Sunday, October 3, 2010

Home made Photoflo

Photoflo is a wetting agent. This reduces the surface tension of water, so, when you hang up your negatives to dry, most of the water will just drip off. This reduces chances of dried water marks from showing up on your negative.

If you dont have access to photoflo, you can make your own equivalent by adding a drop or two of Pril (dishwash liquid) to a liter of distilled water. You need to use distilled water because it does not have any dissolved salts or minerals. Distilled water can be bought from battery shops and most petrol pumps for Rs.20 a liter.

As a last step after washing your film, soak the film reel in this homemade solution for a couple of minutes. Your film will now dry cleanly without any streaks or drying marks. Goes without saying, this solution cannot be reused.

Keep in mind that Pril has fragrances and other chemicals as part of its chemical composition. There are many posts on the internet which will warn you against using this solution with important negatives, since it may degrade the emulsion over a period of time.

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