Response to Tips for keeping 35mm negatives dust and scratch free

My choice for removing tiny specks of dust is air. Wiping is always dangerous, as scratches may result, and scratches cannot really be removed. Before putting my negative in the enlarger, I visually inspect it using the kind of magnifying glasses watchmakers wear. Dust is best seen in grazing light. (This is hard to explain in plain text, a sketch would be easy.) To check for dust, hold the negative under your enlarger lens, its plane parallel to the optical axis of the lens. Light incidence is then almost parallel to the negative. When everything is dark around the negative save the light from the enlarger, any little speck of dust will be very bright against a dark background. To remove dust, use compressed air. I am very fond of my little blower ball. (I'd really appreciate hearing the proper name for this item from a native speaker. I couldn't find it in the dictionary. It is basically a hollow rubber ball with a nozzle). When I press this ball really hard, a nice hard air jet results, which blows away practically all dust. Dust sticking to the surface (for example because it got there while the film was still wet) must be removed using a soft cloth. Careful!

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