Drying Marks! How to Keep Your Negatives Clean.

Drying marks! The bane of many a film photographer. Here I offer my solution to never having them again.
Want to improve your work with film? Subscribe to my channel and learn all the ways I've worked successfully with film for fifty years!
John
www.pictorialplanet.com

[@JORDANANDLONDON]

Finally I knew which part I got it wrong...thank you John for the video!

[@ChrisVidouras]

This was very enlightening, thank you very very much! - Cheers from hard-watered Northern Greece.

[@timjones8312]

Thanks for your great videos John. One trick I use after my final wash is to put the reel with film in a salad spinner and give it a good spin. Centrifugal force does a great job of getting rid of the surface water. Never had any water drop marks after I started doing this.

[@PictorialPlanet]

What a great idea! Someone else mentioned that and I think it's brilliant. Thank for your comment! I know it'll help a lot of people.

[@studiosnch]

I saw this video (kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6nIap-unbCcbpo) that precisely gave that advise of using a salad spinner. Maybe also using a Rondinax or its modern version the Ars-Imago Lab-Box might also help: just spin the wet film inside.

[@ackamack101]

I must try this! Thank you!

[@alvaroalp1]

Thank you!! very much, this is what i had asked you about. I guess i'm gonna have to buy the distilled water for rinsing

[@deemdoubleu]

Thanks for the advice

[@PictorialPlanet]

Cheers!

[@pancakelens75]

Many thanks! I’m a c41 fella, but this worked wonders for me. I actually do run my shower hot. I’ve never had any problems with water spots with Kodak film. But anything Lomography or Fuji I’ve had a heck of a time. Great video!

[@PictorialPlanet]

Good to hear! Thanks for your comment.

[@mraquanaut126]

I've just used your method of using deionised water and a drop of rinse aid and it worked perfectly on both films, previously I've used too much rinse aid and a squeegee, if I didn't have drying marks I'd have light scratches!!- thanks so much for your informative videos.

[@PictorialPlanet]

That's great, Richard, thanks for your comment!

[@jimcook3882]

John, living in Las Vegas, NV. My tap water is heavy with Calcium... I will start using distilled water next development procedure for sure!! Thanks for the helpful video.

[@PictorialPlanet]

You're welcome and thanks for your comment.

[@davecarrera]

Thank you from someone who is just dipped his toe into film printing, 10 prints in and counting. I have just purchased your book and looking forward to adding to my very few skills over the coming years. Wishing you and yours well and have a very happy New Year.

[@PictorialPlanet]

Thanks for your comment Dave and for buying my book. It really helps support the channel. I hope through book sales and my Patreon to purchase a better video camera that can film in the safe light so I can do printing videos.

[@davecarrera]

@@PictorialPlanet I look forward to watching those. My R6 is very good in low light and my safe light.

[@PictorialPlanet]

I'm looking at a second hand V720 Panasonic which have been popular with darkroom KZbinrs.

[@davecarrera]

@@PictorialPlanet those are good also. Gave mine to my daughter for her KZbin things.

[@OskarFilms]

Greetings from sunny Florida, USA! Kodak Photo-Flo is great stuff. Two drops in a two-reel Patterson tank filled with distilled water, agitate continuously for two minutes, and you're good to go.

[@PictorialPlanet]

Absolutely! Great tip, Frank and hello from Scotland. I lived in Florida once :)

[@ackamack101]

I was wondering what you can do with negatives that have drying marks on them? Re-wash them and repeat the process? I also thought your idea of running the hot water in the shower first was a great idea. I have a negative that is particularly important to me and unfortunately it has a lot of drying marks on it that are showing up in the prints, so I must do something with this negative. Thank you again for another great video!

[@PictorialPlanet]

I'd wash them again in distilled water.

[@robcanis]

Very informative as always, John. Is it possible to use 2-3 films (same day) in the mixed wetting agent or would you say it's best to mix fresh for each roll?

[@PictorialPlanet]

I always use fresh.

[@MD-en3zm]

I recently just bought a water distiller on Amazon for about $100 which allows me to make as much distilled water as I want from tap water. I need it whenever I’m mixing up developer and for the final rinse with the rinse aid. Much easier than having to keep buying it at the store each time I need it, and if you do a lot of photography, it pays for itself pretty fast. Really easy to set up and use - they are meant for people to use in the kitchen to distill hard water for drinking (although really you shouldn’t be drinking distilled water since it has no electrolytes, but that’s another topic!)

[@PictorialPlanet]

Thanks for your comment!

[@martinjones1390]

To remove larger drops of water from the film when hanging up I 'whip' the film a couple of times whilst holding holding the two ends by the films clips very tightly. This leaves pinhead size drops on the non emulsion side which evaporate very quickly leaving no marks. I am a bit generous with photo flo solution, normally 2 drops per 35ml film. I just see a few bubbles in the tank after introducing photo flo and gently stirring. What you don't want to see is a layer of froth on top of the water in the tank through too much rinse aid. I learnt the trick about running hot water in the shower many years ago. The next trick is banning access to the bathroom for the next 6 hours or so until films are fully dry. Best to wait until other household members have gone to bed before hanging up film. Then get up early in the morning to retrieve your film before the rush for showers etc. It's a tough life being a film photographer, especially if you are not a night owl.😕

[@PictorialPlanet]

You're like a long lost brother!

[@Murgoh]

I use battery water (deionized water) for diluting my chemistry and for the last rinse (with a drop of Ilfotol, I use an eye dropper) and tap water for other washings. No drying marks so far though we have quite a lot of minerals In the tap water here.

[@PictorialPlanet]

Good to know! Thanks!!

[@lmaoroflcopter]

Just in case anyone wondered deionized water (you can pick it up from your local petrol station normally in 5L containers) is the same as distilled water.

[@PictorialPlanet]

👍

[@DariusMackenzie]

Thank you for this. Any tips for how to remove water stains on negatives which already have them? My stains are only on the non-emulsion side and I have tried many different re-rinse methods to no avail. I've heard rubbing 98% isopropyl alcohol with a non-static cloth or cotton ball helps clean other debris, but is that a good thing to use for removing water stains?

[@PictorialPlanet]

I don't have any advice that I can give you. I'd give the alcohol a try on a negative that's not too important to see if it scratches.

[@AustenGoldsmithPhotography]

Hi John Water marks are still the thorn in my side , I’ve just bought a load of de ironised water Have you tied hanging negs horizontally rather than vertically? Keep the videos rolling

[@PictorialPlanet]

I've not tried that, Austen. But try the de-ionised water with just a drop of Ilfotol or LFN in it. Hang the negatives in the shower after running it hot for a few minutes to get the room steamy. Do you see the drying marks in your scans or prints?

[@AustenGoldsmithPhotography]

@@PictorialPlanet I’ve been using photospeed wetting agent, any good or should I replace it ?

[@AustenGoldsmithPhotography]

@@PictorialPlanet I see them in scans an on the negs

[@dalehammond1704]

I've been using CineStill Df96 Monobath lately and have noticed tiny black spots on my negatives after drying. Df96 is a reusable developer. Could it be the black spots are carry overs from the used developer? Thanks P.S. Great video and very clear.

[@PictorialPlanet]

How are you washing the film after development?

[@dalehammond1704]

@@PictorialPlanet I use tap water (well water) until the end. The last two rises are distilled water with the final one having a few drops of Kodak Photo-Flo.

[@PictorialPlanet]

Thanks. So it's possible that your Df96 has problems. Maybe there's some chemical crystallising out of solution and causing these dots.

[@dalehammond1749]

@@PictorialPlanet I'll look into this, thanks.

[@calon5122]

Hello. I bought a very old ORWO M23 descaling agent. Do you know this product? I don't know how to dose it. There is no more information about him. Thank you.

[@PictorialPlanet]

I have not used the product.

[@oJ862]

I unfortunately still have drying marks on my film even with careful use of my chemicals and ilfotol rinse. I am also in Scotland, although I did try battery water which made no difference. I'm at a bit of a loss for how to avoid drying streaks. I never get them on the emulsion side, only on the reverse so they are easily removed with alcohol, but I would still prefer clean film immediately.

[@PictorialPlanet]

I wonder, how are you washing the film after fixing?

[@oJ862]

@@PictorialPlanet I usually wash in hot water from the tap for around five minutes after fixing. I then wash for a further five minutes or so with cold tap water. I then do a final rinse with 1ml of ilfotol with a full tank of cold water ~800ml. I've tried extended wash times with limited difference.

[@PictorialPlanet]

@@oJ862 I encourage you to watch my development video for a better way of doing all that. Specifically, scroll to the end where I finish fixing and start the wash process.

[@dickvisser8363]

Always the bathroom drying method. The next day: happy gazing at the results. No marks.

[@Max-nv4fb]

quick question, is there a reason why you keep that TF2 fixer in de background? It looks completely purple... is there a reason why you would keep such old fixer?

[@PictorialPlanet]

Ha, it's not so old Max. You can re-use your fixer until it takes twice the clearing time that it took when first made. Don't waste your fix (or well earned money) tossing fix when you don't need to :)

[@Max-nv4fb]

@@PictorialPlanet ah thanks a lot! but how about using tf2 on paper? when will I know when that one is past its working live.. I always end up trowing my fixer away after a printing session because i dont want to mix it with fresh tf2... I never know how to deal with this, I have these AG FIX strips but somehow I never dare to put to the fix back because im scared to ruin the fresh fixer.. any tips on this?

[@PictorialPlanet]

TF-2 when used for paper will fix 40 10x8 inch sheets. I keep a piece of paper stuck to the wall over my fix and at the end of a session mark how many sheets I processed. When I get to around 30 I make up a new batch.

[@Max-nv4fb]

@@PictorialPlanet ah thanks a lot, i assume you mean 40x 8x10 for 1 liter of fixer?

[@PictorialPlanet]

Correct. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

[@largophoto]

..not to raise the bar ..I use a paper napkin

[@PictorialPlanet]

I've never seen the bar so high!

[@largophoto]

..it was a kind of a technique that we used back in the day to speed up neg drying ..but there was only certain brands that we could use ..otherwise they would get covered ..chamoise leather is ok as mentioned ..or drying tongs