Scanning Wet Mount Fluid

[IanBarber]

From the research I have done, it appears that Kami Fluid is what is used when wet scanning. Looks fairly expensive for a 1ltr bottle.

Is this the only fluid that can be used or does anyone know of an alternative ?

[vinny]

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...p/t-97341.html

[Bruce Watson]

From the research I have done, it appears that Kami Fluid is what is used when wet scanning. Looks fairly expensive for a 1ltr bottle.

Is this the only fluid that can be used or does anyone know of an alternative ?

There's a long and bizarre history of Kami fluid being used, and drum scanning drums becoming crazed. Yet, no cause-and-effect has been established. The general theory has to do with drums that aren't stress-relieved properly, and Kami's high evaporation rate putting more stress on the drums. IDK.

I used to use the SDS scanning fluid (Prazio in Canada used to import it and brand it for NA), but it's hard to come by in NA anymore.

There's also available a mounting fluid by ScanScience called Lumina.

[sanking]

In a past thread Armando suggested Sunnyside Paint Thinner as a substitute for Kami fluid.

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...canners/page17

"... the Sunnyside Odorless Paint Thinner works great as mounting fluid. Many hardware stores carry it. Here are the part numbers:
70532 for a quart (<$10)
705G1 for a gallon (<$20)"


Sandy

[Bruce Watson]

In a past thread Armando suggested Sunnyside Paint Thinner as a substitute for Kami fluid.

A paint thinner? Really? That might be interesting, but not on my drums. I might think about lighter fluid though, just not for very long.

What's wrong with using a fluid that's actually designed for the duty?

[Sasquatchian]

I've been using Kami for 18 years now and have never had a problem with my Howtek drums, but maybe I've just been lucky. I have some Lumina as well and will probably get some more. The old timers operating an ancient Hell used to mount with regular Johnson's mineral oil and then soak most of it off by placing the film in an old telephone book to absorb the excess. Pain in the ass to clean, but cheap. Some said that the mineral oil wasn't so great for film longevity.

[Noah A]

I've never had problems with Kami either on my Howtek drum. It seems pricey, but a bottle lasts a while unless you're scanning a ton of film.

I buy it from Aztek. They're a great resource and have helped me solve a few problems with my scanner even though I didn't buy it from them. Just recently they got my machine back on line when I was up against a deadline. That kind of knowledge and support is priceless, so I don't mind paying a little more for my supplies.

My scanner came with a few old bottles of prazio fluid. That stuff was a mess, it was much harder to clean the negatives after scanning. With Kami I barely need to clean them at all, in fact sometimes they're more clean after I scan them.

[mitrajoon]

Based on this discussion in the scanning group on Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/groups/isf_sc...7664182773926/

I bought some gamsol, which is pretty cheap and available everywhere.

[Doug Fisher]

I have been watching that thread too. If I ever use up my supply of Kami, I will be trying the Gamsol. Hopefully we will see some more long-term use posts to that thread.

Doug

[IanBarber]

Anyone tried Lighter fuel ?