Dust on my 4x5 film

[Michel Berard]

I begin to work in 4x5 and I have problem with dust.
I clean my films holders with air and brush, I put my film holder in zip lock, when I develop I have always some dust white marks on my negative

Can you tell me if exist a prioduct to spot these white or transparant marks on the neg, the spotone dont work!

Or do you think I do something wrong!
Thanks
Michel

[Ron Marshall]

You can use pencil to retouch the negative (see the link below)

Try an anti-static cloth or an anti-static brush to take dust off the filmholders. Quickloads are another solution.

http://www.davidmichaelkennedy.com/tech_retouch.html

Good luck!

[Bruce Watson]

Do some searching. The problem of dust and sheet film has been discussed over and over on this website and many others.

What it comes down to is you can't win the battle with dust, but you can control it and minimize it. It takes thought and effort for every step you take in your workflow. Keeping everything clean (especially a darkroom - I'm talking the ceiling, walls, floors, undersides of shelves, everything) and making an effort to minimize static (a static charge on a darkslide can attract an amazing amount of dust) at every step is how it's done.

Do the searches and read other peoples techniques. Do some experimentation and find out what works for your in your particular circumstances. That's about all I can tell you.

[Michael Graves]

What Bruce said.....

plus, don't blow dust out with air. All you do is move it from one spot to the next. Use a good vacuum (preferably one of the anti-static versions sold to computer technicians) in conjunction with an anti-static brush. You can buy inexpensive anti-static ziplock bags from a number of companies to store your holders in once they're loaded. That helps alleviate the problem of static charge on the darkslides in the field. And then, after all that, you'll still get dust spots. Not as many.....but some.

[matthew blais]

I use peerless (Freestyle) medium black or red nail polish to touch up neg spots when I have a steady hand..

Dust = art

[Michel Berard]

I will take a vacuum and also my antistatic brush, I will buy and antistatic cloth. Shure like Ron say I can buy raidyload film, but is more expansive but is still the best way.

I read in LF that someone start the shower to stay down the dust before loding is film, I find this idea very bright, I will try it.

Thanks all of you, and you confirm that I am not the only one how have this problem.

Hey guys sorry for my english I work and talk in french here in Quebec.

[Michael Graves]

Don't worry about your English, Michel. It isn't any worse than some of our national leaders manage.

[Dave Brown]

I don't want to start any arguments, and it may just be coincidence, but when I stopped using Kodak film, my dust problems went away.

[MIke Sherck]

My dust issues are film-brand agnostic. They don't seem to care whether I'm using Tmax, HP5+, or Arista.EDU. Clean, clean, clean seems to be the key, as others have said. I was delighted to find 2 gallon plastic bags at the grocery store a while back: finally, some place to store the 8x10 holders!

Mike

[Daniel_Buck]

how are you loading them? (dark room, or changing bag/tent?) Being new to 4x5, I have actually had REALLY good luck with dust loading in my changing tent. I was expecting I would have more dust than other films (because 35 and 120 film is already loaded!) but I have found that the extra step by loading the holders hasn't actually increased my dust.

Before I load the film, I take the tent upside down (main hole facing down) and I give the tent a good shaking and flexing (puffing it in and out, like a fireplace bellows to get air to move around in there) I've looked at the tent with a flashlight before and after, and after I shake it all around there is far less dust sitting in there! I don't know if I have been just very lucky, or if my technique just works good. But either way, I have been suprised at the lack of dust on my negatives. I get more dust on my negatives just moving them from their sleeve holders onto the scanner than I do loading, unloading, and developing them.