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Harley Goldman
6-Oct-2009, 17:06
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

D. Bryant
6-Oct-2009, 17:14
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

Michael Wainfeld
6-Oct-2009, 17:33
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

Paul Bujak
6-Oct-2009, 17:49
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

jeroldharter
6-Oct-2009, 18:47
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.

Ed Pierce
7-Oct-2009, 03:05
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.

Brian Ellis
7-Oct-2009, 06:10
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.

Tom Monego
7-Oct-2009, 06:37
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

Bob Salomon
7-Oct-2009, 07:39
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.

jb7
7-Oct-2009, 07:49
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...

Robert Hughes
7-Oct-2009, 08:55
I lean them on top of the towel rack in the bathroom - the towel wicks up excess moisture from the bottom of the film sheet. No dust problems.

Wallace_Billingham
7-Oct-2009, 09:02
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...

hitch hiking on this idea, several years ago I got a "boot dryer" for Chirstmas just like this one

http://www.buy.com/prod/dryguy-maxxdry-sd-shoe-boot-dryer/q/loc/17250/209722913.html

It has a simple heating element that makes the hot air rise up the tubes yet does not get so hot that is would start a fire or melt the boots. It is also fanless and quiet. If you take off the end of the tubes that would go into a boot they are just standard PVC tubes and could easily be modified and adapted to fit just about anything.

tmastran
7-Oct-2009, 09:33
31962

Robert Hughes
7-Oct-2009, 09:42
http://comps.fotosearch.com/comp/phd/PHD248/antique-blow-torch_~OS04018.jpg
It has a simple heating element that makes the hot air rise up the tubes...would start a fire or melt the boots. It is also fanless and quiet. Heh...

Ari
7-Oct-2009, 09:48
I process in a Jobo tank, and after a quick Photoflo bath, I put them in metal sheet film hangers, and hang them in a converted metal locker. They are hung at 45˚ and allowed to drip dry, usually ready within 6 hours or overnight.

Pat Kearns
7-Oct-2009, 10:19
Coat hangers and wooden clothes pins hanging on the shower curtain rod in the bathroom. Film dries in about 1 - 2 hours.

tgtaylor
7-Oct-2009, 10:55
I use a women's wardrobe for dresses that I purchased at WalMart for $6. It will hold 5 or 6 rolls of 120 and 6 or 7 sheets of 4x5. For 35mm and 220, I hang from the ceiling heater's protective wire screen in the bathroom and close the door - no problem from dust.

About a year ago I purchased an Arkay film dryer locally in good condition from a Ebay auction for $70. With the dryer I can process all the sheet film I want and have adequate dust free space to hang to dry. I dont use the heater on the dryer preferring to let the film dry naturally using film clips (Arkay?) that I get from B&H for ~$1 each. It takes film about 2 hours to dry in my setup, but I leave the film undisturbed for 4 hours before I handle it.

Lenny Eiger
7-Oct-2009, 11:35
I use a plastic-coated metal wire strung across the tub with number 0 or 1 bulldog clips I buy from the stationery store. Works great


Lenny

Don Hutton
7-Oct-2009, 12:36
I use a Jobo Mistral dryer with the sheet film cabinet - dead easy. I used to use a coat hanger with a bunch of plastic clothes pegs - run the shower hot for a minute or two - cleans the air and builds up the humidity (less static) then stuck the coat hanger behind the shower rose - never had a single issue...

erie patsellis
7-Oct-2009, 14:03
Don,
could you send me a pic or two of the sheet film cabinet? I have a roll film version of the Mistral II that I need to use for both and am looking for ideas.

erie