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#11
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The Curse of the Curl
"jay" wrote in message ... On Jan 16, 9:47 am, Anton wrote: Hello, all I have at last got collected courage to digitize some of my old films which were processed in cheap photolabs and probably dried in a hurry. I have been storing them in rolls and now, after cutting them into strips I have been struck by the extent of lateral curl. My scanner won't just focus on such films, unless I use special film holder which is less convenient and also crops the frame by about 2 mm in heght and width. Do you have any suggestions as to how to flatten and old and heavily curled film (meaning alteral curl, from edge to edge). Thank you in advance, Anton I swear that I've seen this problem addressed. IIRC the solution involves glycerin . I would also swear that I've seen possible solutions to this in, perhaps,: “The film Developing Cookbook” (1998) or“The Darkroom Cookbook” (2nd ed. 2000) I've looked through both & have not found a reference to this topic. In the mid '60s I used a quick drying solution that turned the film purple, but did not have an adverse affect on the printing. I think that it, in addition to quickly drying film, it flattened film, & caused the film to be an anti-static. The name that vaguely comes to mind is Edwal. I also vaguely remember that I used some sort of print flattener that may have used glycerin. Perhaps it was a home brew. I am fairly certain there is a chemical answer. However the side affects may not be worth it. Perhaps a really old publication like “Morgan & Morgan Photo Lab Index” (IIRC) might be of value. I wish I still had one. I truly wish I could be of more help, JD There was a sort of generic print flattener formula, about 60 ml of glycerine per liter of water. Soak the prints in this for about five minutes after washing. Then squeegee off the excess and dry. Hydroscopic flatteners like this are frowned on by conservators because they can promote the growth of mold on prints. I've used various print flatteners but not found any to be completely successful. I generally flatten prints using a dry mounting press. Those seem to stay flat permamently. -- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA |
#12
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The Curse of the Curl
On 2010-02-12 18:59:24 +0300, "Richard Knoppow"
There was a sort of generic print flattener formula, about 60 ml of glycerine per liter of water. Soak the prints in this for about five minutes after washing. Then squeegee off the excess and dry. Hydroscopic flatteners like this are frowned on by conservators because they can promote the growth of mold on prints. I've used various print flatteners but not found any to be completely successful. I generally flatten prints using a dry mounting press. Those seem to stay flat permamently. Richard, I don't quite know what a mounting press is. Do you mean you keep your films flat under a constant heavy pressure? How strong is that pressure? What kind of sleeves/packaging do you use for films stored this way? Anton |
#13
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The Curse of the Curl
"Anton Shepelev" wrote in message ... On 2010-02-12 18:59:24 +0300, "Richard Knoppow" There was a sort of generic print flattener formula, about 60 ml of glycerine per liter of water. Soak the prints in this for about five minutes after washing. Then squeegee off the excess and dry. Hydroscopic flatteners like this are frowned on by conservators because they can promote the growth of mold on prints. I've used various print flatteners but not found any to be completely successful. I generally flatten prints using a dry mounting press. Those seem to stay flat permamently. Richard, I don't quite know what a mounting press is. Do you mean you keep your films flat under a constant heavy pressure? How strong is that pressure? What kind of sleeves/packaging do you use for films stored this way? For what it's worth, what has worked for me well through the years is a 50-50 mix of denatured alcohol and water. Take a damp cotton swab of this mixture and swipe it across the back of the print. Then place the print face down under some moderate weight overnight - a couple of books will do. In the morning, the prints are satisfactorily flat. |
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