Drying Large Negatives

[William Whitaker]

I'm using a rental darkroom which is a very nice facility. They have a film dryer which, while it doesn't work, does at least act as a dust-resistant place to hang negatives to dry. The problem for me is that I'm doing 12x20 (finally!) and the dryer space is limited. I had two negatives weld themselves together overnight and I can't afford to have that. So, does anybody have any ideas about drying large negatives?

It crossed my mind to try to transport the wet negatives back to my apartment so I can hang them up there. But if I read someone else post that idea, I'd probably roll my eyes and say something less than gracious about it. So that probably won't fly.

It seems a shame to get this far with 12x20 only to find that I can't safely dry the negatives. Setting up a darkroom at home for open-tray processing of film is simply not an option right now.
Your thoughts interest me...

[Brian C. Miller]

Put plastic clothes pins on the bottom. When the negatives start heading for each other, the clothes pins will keep them apart.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Jobo clips will let you fit a lot of negs of any size in a small space, and the pin is foolproof. I've never had one drop off the line, and my largest are 11x14" and 7x17".

Then to keep them from adhering to each other, they just need to be spaced out a bit more. Since the negs hang perpendicular to the line with Jobo clips, perhaps other users could hang their rollfilm negs, which normally run parallel to the line, between your sheets.

[William Whitaker]

Brian, sounds like a good suggestion. I've always hung sheet film diagonally, suspended from one corner to dry so that the water tends to run to the bottom corner. Not sure how it would work with that. But certainly worth considering.

David, Jobo clips sound good, but are discontinued and impossibly expensive on the used market. I did hang my negatives perpendicular to the line (rod), but six negatives was one too many. No room for roll film anywhere; glad nobody else was processing film.

Instead of clips, with negatives this big and heavy I purchased a 1/16" hold punch and used paper clips bent out to pass through the hole and provide a hook for hanging. That way there's no risk of the negative slipping out and ending up in the dirt. I'll try some plastic clothespins near the bottom for now in hopes that it will discourage the mutual attraction wet film seems to have for itself.

One possibility may be to build a dedicated plywood box to allow room for film this size and leave it at the darkroom. But I don't know where it could be stored and people would complain. This is the part of ULF nobody ever tells you about...

[cowanw]

Lee valley tools lifetime clothes peg may help, bottom amd ? top
http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/p...=2,42194,67373

[Tim k]

Get a big tupperware bin. Mount a couple of rods at the top. Cut a couple of vents, I Covered mine with coffee filters. Use your choice of hanger.

Bingo, redneck cheap portable drying cabinet.

If you insist, I think I could dig up a jpeg.

[jp]

When you hang a negative up to dry, squirt both sides with some rubbing alcohol 90%. It removes water and helps things dry fast, and it's clean.

[lab black]

Tim has an excellent suggestion that has possibilities for many variables. For 12x20, my personal concern would be leaving 12x20 negatives to dry in a public darkroom that was out of my control. Some of the larger Rubbermaid style storage boxes with hinged lids are available at camping stores or home supply stores. Rods or dowels could be placed through them and 12x20 negatives could be carefully hung with clips to be taken home for a better arrangement. I use medium, spring-loaded, automotive battery clips for the top of my 12x20 negatives and Kodak dental film clips (Cat 149 2586) for the bottom. I do not believe that the Kodak clips are still available, although sometimes they are found at used camera equipment shows. If you want an example of each, please let me know.

[Sal Santamaura]

...Jobo clips sound good, but are discontinued and impossibly expensive on the used market...

Impossibly expensive compared to two ruined sheets of 12x20 film?

[William Whitaker]

Impossibly expensive compared to two ruined sheets of 12x20 film?

Instead of clips, with negatives this big and heavy I purchased a 1/16" hold punch and used paper clips bent out to pass through the hole and provide a hook for hanging. That way there's no risk of the negative slipping out and ending up in the dirt.

The hole is punched in the film rebate out of the image area.