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Thread: 4x5 film dryers?

  1. #1

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    Oct 2003
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    4x5 film dryers?

    How do you dry your processed 4x5 film? Right now, I converted a plastic file box to a film dryer. It can take up to a couple of days for the film to finally dry. I am looking for a better solution.

    Are film dryers sold at a reasonable price?

    Thanks

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    1,952

    Re: 4x5 film dryers?

    Quote Originally Posted by Harley Goldman View Post
    How do you dry your processed 4x5 film? Right now, I converted a plastic file box to a film dryer. It can take up to a couple of days for the film to finally dry. I am looking for a better solution.

    Are film dryers sold at a reasonable price?

    Thanks
    2 days to dry 4x5 film!

    I purchased a metal cabinet at Office Depot removed the shelves and added threaded rods to the top. I have plastic clothes pins hanging from the rods and use those to hang roll and sheet film. I bath my film in photo flo mixed with isopropyl alcohol.

    Roll film and 4x5 sheets dry quickly, usually in an hour or two. A cabinet full of 8x10 (12 to 15 sheets) take several hours. The cabinet doors are sealed with high density foam insulating tape so the cabinet is air tight.

    If I'm drying a lot of 8x10 film in very humid weather I will have to crack the doors ajar a bit to allow moisture to escape.

    Sheet film is hung from a corner and left to drip dry with no moving or heated air. This yields very clean negs.

    Don

  3. #3

    Re: 4x5 film dryers?

    I got this steel rack at one of the home goods stores-Bed Bath and Beyond I think-and I hang the film from the upper rods with clothespins. Trays removed.
    Mike

  4. #4

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    Re: 4x5 film dryers?

    I hang mine in the tub/shower from plastic clothes pins. These are wired to a plastic clothes hanger and hung from a suction hook. 99 and 44/100 percent dust-free negatives! I usually do this overnight so I am not sure exactly how long it takes to dry them.

    Paul

  5. #5

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    Re: 4x5 film dryers?

    I have an Arkay film drying cabinet which works very well. Sometimes these pop up very cheaply as pick up only items on Ebay.

    You could make your own version with a PVC pipe frame and Tyvek or plastic sheeting with a grid of nylon coated clothes line on top, a drip pan on the bottom, removeable velcro "window" for inserting film, and perhaps a small box fan blowing through an air filter on top of the contraptions. You could build it with at least 2 layers of grids to accommodate more film sheets.

  6. #6

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    Re: 4x5 film dryers?

    Get a bunch of alligator clips from Radio Shack, string them on a plastic coated wire, and attach to the walls over your sink. When you're done, close the darkroom door. They'll be dry in the morning.

  7. #7

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    Dec 1997
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    Re: 4x5 film dryers?

    I put a film clip/alligator clip on the corner of a sheet, hang a normal coat hanger from the curtain rod in the bathroom, and hang the film clip from the coat hanger, two clips/two sheets per hanger. I run the shower at its hottest setting for about five minutes before hanging the film to generate steam and reduce dust. I've never timed it but I'd guess the film is dry in a couple hours, maybe less.

    If you want a dedicated film dryer you could buy the commercial floor standing kind. They used to be expensive and take up a lot of space but at the prices for used darkroom equipment these days I imagine they go for next to nothing though shipping might be expensive. Jobo used to make a plastic one that you hung from something, it was less expensive and took up less room but I never used it. I've also seen home-made film dryers. A friend of mine made a wooden box with a rod for hanging the film from film clips and then scavenged a motor from an old vacuum cleaner and blew air into the box with the vacuum cleaner tube. There's plenty of other ways, limited only by your ingenuity and handy-man skills.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  8. #8

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    May 2009
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    Re: 4x5 film dryers?

    I built a cabinet out of plywood, coated with epoxy paint, I was going to put a fan on it but was afraid of dust on the film. Film always dried by the morning. It sits in my garage unused, if you are in the New Hampshire Vermont area, contact me. One of these days I'll get my 4x5s out again and do some b&w.

    Tom

  9. #9

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    Sep 1998
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    Loganville , GA
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    Re: 4x5 film dryers?

    Kaiser, Jobo and Durst all sold hanging bags with a fan and heater element inside that could take 4x5, 120/220 or 35mm film. They were filtered so they dried the film dust free. These were easily shippable and were very portable and should pop up used on auction sites and at professional camera stores.

  10. #10
    joseph
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    Chapel Hill NC
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    Re: 4x5 film dryers?

    Rather than a fan, which might seem a little too aggressive,
    you might try installing a light bulb in the bottom-
    The heat will generate convection currents which will help speed up the drying-
    The air inlet at the bottom will still need to be filtered.

    I've had plans to make one myself, haven't got around to it yet...

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