dust spots

"R.W. Behan" <rwbehan RemoveThis @rockisland.com> wrote in message
news:vp6vchqvln9u95@corp.supernews.com...
 > Wayne:
 >
 > Dust is indeed ubiquitous. You simply can't eliminate it from your
 > darkroom, but you can fight back. Here's my approach: once the negative
is
 > inserted into the enlarger's carrier, I brush it thoroughly with a camel's
 > hair brush. Then I poof it a couple of strokes with an ear syringe, to
blow
 > away any particles that remain. That seems to be sufficient. In short:
 > you can't dustproof your darkroom, but you can come close to dustproofing
 > the negative, once it's in the carrier.
 >
 > Hope this helps.
 >
 > Dick
 >
 >
 > "wayne ferrell" <ferrell RemoveThis @ruralnetwork.net> wrote in message
 > news:3F935E07.E2F9F77B@ruralnetwork.net...
  > > I just made a few B&W prints from negs that were developed in a pro
  > > lab. I noticed how perfectly clean the negs were as I pulled them from
  > > the glassine sleeves and how quickly they tended to pick up small dust
  > > spots with my brief careful handling. It led me to do a thorough
  > > cleaning and wash down of my darkroom. This produced only marginal
  > > improvements in a subsequent printing session. What can I do to
  > > significantly reduce dust problems? Anti static treatment? A filtering
  > > air cleaner?
  > >
 >
 >

When you clean, do you use a vacuum cleaner? I find that my vacuum puts a
fair amount of dust back into the room; it's just a finer dust! I use an
extra length of hose so that the vacuum (a shop-vac type) is outside the
darkroom. I also mop frequently, with the mop that lives permanently in my
darkroom.

Ken Hart<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots 

wayne ferrell <ferrell.RemoveThis@ruralnetwork.net> wrote in message news:<3F935E07.E2F9F77B.RemoveThis@ruralnetwork.net>...
 > I just made a few B&W prints from negs that were developed in a pro
 > lab. I noticed how perfectly clean the negs were as I pulled them from
 > the glassine sleeves and how quickly they tended to pick up small dust
 > spots with my brief careful handling. It led me to do a thorough
 > cleaning and wash down of my darkroom. This produced only marginal
 > improvements in a subsequent printing session. What can I do to
 > significantly reduce dust problems? Anti static treatment? A filtering
 > air cleaner?

A trick I learned:

Turn the negative in the carrier almost vertically under the enlarging
lens with the enlarger turned on, in the dark. The light coming down
from the lens will throw any dust into sharp relief against the dark
film, and you can thus see it and clear it off. Try wiping the film
off with a very light touch of your hand, the oil from your hand will
pick up any loose dust and clean off the film. A light touch!<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots 

I'm going through the same process... For decades my darkroom was a walled
off area in a basement next to my workebnch where I did sawing, grinding,
etc., with no running water. ... I did not have a dust problem!

My current darkroom is in a kitchen (windowless) in the basement of my
office and for the first time in a lifetime of printing I am having dust
problems with 6x6 negatives... I'm getting an electrostatic precipitator for
the darkroom to see if that will help... Other tricks I use or used in the
past are grounding the enlarger frame to the outlet... Spraying a mist of
water in the air an hour before printing... And, wiping the enlarger down
with an anti-static/anti-cling pledget intended to be put in the clothes
dryer, at the start of a printing session...
Other suggestions will be gratefully entertained...
Denny
"wayne ferrell" <ferrell.RemoveThis@ruralnetwork.net> wrote in message
news:3F935E07.E2F9F77B@ruralnetwork.net...
 > I just made a few B&W prints from negs that were developed in a pro
 > lab. I noticed how perfectly clean the negs were as I pulled them from
 > the glassine sleeves and how quickly they tended to pick up small dust
 > spots with my brief careful handling.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots 

On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 22:01:12 -0600, wayne ferrell
<ferrell.TakeThisOut@ruralnetwork.net> wrote:

 >I just made a few B&W prints from negs that were developed in a pro
 >lab. I noticed how perfectly clean the negs were as I pulled them from
 >the glassine sleeves and how quickly they tended to pick up small dust
 >spots with my brief careful handling. It led me to do a thorough
 >cleaning and wash down of my darkroom. This produced only marginal
 >improvements in a subsequent printing session. What can I do to
 >significantly reduce dust problems? Anti static treatment? A filtering
 >air cleaner?


oct2003 from Lloyd Erlick,

Humidity is a very large factor. It is extremely helpful to have a
readout device that shows humidity reasonably accurately. I have found
the cheap electronic ones from places like radio shack work well
enough for our purposes. I think of keeping the light path clean
rather than the whole darkroom. (Although the posts from others in
this thread are certainly valid. Clean the darkroom and you clean the
light path ...).

There's an article on my website on this subject, under the technical
section of the table of contents.

regards,
--le
______________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
---
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.heylloyd.com" target="_blank">www.heylloyd.com</a>
lloyd.TakeThisOut@the-wire.com
______________________________<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots 

some films have more problems with dust then others.
i use a brush where the negatieve goes through before putting it in the
holder.
this works fine for me. the brush is connected to the ground cable of a wall
contact box.

"wayne ferrell" <ferrell DeleteThis @ruralnetwork.net> wrote in message
news:3F935E07.E2F9F77B@ruralnetwork.net...
 > I just made a few B&W prints from negs that were developed in a pro
 > lab. I noticed how perfectly clean the negs were as I pulled them from
 > the glassine sleeves and how quickly they tended to pick up small dust
 > spots with my brief careful handling. It led me to do a thorough
 > cleaning and wash down of my darkroom. This produced only marginal
 > improvements in a subsequent printing session. What can I do to
 > significantly reduce dust problems? Anti static treatment? A filtering
 > air cleaner?
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots 

"wayne ferrell" <ferrell.TakeThisOut@ruralnetwork.net> wrote in message
news:3F935E07.E2F9F77B@ruralnetwork.net...
 > I just made a few B&W prints from negs that were developed in a pro
 > lab. I noticed how perfectly clean the negs were as I pulled them from
 > the glassine sleeves and how quickly they tended to pick up small dust
 > spots with my brief careful handling. It led me to do a thorough
 > cleaning and wash down of my darkroom. This produced only marginal
 > improvements in a subsequent printing session. What can I do to
 > significantly reduce dust problems? Anti static treatment? A filtering
 > air cleaner?
 >

Wayne,
There are all the standards-
* no carpet or cloth wall hangings etc.
* keep the use of paper towels to a minimum (tearing a sheet off a roll
creates a cloud of paper dust)
* don't sweep, damp mop including walls, ceilings and the top of the trim
over the door

A HEPA filter will help if you keep the door to your darkroom closed
basically all the time. Maintaining a positive pressure differential in the
darkroom can also help if used in conjunction with a HEPA filter. That is,
draw in air from outside the darkroom through the filter. Have your outlet
for the air smaller than the inlet (not easy as air can escape around the
door, through electrical outlet boxes, etc.) and you will have positive
pressure.

What seems to work the best for me however is humidity. I have a tempering
tray in my darkroom that is in operation 24/7 maintaining water and
chemicals at 75 degrees F (or 100 if I plan to be working with color). The
evaporation from the tray keeps the humidity in the darkroom substantially
higher than the rest of the house and dust doesn't seem to be much of an
issue.

Sherman
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.dunnamphoto.com" target="_blank">http://www.dunnamphoto.com</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots 

"Sherman" <shermanDELETETHIS RemoveThis @dunnam.net> wrote in message
news:DAQkb.4336$Uz6.903@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net...

 > A HEPA filter will help if you keep the door to your darkroom closed
 > basically all the time. Maintaining a positive pressure differential in
the
 > darkroom can also help if used in conjunction with a HEPA filter. That
is,
 > draw in air from outside the darkroom through the filter. Have your
outlet
 > for the air smaller than the inlet (not easy as air can escape around the
 > door, through electrical outlet boxes, etc.) and you will have positive
 > pressure

Positive pressure has a drawback: sending chemical fumes out of the room,
perhaps into living space (in a house).
According to most sources, including Kodak, a darkroom should have
ventilation such that it has 10 air changes per hour. Using an exhaust fan
will cause a negative pressure differential.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots 

On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 09:16:04 -0400, "Mark Wolenski"
<mark.DeleteThis@wolenski.com> wrote:

 >
 >"Sherman" <shermanDELETETHIS.DeleteThis@dunnam.net> wrote in message
 >news:DAQkb.4336$Uz6.903@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net...
 >
  >> A HEPA filter will help if you keep the door to your darkroom closed
  >> basically all the time. Maintaining a positive pressure differential in
 >the
  >> darkroom can also help if used in conjunction with a HEPA filter. That
 >is,
  >> draw in air from outside the darkroom through the filter. Have your
 >outlet
  >> for the air smaller than the inlet (not easy as air can escape around the
  >> door, through electrical outlet boxes, etc.) and you will have positive
  >> pressure
 >
 >Positive pressure has a drawback: sending chemical fumes out of the room,
 >perhaps into living space (in a house).
 >According to most sources, including Kodak, a darkroom should have
 >ventilation such that it has 10 air changes per hour. Using an exhaust fan
 >will cause a negative pressure differential.
 >


oct2003 from Lloyd Erlick,

Working in an enclosed space like a darkroom with chemical fumes would
be a horror. There are no fumes in, or from, my darkroom. I like the
darkroom to be a place of peace and tranquility, even when I'm working
for money. Earning a living in peace is a worthwhile goal, and fumes
do not enter into it. (I'll omit my usual rant on rapid fixer, acid in
various forms, etc etc ...)

regards.
--le
______________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
---
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.heylloyd.com" target="_blank">www.heylloyd.com</a>
lloyd.DeleteThis@the-wire.com
______________________________<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots 

On 10/20/2003 5:59 AM lloyd.DeleteThis@the-wire.com spake thus:

 > I think of keeping the light path clean
 > rather than the whole darkroom. (Although the posts from others in
 > this thread are certainly valid. Clean the darkroom and you clean the
 > light path ...).

Seems to me that it's *much* more important to keep the entire darkroom as
clean as possible, rather than trying to get one little area (the "light
path") clean. Otherwise, each step you take, indeed every time you swing your
arm or pick something up will generate a small cloud of dust.

Mind you, this is from someone who doesn't practice what they preach. Someday.


--
It turns out that, contrary to cutesy lists of absurd laws and email
sigs, it is actually *not* illegal to carry an ice cream cone in one's
pocket (front or back) in Lexington, Kentucky. So there.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots 

 > A trick I learned:
 >
 > Turn the negative in the carrier almost vertically under the enlarging
 > lens with the enlarger turned on, in the dark. The light coming down
 > from the lens will throw any dust into sharp relief against the dark
 > film, and you can thus see it and clear it off. Try wiping the film
 > off with a very light touch of your hand, the oil from your hand will
 > pick up any loose dust and clean off the film. A light touch!


I have good results using a static-master brush and a very light puff
from a can of Dust-Off. The freon from the Dust-Off does not seem to
bother the emulsion.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots 

When I replaced my condenser light source on an Omega B22X enlarger by
an Omega color head, I noticed that the number of points on my prints
(black and white prints) requiring spotting went down by at least a
factor of ten. That is the striking difference between a diffuse light
source and that from a condenser. The only effect on print quality was
that I had to go up one contrast grade in order to get equivalent prints.

This is all in past tense, because my printing for the past few years
has been color only. I haven't had the need to do any spotting.

Herb

--
To send me email, replace deadspam.com by acm.org
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots 

Good advice. An electrostatic air purifier may also help, but it could just
stir up the dust if it isn't a good one or isn't installed correctly. A
good air filter on the air inlet (or heater outlet) helps a lot. Low
humidity seems to attract dust to film, but high humidity can soften the
gelatin and make the dust stick permanently. Keep the negatives clean and
in their sleeves when they are not in the enlarger.

"Ken Hart" <kwhart DeleteThis @aec.nu> wrote in message
news:bn109m$ib3$1@news.chatlink.com...
 >
 > "R.W. Behan" <rwbehan DeleteThis @rockisland.com> wrote in message
 > news:vp6vchqvln9u95@corp.supernews.com...
  > > Wayne:
  > >
  > > Dust is indeed ubiquitous. You simply can't eliminate it from your
  > > darkroom, but you can fight back. Here's my approach: once the negative
 > is
  > > inserted into the enlarger's carrier, I brush it thoroughly with a
camel's
  > > hair brush. Then I poof it a couple of strokes with an ear syringe, to
 > blow
  > > away any particles that remain. That seems to be sufficient. In
short:
  > > you can't dustproof your darkroom, but you can come close to
dustproofing
  > > the negative, once it's in the carrier.
  > >
  > > Hope this helps.
  > >
  > > Dick
  > >
  > >
  > > "wayne ferrell" <ferrell DeleteThis @ruralnetwork.net> wrote in message
  > > news:3F935E07.E2F9F77B@ruralnetwork.net...
   > > > I just made a few B&W prints from negs that were developed in a pro
   > > > lab. I noticed how perfectly clean the negs were as I pulled them
from
   > > > the glassine sleeves and how quickly they tended to pick up small dust
   > > > spots with my brief careful handling. It led me to do a thorough
   > > > cleaning and wash down of my darkroom. This produced only marginal
   > > > improvements in a subsequent printing session. What can I do to
   > > > significantly reduce dust problems? Anti static treatment? A
filtering
   > > > air cleaner?
   > > >
  > >
  > >
 >
 > When you clean, do you use a vacuum cleaner? I find that my vacuum puts a
 > fair amount of dust back into the room; it's just a finer dust! I use an
 > extra length of hose so that the vacuum (a shop-vac type) is outside the
 > darkroom. I also mop frequently, with the mop that lives permanently in my
 > darkroom.
 >
 > Ken Hart
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots 

On 10/20/2003 11:59 AM Norman Worth spake thus:

 > Good advice. An electrostatic air purifier may also help, but it could just
 > stir up the dust if it isn't a good one or isn't installed correctly. A
 > good air filter on the air inlet (or heater outlet) helps a lot.

I wonder, does anyone here have experience with using a HEPA filter in the
darkroom? I ask because I have one, but haven't tried it yet. I wonder if
closing the room up for a day or so with the filter running might not get most
of the loose dust out of circulation.


--
It turns out that, contrary to cutesy lists of absurd laws and email
sigs, it is actually *not* illegal to carry an ice cream cone in one's
pocket (front or back) in Lexington, Kentucky. So there.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: dust spots