anyone hear of using alcohol instead of photoflow as a drying agent

[dave4242]

Hey all,

Had an interesting chat with a fiend toady and he said an "old timer" tol him to use alcohol instead of photo as a drying agent to speed up drying and avoid contaminants on his negatives.

Anyone hear of this?

Very curious if this is a good solution.

Thanks!

[Greg]

Old darkroom trick newspaper photographers used to greatly speed up the film's drying time. 1950s news photographer once told me that Vodka was also used but not poured down the sink's drain...

[dave4242]

LOL thanks!

[jp]

I've done it. Keep it off your hands when rinsing film as it will remove oil from your hands and put it on the film.

But yes, if you clean your film with clean alcohol, it dries quickly. In the summer here, it's humid and takes 1-2 days for film to dry without it.

I mostly use 91% from the drugstore, which is not for drinking and much cheaper. You don't have to use it pure either. typically just a splash in the final wash is plenty unless you're in a hurry.

[dentkimterry]

I put 30ml of alcohol in one quart of mixed photoflo. Have had excellent results.

[dave4242]

Thanks everyone think i'll try it!

[Jim Galli]

If you have very hard water like we do out in the desert, I've learned to use a few grains of sodium hexametaphosphate (calgon) in my final rinse. Just a pinch, doesn't take much.

[koraks]

I tried it once or twice with denatured alcohol, but only something like 10ml added to 500ml of water. Didn't do anything. A much higher concentration would probably work, but then I'd rather just use a few drops of surfactant. In the end that's cheaper and its effectiveness is proven.

[Jim Noel]

I put 30ml of alcohol in one quart of mixed photoflo. Have had excellent results.

That is redundant.

[Doremus Scudder]

That is redundant.

I'm curious as to whether alcohol acts as a surfactant in this application (I've never used alcohol to speed film drying).

PhotoFlo is a surfactant and prevents droplets from forming and causing drying marks/spots. Alcohol, I know, can be used to speed drying, as it displaces water in the emulsion and promotes evaporation. But, does the alcohol also prevent formation of droplets?

Doremus