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  #11  
Old 5th July 2021, 11:17 AM
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photomi7ch photomi7ch is offline
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We used to have a small cloths spinner that I was able to clip film spirals to which worked well. The only draw back was it had to be done in pairs to keep it balanced.
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  #12  
Old 5th July 2021, 05:59 PM
Flack Flack is offline
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I got mine from Morrison's I think it was £3.50.. Like others have said I put two spools in to balance it out.
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  #13  
Old 6th July 2021, 10:44 PM
JOReynolds JOReynolds is offline
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I remember seeing a device in the Kodak catalogue of the sixties. It was probably American and was intended for drying much longer lengths than 35mm or even 220. Microfilm, perhaps? I think the spiral was about 6...8" diameter. It was built in two halves - the bottom half housed a fan (i'm not sure if there was a heater) and a means of rotating the spiral. The top half was in the shape of a shallow bowl, the vertical surface lined with an absorbent material and contained the loaded spiral. I assumed that that spinning the spiral removed most of the water and the (warm?) air did the rest.
If anyone has a copy of a Kodak professional catalogue from that era, it would be an opportunity to fill out my faint recollection.
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  #14  
Old 6th July 2021, 10:54 PM
JOReynolds JOReynolds is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Terry S View Post
I have also soaked the film in isopropyl alcohol as well in the past, before hanging it up to dry, which it does quite a bit faster.
In the sixties I saw press photographers drying 5x4" and 120 by immersing in tanks of methylated spirit. The first tank was water with meths and the next was neat meths. Not sure why. I heard that the film was rewashed after printing and before bagging and filing.
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  #15  
Old 7th July 2021, 11:44 AM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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Thanks for that description, Jonathan. That sounds like the device I was thinking of. Perhaps it was actually intended for 35mm movie film. I was going to convert a food processor, but the salad spinner sounds a bit more straightforward. Draining from a food processor could be a problem as the motor is often directly below the container. The annoying thing is that I had a suitable machine which had outlived its usefulness in the kitchen, but has since been sent for recycling.
Alex.


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  #16  
Old 7th July 2021, 04:39 PM
Molli Molli is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JOReynolds View Post
In the sixties I saw press photographers drying 5x4" and 120 by immersing in tanks of methylated spirit. The first tank was water with meths and the next was neat meths. Not sure why. I heard that the film was rewashed after printing and before bagging and filing.
I was going to mention that! You missed the part where they then set it on fire!
I imagine the methylated spirits would be akin to WD-40, displacing the water. A naked flame would then simply burn off the meth (which is now a weird abbreviation in today's world!). Instant evaporation.
I had also read of newspaper darkroom workers printing the negatives whilst wet. Um, the negatives, not the workers.
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  #17  
Old 7th July 2021, 05:44 PM
JOReynolds JOReynolds is offline
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Default Printing wet

Quote:
Originally Posted by Molli View Post
I had also read of newspaper darkroom workers printing the negatives whilst wet. Um, the negatives, not the workers.
Typically slightly off-topic, I'm afraid Molli, but your comment reminded me of a remarkable device for duplicating transparencies that had a 'liquid gate'. I saw it in the 70s. The result was impeccable duplicates for syndicating images - in this case taken by Mirror Group newspaper photographers. The mounted transparency was immersed in a tank made of optical glass, filled with a non-inflammable liquid with similar characteristics to petrol (gasoline). Its refractive index was comparable to acetate film base. A very small pump stirred the liquid to displace bubbles and remove dust. The cardboard mount remained in one piece.
I was familiar with low-contrast 5" x 4" Ektachrome 6120 (gamma about 1.0), which was specifically designed for making duplicates, but the device I am describing was making 24 x 36mm slides that were not excessively contrasty. Maybe there was a low-contrast motion-picture stock available at the time?
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  #18  
Old 18th July 2021, 07:00 AM
John King John King is offline
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Default Spinning, is it overkill?

To be perfectly honest I have never found the need for anything else to leave my films streak and drying mark free other than using a water-bath with wetting agent. I have used the Kodak version for many many years and it has never given me a problem. I don't even use distilled or filtered water to make up the solution.

I have lived all over the country with a variety of water types from reasonably hard (in Sussex and North Yorkshire) to quite soft (in Co Durham).

After the final wash for which I use my JOBO processor, the last step is to fill the tank with the final rinse and let it stand for 5 mins with one inversion every minute and then pour back into the bottle.

The film is hung from a hook on a door lintel leading from the kitchen to the living room and will dry perfectly in around an hour.

The only thing that I am particular with is to change the final rinse every 5 films, but as the wetting agent is so cheap the cost is negligible.
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  #19  
Old 18th July 2021, 11:28 AM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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Thanks, John. The issue at the moment is that I don’t have anywhere I can safely hang the film undisturbed. I’m aiming for a quicker drying time.
Alex


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  #20  
Old 18th July 2021, 07:13 PM
John King John King is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alexmuir View Post
Thanks, John. The issue at the moment is that I don’t have anywhere I can safely hang the film undisturbed. I’m aiming for a quicker drying time.
Alex
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I have found by trial and experience that forcing the drying can increase the risk of film curl, this can be an absolute pig to eliminate. I have never found out why, but possibly it is something to do with the emulsion drying sooner than the film base and when curled it stays that way.

By all means shake the spiral still with the film in but the wetting agent way does work. How about developing in the evening and hanging the film to dry when you are in bed?
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