handling film (gloves)

"H. S." wrote in
:

Hi,

The other day I was chatting with the agent at a local one-hour photo
lab (they use Noritsu 3011s IIRC). During the course of the chat, she
mentioned that Kodak sends them gloves and instructs them to wear
those gloves while handling film. She showed me the gloves, they are
white and reportedly made of cotton (because that is what the
inventory register specifies). But she said that the gloves leave
little strains of threads, or lindt(?), on the film so she doesn't use
them at all.

I mentioned that weren't they supposed to use latex gloves? She rolled
her eyes and said that the company never sent them any such gloves,
moreover latex gloves are skin tight. Result: she handles the flim
barehanded, though very carefully so as not to put any fingerprints on
it.

I was wondering, what is that white material that the companies sends
as cotton? Any comments? It doesnt' feel like cotton btw, it feels
like a synthetic. Moreover, even if it were cotton, is it advisable?


As for what Kodak is specifically sending, I cannot say for sure.
I've got several pairs of gloves from my minilab days long ago, and they're
varying materials. One type appears to be cotton with elastic binding
(stretches to fit hands), another is definitely a microfiber synthetic.

None of them have ever appeared to be damaging in any way to film,
but you have to remember that they're not intended as a total safety item.
You still have to use care when handling. The purpose is strictly to
prevent skin oils from getting on the film - anything else should be
handled differently. They shouldn't be used to clean the film, or dry it or
anything.

Latex, I think, would be bad. While they might prevent skin oils from
coming through, they're liable to collect it on the outer surface of the
gloves, which you have to handle to put them on. And you sweat like hell in
them. Also, they will often have a static charge which will collect
dust/grit/badthings, or are powdered - neither one is great from film.

I would prefer lint on my film to skin oil, though, no matter how
carefully the tech handles it. Lint comes off with a blower or brush. Oil
stays on, unless specifically cleaned (and the cleaning raises the risk of
scratches from foreign bodies), and will eat into the emulsion. Many of my
older negatives have damaged emulsions, sometimes in the form of
fingerprints.


- Al.

--
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No question about it. Using cotton gloves and the lint problem is nothing
compared to the problems down the track from getting body fat on the film
from bare hands. In any event, the lab should have a supply of compressed
air beside the printer to blow away any lint or dust.
Douglas

"H. S." wrote in message
...
Hi,

The other day I was chatting with the agent at a local one-hour photo
lab (they use Noritsu 3011s IIRC). During the course of the chat, she
mentioned that Kodak sends them gloves and instructs them to wear those
gloves while handling film. She showed me the gloves, they are white and
reportedly made of cotton (because that is what the inventory register
specifies). But she said that the gloves leave little strains of
threads, or lindt(?), on the film so she doesn't use them at all.

I mentioned that weren't they supposed to use latex gloves? She rolled
her eyes and said that the company never sent them any such gloves,
moreover latex gloves are skin tight. Result: she handles the flim
barehanded, though very carefully so as not to put any fingerprints on it.

I was wondering, what is that white material that the companies sends as
cotton? Any comments? It doesnt' feel like cotton btw, it feels like a
synthetic. Moreover, even if it were cotton, is it advisable?

-HS

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one. Apologies for the inconvenience but this is to reduce spam.)

On 26-Feb-2004, "H. S." wrote:

The other day I was chatting with the agent at a local one-hour photo
lab (they use Noritsu 3011s IIRC). During the course of the chat, she
mentioned that Kodak sends them gloves and instructs them to wear those
gloves while handling film. She showed me the gloves, they are white and
reportedly made of cotton (because that is what the inventory register
specifies). But she said that the gloves leave little strains of
threads, or lindt(?), on the film so she doesn't use them at all.

I mentioned that weren't they supposed to use latex gloves? She rolled
her eyes and said that the company never sent them any such gloves,
moreover latex gloves are skin tight. Result: she handles the flim
barehanded, though very carefully so as not to put any fingerprints on it.

I was wondering, what is that white material that the companies sends as
cotton? Any comments? It doesnt' feel like cotton btw, it feels like a
synthetic. Moreover, even if it were cotton, is it advisable?

Both cotton and synthetic gloves are common. (I've never heard of anyone
using latex gloves outside a wet darkroom.) The lint, if any, from the
gloves is far easier to remove than fingerprints. Further, the bio-chemical
soup that's on most peoples fingers (soap, perfume, hand lotion, lunch,
etc.) may affect the longevity of the film.

This confirms my biggest gripe with one-hour labs is their often careless
handling of film. Obviously, the one-hour lab you mention didn't do a very
good job of training their 'agent' or monitoring her performance.

The fact that Kodak bothers to include the gloves should be a huge clue.



--
Tom Thackrey
www.creative-light.com
tom (at) creative (dash) light (dot) com
do NOT send email to (it's reserved for spammers)

"H. S." wrote in message
...
I was wondering, what is that white material that the companies sends as
cotton? Any comments? It doesnt' feel like cotton btw, it feels like a
synthetic. Moreover, even if it were cotton, is it advisable?

-HS

The solution many good labs use is cotton gloves to handle paper and
disposable finger cots for handling film.



Dooey.