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> Film Squeegees- for or against |
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#1
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Film Squeegees- for or against
I have just discovered track lines on a processed roll of Rollei Retro 100 which is a little annoying. Should I go out and buy a new pair or am I better dipping my fingers into Ilfotol and running them down the film?
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"Die Zukunft der Erinnerung" -Leica-"The Future of Memories" Regards Kenneth |
#2
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Hi Kenneth,
After asking a very similar question a few months ago ( to squeegee or not to squeegee ) in the main the responses tended to point to not touching the film with anything while wet. I must admit that is what I have done since then, and the results seem fine to me. So in my humble opinion, I wouldn't bother with a new squeegee. If nothing touches the film, nothing can mark it. Not sure if that helps you or not. Ian |
#3
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I have never used a squeegee with film. When I was being taught darkroom work many years ago, my teacher (the manager of the shop where I worked) always recommended never to touch the film and have followed his advice to this day.
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Carl. |
#4
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when I use squeegees I always soak them in the wetting agent with my film and always run my finger down the blades to test for anything stuck on them, and after use I rinse them .
I have never had any problems with them this is the only way that I can avoid drying marks . other people have other opinions on them, but what ever suits you is the way to go . |
#5
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I acquired a squeegee and gave it a go with a roll. Like you, despite washing and cleaning it thoroughly, ended up with streaks and scratches down the film.
Now, I squeegee the top inch where the clip's going to go through, and leave the rest alone (I found that if I didn't squeegee the top bit and just spiked it with the clip, water would pool up there and it'd leave marks as gravity did its thing during drying).
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To me, photography's photography. The medium upon which it's captured is of no concern as long as it can do the job demanded of it. |
#6
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I give all my films a final rinse in distilled water with a wetting agent added (Ilfotol). Give the reel a few shakes to get rid of most of the water, and then hang to dry. No squeegee, no fingers.
A tissue can be used to touch the edge of the film where any water is pooling. |
#7
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I used to use a squeegee and never had a problem but lately I have used the inside of my index and second fingers. There really isn't anything in the inside of fingers that can scratch. Well I can't think of a profession that creates skin rough enough on the inside of your fingers
With squeegees the only thing I can add to what has been said is that rubber eventually goes hard and cracks. I wonder if this isn't the cause of sudden unexpected scratches when the user has done everything else right. So every so often squeegees needs replacing. Mike |
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I do basically the same as Mike in the post above.
I too used to use a squeegee for years with no problems or scratches on my negatives. As the squeegee began to wear though and after reading about other peoples problems, I stopped using it = just in case I had been lucky up until then! I now add wetting agent, soak, then shake the spiral before hanging the film up to dry. I then run my two fingers down the film, after dipping them into the wetting agent first. Recommended by B/W magazine some time back, is 'Tentenal Mirasol 2000 Antistatic.' As my last bottle of Ilford's Ilfotol was just running out I thought I'd give it a go and yes, it does the job really well and stops those limescale deposits that you get in hard water areas some how. It was a bit more expensive than Ilford's when I bought it, but definitely worth it. Terry S |
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I use Ilfotol and have not experienced any problems using tap water for 35mm. But having developed my first medium format film since moving here, there is a problem a problem and put this down to the film being wider. I am very mindful of the problems of touching wet film but did buy a squeegee which I am loathe to use.
Now living in a hard water area, I shall be using de-ionised water from now on. |
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