Binder clips for film hanging?

[BetterSense]

I'm scratching xray film left and right, I can't seem to not scratch it. I have a hard rubber kodak 4x5 film developing tank, but no hangers. I suppose I could use the black binder clips strung on a dowel rod, and dip the film in the tanks that way. I don't know how normal film hangers work, so do you think the binder clips wolud work?

[Jeff Searust]

that's what I use to hang film to dry, top and bottom...

[bdial]

Normal sheetfilm hangers are a stainless steel frame that holds the film along all four sides.
Binder clips would work, but I think would have at least two problems. First, it would be easy to put the film too far into it and you'd probably end up with a blank spot in the image area. You could avoid that with some practice though.
The next would be corrosion. Binder clips are plain steel, and acid stop and fix won't be kind to it not to mention the water. a good rinse and drying them carefully will help, but you could have some undesirable reactions going on along with the processing.
Hangers don't go for much on ebay, as I recall.

[eclarke]

I bought stainless steel clips from these people in bulk. The prices are right and the clips are very good. The one I use is pictured in the top right hand corner of the picture in this link.. http://www.craft-inc.com/m/_genercat_dept_6.aspal/ but they have tons of different models...Evan Clarke

[KenS]

I'm scratching xray film left and right, I can't seem to not scratch it. (snip)

A significant number of years ago I 'invested' in some stainless steel Kindermann dental film clips for hanging all my films.

Kindermann still has 'similar' film clips that you could have welded to a SS 'rod' of the appropriate size... while attaching a couple of their weighted clips to the bottom corners to facilitate dip and dunk processing of large sheet films.

Towards the lower part of this page...

http://www.kindermann.de/products/ph...index_eng.html

Ken

[eclarke]

The link for this is not working right but the company is Craft Inc. and comes up in a search...EC

[Monophoto]

It's important to differentiate between hangers used throughout the processing sequence for sheet film, and devices used to hang film sheets to dry.

The term "hangers" usually refers to stainless steel frames used to hold film sheets through the entire processing sequence - presoak, developer, stop, fixer, wash, etc. Hangers hold film on all four edges and can be used to hold film as it is repeatedly dipped into processing chemicals. Hangers attach rigidly to a rack that cause the hangers (and therefore the film sheets) to remain parallel for processing.

Binder clips are one option to hold processed film for drying. Binder clips attach only to a corner of the sheet, and would not be a wise choice for repeated dipping because there would be no way to force the film to remain parallel, and it is likely that the sheets would touch each other causing either scratches or areas of incomplete processing. Also, conventional binder clips are ordinary steel and are likely to corrode when exposed to processing chemicals.

Binder clips are just one option for hanging film to dry. Other options include clothespins (plastic is better than wood because it won't absorb chemicals), and purpose-made film clips from suppliers such as Patterson or FR.

Or you can use a small hole punch to create a hole in the corner of each sheet, and then hang the sheets from hooks that you permanently install on a rack in your darkroom.

[bsdunek]

How about wood spring clothespins with a wire hook through a hole drilled in the handle? I use these to hang negatives and prints. Don't corrode or rust and work quite well.

[k_jupiter]

How about buying film holders designed for those tanks? They are not that expensive.

Or figure out a better way. I have about four that work for me.
Best results? nylon screen tubes in a patterson tank. Just like developing roll film.

I use the hard tank and film holders for washing only.

tim in san jose