Friday Tip: Removing Dust from your Negatives

Today's tip is all about that dreaded dust! How do we get as much as possible off our negative before printing. Here I show how, using an enlarger lamp, we can get it all off.

John

[TrashTheLens]

Here's another tip: when blowing the dust off, don't hold the negative horizontally, but hold it at an angle or even vertically, so that the dust you just blew off has less chance to land back on your film and instead falls to the floor. Also, don't skimp on the brush: get yourself a proper anti-static brush even if only a small one. The prices may seem crazy, but it immensely helps in getting the dust actually *off* instead of just moving it around.

[ikeeppek]

I point a UV flashlight at the negative while using a dust blower. Even the smallest dust particles light up in blue and are thus easily visible.

[paolociccone]

Great tip, thank you for all the great content that you make, I've been watching a lot of your videos. I worked with continuous lighting using fresnel spots. I found that a fresnel lens highlights dust very well so it's a good method to see dust on negatives. Keep up the excellent work, we are all enjoying it.

[richardsimms]

Great teaching. So important. RS. Canada.

[stephendeakin]

Kinetronic make anti static brushes and I've found glassine negative sleeves to be a good storage method.

[AustenGoldsmithPhotography]

I've switched to Hama sleeves . The plastic ones encourage static and with it dust BIG TIME !

[AndrewHenderson]

I use a rocket blower and the Ilford anti static cloth on mine.

[detttrorjegikke]

Thank you for another good tips! I always use a Zerostat antistatic gun (Milty) before blowing, then most of the dust loosen without a brush. The brush usually adds more dust, thats my experience at least.

[barrykirsten]

Good tip John, especially about use of slanting enlarger light. I also use glassless negative carriers up to 4x5, (which also prevents Newton's ring)s. What are your thoughts on canned air as an alternative? Thanks for your great videos.

[buyaport]

Step 1 in my dust removal proces is to vigorously shake the film strip, like a whip. Don't be squeamish, modern films are made of plastic, not of delicate thin paper! I have done it several 100 times, and it makes a difference.