Pre soaking film in Archival Washer

[wiggywag]

Hi!

I found out I dont have trays enough for my new 7x17" film for presoaking it before development and came up with the idea of using my archival washer for presoaking. Have anybody else done that before? Is there any problem to that? Should I just let it rest there in 5min under water flow?

:-)

[Jim Noel]

Better yet, if you use a water stop, as I do, pre-soak them in that tray. It does no harm to then use it for stop. If you are concerned about re-use, have a container of fresh water sitting where you can fidn it in the dark. Use the tray for pre-soak, move film to developer, dump the water and refill the tray.

[Gary L. Quay]

I tried to wash 8x10 film in my archival washer and damaged it badly trying to get it back out. I wouldn't suggest it.

--Gary

[Brian Ellis]

I processed film over a period of about 25 years. I never pre-washed any film, from 35mm to 8x10, except when I first started using pyro. And I did then only because the pyro book I read said to do it. Never had any problems (at least none that could be attributed to lack of a pre-wash). If I had only two choices, one to pre-wash in an archival print washer and the other to not pre-wash at all I'd opt for the latter.

[Daniel Stone]

I'd buy more trays

[Keith Fleming]

I wash 4X5 and 8X10 negatives in my archival washer with no significant problems. However, that's because my washer came with a lucite wand which has the last couple of inches covered by soft rubber tubing. The rubber allows me to pull out the negatives easily and without damage. No system is perfect however, and I must admit there have been a handful of times in which the film plastered itself flat against a vertical divider. In those cases I just pulled out the divider and used a fingernail to carefully loosen the film.

Keith

[wiggywag]

I'd buy more trays

Will do, but cant wait to see the result

[wiggywag]

Better yet, if you use a water stop, as I do, pre-soak them in that tray. It does no harm to then use it for stop. If you are concerned about re-use, have a container of fresh water sitting where you can fidn it in the dark. Use the tray for pre-soak, move film to developer, dump the water and refill the tray.

A great space saving idea!

[Doremus Scudder]

Do you wash your film in the archival washer? If so, then you know how to get the sheets in and out. Now, can you do that in the dark? Without damaging the film? If so, then you are good to go. If not, maybe it's not worth the risk.

FWIW, I've used everything from Pyrex baking dishes to plastic laundry tubs for "trays" when I needed more. I've since stocked up, so rarely have that problem, but maybe you have something around the house that you can use for a temporary tray already?

BTW, I always pre-soak before developing. If I didn't, the sheets would surely stick to each other in the developer. As it is, I have to wait 15-20 seconds before immersing the next sheet in the pre-soak to prevent them from sticking together there and sometimes the still adhere to each other and take five minutes of more to soak up enough water to separate them without damage. I also believe that pre-soaking promotes more even development with touchy developers like PMK.

Best,

Doremus

[Jac@stafford.net]

I don't know where you live, but in the USA a good source of oversize trays is the local construction and housing supply store. Go to the section for hot water heaters. They usually have trays intended to be put under the heater to catch seepage. They are strong and inexpensive.