Gloves?

[Shootar401]

Reading through the forums I've seen a common trend. People wearing gloves while loading, unloading, processing, scanning and handling film in general. I've NEVER used gloves when handling my film from taking out of the box to placing it on my scanner, and I've never run into an issue. Are some people just being overly cautious? I find as long as I wash my hands right before handling film I can grab it anywhere even in the middle of the sheet and not have an issue.

Just wondering if I'm the only one, I know I'm not. But give me a good reason why some are wearing gloves and others not.

[C. D. Keth]

I've never worn gloves and don't intend to, with the exception of working with potassium cyanide for wet plates.

[DanK]

I don't wear gloves at any stage with film, but do while printing - might be excessive, but I print one at a time, use one hand, and use a fresh glove for each print - off after fix, new glove under the enlarger...

Cheers,
Dan

[Light Guru]

The big reason for gloves is not because of fingerprints it is to prevent the oils on your skin from causing issues. Washing ones hands prior to handling film works just as goo if not better.

[henk@lf]

I wear latex (powderfree) medical gloves when developing film and in the darkroom because I have allergic reactions when I don't.
I also wear them for loading and unloading 4x5 filmholders.
They do not bother me at all and they are cheap.
Luckily I am not allergic to latex :)

[vinny]

Handling IR film with bare hands can lead to fingerprints which enlarge quite nicely. I wear nitrile gloves when loading that stuff and while handling any chemicals.

[C. D. Keth]

Handling IR film with bare hands can lead to fingerprints which enlarge quite nicely. I wear nitrile gloves when loading that stuff and while handling any chemicals.

Come on, Vinny. It's part of the look. Like out of focus, overexposed, light-leaky lomo pictures.

[bobwysiwyg]

I too don't and never have worn gloves. Like others, I just wash my hands and thoroughly dry them before handling film. I do try to avoid fingering the middle of images though.

[C. D. Keth]

I too don't and never have worn gloves. Like others, I just wash my hands and thoroughly dry them before handling film. I do try to avoid fingering the middle of images though.

Yes, I should have clarified that. I don't touch the film anywhere but the edge and in what will be a rebate area anyway. I do wash my hands before.

[Michael Cienfuegos]

I don't wear gloves when loading film, but I do wear them when handling chemicals. I wear cotton gloves when handling negatives, it cuts down on the fingerprints. :)

[Shootar401]

So I'm not the only one. Thats good. I try to think what people did 50 years ago before latex gloves and I figured washing hands was the thing. I did try gloves once and it made separating the sheets from the box difficult since I could tell if I was picking up one sheet or two. And removing sheets from the holder was next to impossible with gloves on.

I still don't use gloves when tray processing. for the same reasons. But I do know that if you have a cut on your hand and dip into fixer it HURTS! Ask me how I know..... :eek:

[amac212]

I go commando.

[tiggert]

I always wash my hands good with dishwasher detergent, or if in the field with a wet nap, before going into the tent to handle film. Just cuts the oils off. In winter I gloves if handling chemistry, my hands crack easy and can get irritated. Summer rolls around I enjoy Amidol tinted fingernails!

[Ed Richards]

Might be where you live. Here in the tropics, light cotton gloves keep oily finger prints at bay when loading film. But then you folks who put your hands in chemicals probably don't have sweat glands in your hands anymore. :-)

[joselsgil]

I wear gloves is when I develop film using Pyro developers. This is recommended as some of the chemicals can be absorbed thru your skin.

Thin cotton gloves are great to wear when handling negatives or mounting prints, as it keeps oil and fingerprints off the negs or prints.

[jp]

I wear thin cotton gloves when handling processed negatives. I didn't use to, figuring washing my hands was plenty, but I've got greasy skin, and inevitably touch my face/ear/someplace greasy if I don't have gloves on.

Loading/unloading holders or loading reels, it happens quick enough that I can just wash my hands and call it good since I won't have time to touch anything greasy.

Printing, I only let one hand get wet. Half as much work keeping my hands dry that way.

[N Dhananjay]

keep in mind that there is also variation in body chemistry - some of us have sweaty palms to a greater degree than others. I just wash my hands for handling film. Gloves on one hand for developing . Cheers, DJ

[Doremus Scudder]

For film handling and loading filmholders I use clean bare hands. I try to handle them film by the edges. I'd be a bit afraid to use cotton gloves loading because of the possibility of lint/fibers getting on the film.

For unloading filmholders and developing, I wear nitrile gloves, since that's what I use with the pyro developers I use. Unloading is a bit more of a pain with gloves on, but manageable. I don't wear the gloves to protect the film, rather to protect me from the chemicals. I used to unload and then don the gloves, but that was even more inconvenient.

Printing: bare hands when I get my hands wet at all. I can manage prints up to 16x20 in open trays with print tongs without getting my hands wet. For batches or when needed otherwise, I don't hesitate to get my hands wet. I just wash and dry thoroughly before returning to the dry side. I handle the paper with clean bare hands. I also handle my negatives with clean bare hands when printing, but by the edges only (except when using nose grease to eliminate a scratch... but then I clean the neg after printing). Dry print handling is usually done carefully with bare hands, but only touching the borders, which get trimmed off before mounting anyway.

When mounting I wear soft cotton gloves so as not to get fingerprints of the surface of the prints or smudge the mount board. After than all handling of mounted prints is done with clean soft cotton gloves (presentations, framing, etc.).

Best,

Doremus

[Drew Wiley]

One instance where I alter procedure is if I'm using a changing tent out in the backcountry where I'm inevitably going to be
grubby. Everything obviously has to be very lightwt and compact for the backpack, so I carry a little baggie of nitrile finger
cots, to cover the tips of my thumb and index finger, along with a few little alcohol swabs to clean my hands first.

[drew.saunders]

Loading/unloading holders: bare hands, and I try to not cut my fingernails beforehand.
Developing film: nitrile gloves from Costco, mainly to keep my hands from smelling funny.
Handling negatives: polyester gloves from the nearby photo store, for protection against fingerprints (at the end of a meal at a restaurant, my water glass tends to look frosted, so I guess my fingers are on the oily side) and for protection against dust.

[SpeedGraphicMan]

Cotton Gloves only when handling dry negatives (scanning, inserting into negative holder).
Also I always wear thin surgical latex gloves for color processing.

[WayneStevenson]

I used to not until the day I had fingerprints on an important negative I was working with.

Now whenever I handle the negatives during scanning or printing, I wear a powder-free nitrile glove. I recently picked up some finger cots (finger condoms) from the drug store as I figured they would be more comfortable for long durations. Haven't gotten around to using them yet to see if I like them.

I have also gone the route of wearing one glove while printing. I keep a wet hand and a dry hand. Dry hand is mainly for handling the paper so any chemistry that might have absorbed into my fingers wouldn't contaminate a fresh / undeveloped print.

[Michael_4514]

Reading through the forums I've seen a common trend. People wearing gloves while loading, unloading, processing, scanning and handling film in general. I've NEVER used gloves when handling my film from taking out of the box to placing it on my scanner, and I've never run into an issue. Are some people just being overly cautious? I find as long as I wash my hands right before handling film I can grab it anywhere even in the middle of the sheet and not have an issue.

Just wondering if I'm the only one, I know I'm not. But give me a good reason why some are wearing gloves and others not.

You are not the only one.