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  #1  
Old 10th July 2011, 06:50 AM
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CambsIan CambsIan is offline
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Default To Squeegee or Not To Squeegee, that is the question

Morning All,

I am hoping to try and develop my first ever film (35mm) to day and have just re-read the Ilford guide to "Processing Your First B+W Film"

It says (in step 15) "to remove any excess water carefully run squeegee tongs or clean piece of chamois cloth down the length of the film"

I'm sure that I have read in this forum that you should never touch the film until it is dry as it is easily damaged until then.

So my question is simply should I use a squeege or shouldn't I ?

What do other members of the forum do ? Any advice greatfully accepted.

Regards Ian

Last edited by CambsIan; 10th July 2011 at 07:08 AM.
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Old 10th July 2011, 06:55 AM
paulc paulc is offline
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Photoflo or Ilfotol in distilled water for the final rinse, a few shakes of the reel, then hang to dry. I never touch wet emulsion and have binned film/paper squeegees within a few days of acquiring them (well... paper squeegee is only ever used for the back of prints, never the front even on RC).
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Old 10th July 2011, 07:11 AM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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Ian,
Never sqeezee a film, unless you want to risk damage to your film, Soak it for a minute or two in wetting agent,I would suggest Tetenal Mirosol, just a a few drops in the final rinse, then with 120 just shake the film and hang it up to dry, with 35mm hang it up then wipe the shiny side only a couple of times with a sheet of folded kitchen towel, then leave to dry, I never touch the emulsion of a wet film, even with ilford/kodak film the emulsion can be delicate,
Richard
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Old 10th July 2011, 07:11 AM
Dave miller Dave miller is offline
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If you do a search of previous discussions on this subject you will find that there are at least 57 different answers to your question.

I give my films a final rinse in filtered water, tap/ shake the developing reel to remove as much water as possible then remove the film from the reel and hang it up to dry. No touch, never, ever.
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Old 10th July 2011, 07:20 AM
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Thanks to you all for these quick replies.

Opinion already seems to be don't do it. If it's right for you, then it's good enough for me.

Thanks again
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Old 10th July 2011, 08:13 AM
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Hi Ian,

NEVER touch your films after processing - no squegee, no fingers, no nothing, ever (after all this is when your film is most fragile and most vulnurable to damage). Anyone who advises this is giving you BAD information (even if it works great for them).

I don't want to put you off with my following very long answer but the following is a detailed description of how to process a film so that you get good results every time. It is a system that has been taught to beginners for over 40 years.

The most important thing when starting out with wet photography is to find a consistent and repeatable way of working. Rather than lots of experimenting, what is required is a system to follow that works and then adjust from there. The following sequence has worked reliably for me and the people that I have taught. It is not any 'better' than any other but gives every beginner a reliable sequence to follow. Adjustments can be made later according to need once you know that the system delivers repeatable high quality results.

Film development

Fill a clean bucket full with plain water @ 20C:

Pre-wash / Plain water from the bucket @ 20C

Developer / diluted with the plain water as per recommendation @ 20C

Stopbath / Plain water @ 20C

Fixer / Dilute as per recommendation with water from bucket @ 20C

Wash / Plain water @ 20C

Development process:

Pre-wash into the developing tank

Start the clock

Pre-wash for 2 minutes / four inversions in the first 30 seconds then 1 inversion every 30 seconds / tap base of tank after every inversion to release any air bubbles attached to film

Empty tank 15 seconds before developer is due to go in.

At 2 minutes add developer / First 30 seconds constant agitation then 1 inversion per 30 seconds / tap base of tank after every inversion to release any air bubbles attached to film. Development time will depend on your choice of developer / dilution. You can find a good starting point by using the Massive Development Chart at http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php

Empty tank 15 seconds before stop bath is due to go in.

Add stop bath / four inversions in the first 30 seconds

Empty tank 15 seconds before fixer is due to go in.

Add fixer / First 30 seconds 4 inversions then 1 inversion per 30 seconds (Rapid fixer - Hypam, etc - for 2 minutes

Remove film from development tank and put into a jug with plain water at 20C and agitate until until there is no more pink dye in the film.

Return film to development tank and fix for a further 2 minutes (Rapid fixer)

Remove film from development tank and put into a jug with plain water at 20C

Empty the fixer from the development tank and then thoroughly wash the tank

Prepare four jugs with enough plain water from the bucket to fill the tank (this is for the Ilford washing sequence)

Prepare another jug with plain water from the bucket and add wetting agent (this is the final rinse in the processing sequence)

Return film to tank and add first jug of water / Invert 10 times and then discard water

Repeat with second jug of water

Add third jug of water / Invert 20 times and then discard water

Repeat with fourth jug of water

Remove film from development tank and place in final rinse (jug of water with wetting agent) for 3 minutes with no agitation / movement of film

Remove film from spiral and attach drying clips (or pegs, etc)

Pour final rinse down both sides of the film (start by pouring at the very top of the film and then lower to middle of film)

Allow excess rinse to drain off the film

Hang films to dry in a clean dry space.

As are using 35mm film you should make three blank (waste) images at frame numbers 18, 19 and 20 (all will become obvious later).

Once the film is fully washed (whichever system you use) prepare a 1l jug (anything cheap from a pound shop will do) with clean water at 20c with the correct amount of wetting agent (depends upon whose wetting agent you are using).

Take the spiral from the processing tank and place it in the 1L jug. Do not agitate (move it) but leave it there for a minimum of 3 minutes.

Now take the film out of the spiral until you reach the blank frames (this stage can be avoided if you are at least 2 meters tall) and cut the film.

Attach the drying clips to both ends hold over an empty bucket on the floor and pour the water/wetting agent down both sides of the film from the top. Let it drain into the bucket (DO NOT touch the film) and hang the film in a dry dust-free place.

I have never used anything but plain tap water (in a number of countries) passed through an every-day coffee filter.

Finally, have great fun with your photography!
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  #7  
Old 10th July 2011, 09:04 AM
peterlg peterlg is offline
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good luck with your developing today, Ian.
I must confess that for many years I did squeegee my films with a Paterson thing and I never damaged any film. But it did not solve the original problem which is to avoid that the drying water leaves dots or stains on the film when it is dry. But thanks to FADU - on some other thread you will find - I read that demineralised water will do the trick. It's probably just distilled water, and I buy it at the local supermarket in 5l bottles at 1.5eur. You leave the film on the reel soaking for a minute, then hang it and leave it alone until dry - it will then be spotless, and you can start thinking of printing a contact sheet
many regards, peter
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Old 10th July 2011, 03:59 PM
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CambsIan CambsIan is offline
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Thumbs up Update

Just to say developed my first film this morning. Negatives turned out ok. No smears, no lines and no obvious faults.

So this afternoon I took the next step and printed off my first prints. Don't think they'll win any prizes but I'm pleased enough with them.

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

Think I could get to quite like this.

Regards Ian
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Old 10th July 2011, 04:08 PM
Dave miller Dave miller is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CambsIan View Post
Just to say developed my first film this morning. Negatives turned out ok. No smears, no lines and no obvious faults.

So this afternoon I took the next step and printed off my first prints. Don't think they'll win any prizes but I'm pleased enough with them.

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

Think I could get to quite like this.

Regards Ian
Good for you. Keep those first prints, they are you reference against which to judge your future work.
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  #10  
Old 10th July 2011, 04:12 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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Well Done, Ian, isn't a great feeling to get that first film and those first prints done,?
Richard
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