Film Final Rinse with Isopropyl Alcohol

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A while back I used Isopropyl alcohol as the final rinse in developing film. The idea was to eliminate possible water spots and to speed up the drying to minimize dust accumulation. I was wondering if anyone has used this and if I should start using this again.

-- Gene Crumpler (nikonguy@emji.net), October 29, 1998

Answers

I dunno about that. Coming from a background of electronics (computers, radio, audio/video) I know that isopropyl alcohol leaves a film behind it. Just put some on a clean piece of glass, and watch what is left behind. That's why Tascam markets their own head cleaner -- it contains no isopropyl alcohol.

If you don't want to use Kodak Photoflo, there's Edwal LFN in distilled water, or just distilled water. (There's another one which will advertises that it will completely dry the film in just minutes, but the name escapes me.)

-- Brian C. Miller (a-bcmill@exchange.microsoft.com), October 30, 1998.


I have to agree with Brian and wouldn't recommend using alcohol of any kind. Commercially available alcohols contain many impurities that could damage the structure of the negative but may not show up for awhile. As I had posted previously, distilled water obtained from a supermarket (reverse osmosis) as a final rinse is very cheap and exceptionally effective. Remember that those spots are fine grains of silt and wetting agents merely spread them out on the film. Why not wash them away entirely. After rinsing in the tank twice I hang the film and pour more distilled water down them before drying.

-- andy laycock (agl@intergate.bc.ca), November 01, 1998.

Here's the names of the alternate drying chemicals:

Forma Flo, from Photographer's Formulary.

Instant Film Dryer, from Delta 1. "Now print within minutes after developing" This is a very active chemical solution. The instructions say first squeegee the film, and then dunk in the working solution. If the film is not squeegeed first, a harmless white powder may form on the film. Do not use on E-6, and test on color negative film for dye runs.

-- Brian C. Miller (a-bcmill@exchange.microsoft.com), November 03, 1998.


Before scanners were used in pre-press departments for color separations, sheet film and process cameras did the job. After fix and wash, a quick dunk in a solution of 50/50 isopropyl & water in a tray along with squeegeeing sped up drying time.

The source for the alcohol was the same as used on the litho presses and came in 55 gal drums. No steaks or spots. Keep in mind though, this was 10 X 12 sheet film.

-- jl collier (jlc@island.nu), August 17, 1999.


The big thing is to get iopropyl alcohol, not rubbing alcool, or such. These contain a bunch of stuff other than isopropyl alcohol and water.

There should be no residue from isopropyl alcohol and water.

But why bother, just flick the film like a whip to get the excess water off, then hang to dry. I do use a final rinse of distilled water, then a quick dunk in distilled water and Photo Flo.

-- Terry Carraway (TCarraway@compuserve.com), August 18, 1999.



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