from the reel.

 

Lots of people advise not to use a squeegy, but I always do (lightly) and never have problems. The squeegy is kept very clean, and dampened in the final rinse water before use. You can also use a piece of kitchen paper to gently remove any excess water from the NON-emulsion side.

 

Hang the film to dry on the diagonal, so that any water runs down to the sprocket holes, not down the film.

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I very rarely suffer from curved film, but I know that others do. Some films curve more than others (Tri-X is alleged to be a problem, but I have never found it so)

 

I just do what I described above, hang the film over a radiator in a spare bedorrm and in an hour, it's dry, and mostly not curved. I put it into archive envelopes immediately.

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That's the stuff I use. There is no chalk in it at all, obviously. (Check inside your kettle and see around the element. If you are in a hard water area, it will be caked in calcium)

 

You are right. My office's kettle has alot of calcium and in my house this is the same.

 

Yesterday, I developed Tri-x roll. Before I usually uses Ilford film and never get curved.

 

Anyways, thank you very much Andy :D

 

(P/S I will also use distilled water for mixing STAB chemical then I can avoid drop marks on color film :D)

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I wonder whether the curving of Tri-X under some circumstances could be due to the hardness of the water used to make up the developing / fixing chemicals? Or, due to the use of alternative brands of developer or fixer?

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I bought a small bottle of Edwal LFN and use just 2 drops per 500ml, shake the reel over the sink vigorously, hang to dry and I have zero water marks. I'm even using it in the darkroom for my fiber base prints, same amount 2 drops per 500ml and no lone water drops on the print drying in to a small bump, the water just sheets straight off.

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I wonder whether the curving of Tri-X under some circumstances could be due to the hardness of the water used to make up the developing / fixing chemicals? Or, due to the use of alternative brands of developer or fixer?

 

The chemicals and processing are the same as I did with ilford films even the same environment of drying stage so I think it is because of TriX film.

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The chemicals and processing are the same as I did with ilford films even the same environment of drying stage so I think it is because of TriX film.

 

Which chemicals though?

 

I use HC110 and Ilford Rapid Fixer and soft water all the time, with no curling problems.

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Which chemicals though?

 

I use HC110 and Ilford Rapid Fixer and soft water all the time, with no curling problems.

 

I use D76 , Ilford stop , Ilford Rapid Fixer and tap water. Oh! you remind me that I didn't get curved if I use HC110. D76 may causes the problem.

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You can also use a piece of kitchen paper to gently remove any excess water from the NON-emulsion side.

 

Just picking up on this, I fold a piece of kitchen towel into a 'squeegy', place it around the film at one end then run it quickly and with hardly any pressure (just so the towel is making contact with the film), down the length of film. Hang to dry. Never any problems!

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Just picking up on this, I fold a piece of kitchen towel into a 'squeegy', place it around the film at one end then run it quickly and with hardly any pressure (just so the towel is making contact with the film), down the length of film. Hang to dry. Never any problems!

 

I will try it out :D it seems a nice trick :)

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