Hung Out to Dry

After successfully processing ten-sheets of film in a Jobo 3010 drum, I encountered a problem when hanging my negs out to dry.

I used the plastic cloths pegs (alligator jaw type) to grab a corner and hung it up on my shower rail via a wire coat-hanger.

I fine line can be seen were the clothes peg 'gripped' the print.

How can I avoid this in the future ? What other drying methods are there and can you buy better pegs ?

Thanks, Ron

I use metal alligator clips (without fully perforating the film) and carefully put them in the non-image area before I put them in the film dryer. Works for 4x5 and beyond. One can still use conventional clips, but you need to be carefull where you set them. The notched corner would be my best recommendation. Cheers!

Another option is to purchase Kodak Dental Clips. These are small clips that leave (only) one small impression in the film. This clip can be put in a corner where there is not image and the the small dimple will not show when printing. I have hung 12x20's to dry with these clips and the grip is strong enough to hold the sheet.

Kodak photo dealer can no longer order these items (another one of those Kodak decisions), but you can order them from a Dental supply company - or could.. I ordered my last box about 2 years ago.

Cheers!

Steve

I use 2 large wooden clothespins to hang my 8x10 negatives. They have good clamping power so i put them over the non image area. They do leave some marks but during printing that part of the paper goes completely black so you dont see the marks on the print.

I use wooden clothes pins. They leave a mark, but if you are careful, the mark is out of range.

I use plastic clothes pins for both 8x10 and 12x20. As said before they leave a small stain on the clear part of the film.

I use the Jobo sheet film clips, which have sharp, pointy spikes that hold the film. They are obscenely expensive ($40.00 for 10!) but they work better than anything I have tried. And as they are (hopefully) only a one-time expense, that makes it a little less painful (but just a little).

I use office-supply "binder" clips as film clips for all film sizes. For 8x10, I hang two of the small, 1/4" capacity clips from a wire coat hanger by tying a short length of nylon cord between the "wings" of the clips, and putting dabs of hot glue on the knots for security. That allows them to move freely on the hanger, and the clips can be carefully located in the non-image area of the border. If you use new ones that grip tightly, they're great. Used ones that have been sprung on batches of papers don't grip well, however. The coat hangers can then be suspended from a rod, placing multiple sheets in a parallel configuration at right angles to the rod. They eventually rust a bit from the wetting solution, but that can be easily cleaned up with a bit of 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper.

I tried the office supply binder clips but they were too loose. I'll go and try some new ones.

I guess that the 'spiked' clips were initially designed for 135 roll film, I'd have thought that a non-invasive (i.e. no spikes !!!) sheet film solution would have come out years ago ...

I use a thumb tack to make a small hole in the corner of my negative (non-image area) then hang the neg on a safety pin hanging on a metal clothes hanger.