ADOX CMS 120 rolls very strongly

TiMo · 2012-02-27T07:06:18+00:00

Ich habe jetzt schon einige Adox CMS 120 verschossen und jedesmal rollt sich der entwickelte und getrocknete Film sehr stark auf. Das ist vom Handling her ni...

TiMo

I’ve already used up quite a few rolls of ADOX CMS 120, and every time the developed and dried film curls up quite badly. It’s not very pleasant to handle, and I’m always worried that a corner of the film will scratch the negative. Does anyone else have the same problem and a solution? Best regards, Tim

piu58

Does anyone else have the same problem and a solution? Best regards, Tim

I don’t use this film, but I’ve had this problem quite often. Solution: Take the backing paper and the reel, and wrap the dried, uncut film backwards around it, secure it with adhesive tape and leave it for a few days. Then it will be flat and stay that way.

TiMo

Good idea! I'll give that a go. I've tried smoothing out the streaks under books before, but that isn't enough.

MirkoBoeddecker

I cannot confirm this problem. The streaks lie perfectly flat here, and we develop hundreds of CMS 20 roll films for quality control. I therefore suspect that, as is often the case at this time of year, it is a problem with humidity. Film emulsions are formulated so that the forces between the emulsion and the base cancel each other out at 40–60% humidity. At higher humidity levels, the gelatin can absorb more water, swell and push the film (concave warping); at low humidity levels (such as now in winter), it dries out and pulls on the base (the film curls inwards with the emulsion). In our lab, we ensure the correct humidity during drying, and after drying, the film lies as flat as almost any other at any humidity level. Here are two brand-new images from our drying cabinet taken just two minutes ago – note that they were taken without a weight at the bottom and at 70% humidity! My tip, therefore: increase the humidity during drying and, if necessary, leave it hanging with a weight on it for two days. A simple method for drying with higher humidity is to hang the films above the shower or bath and have 10 cm of hot water in the shower tray. The rising steam also removes dust from the air, so you don’t end up with thousands of lint particles on the film afterwards. We solve the problem by wiping them down with hot water ;) Best regards, Mirko [ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND] [ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

Gast

I use that shower trick too. It works a treat – the flatness is spot on with every carrier!! Best regards, Wolfgang

TiMo

Hi Mirko, It’s probably not the film, because someone else has also told me about a flat CMS film. There must be some other reason. I dry the film in the shower. The weight is attached at the bottom. It usually dries alongside a Tri-X, which doesn’t curl. Last time it was a rainy day. The window was open. There shouldn’t be a lack of humidity. Could it be that the chemicals I’m using are having an effect? The tendency to curl is extremely strong. A streak of four negatives curls into a roll about 5 cm in diameter. PS: Excellent film, by the way! It’s great fun to make prints from it, and the results with Adotech II are also very nice.

piu58

The tendency to curl is extremely strong. A streak of four negatives curls into a roll approximately 5 cm in diameter.

If films are stored for too long, i.e. rolled up and unused, they develop an additional tendency to curl. This is clearly noticeable after two years and naturally gets worse the longer the film is left. I wouldn’t worry too much about it and would simply rewind it backwards. I find even much smaller curling radii annoying, as it makes it difficult to make contact prints. I always do this whenever a film curls even slightly.