Salvage Those Photography Films Through The Document Salvage Drying Process

It was that flooded basement again! The electricity was off for almost six hours last night when everyone was already asleep. Since it was winter, people really don't mind but little do they realize that the sump pump, located in an under-floor sump pit in their basement, is not working either.

So the next day was not a very good morning. Water was all over the basement soaking all those precious memorabilia in a basement turned Pacific Ocean. But for Tony, a freelance photographer, this was not an ordinary ordeal to deal with.

He panicked at the sight of all his precious things soaked and floating in water! What depressed him even more was the sight of his boxes filled with films, the films that symbolized and documented the ten years of his laborious effort as a freelance photographer.

Unmindful of the water, Tony ran to salvage his precious box, but to his dismay everything was already soaking wet. He wondered whether he was too late.

Film, like books and photos, could be salvaged too. Using specialized techniques on document drying, we have the power to restore them back to a fair condition, good as new even.

Here's how. Assess your film and film can if there is significant water damage, as in it may have been soaked in water with contaminants. If so, try restoring the film in a very cold environment to avoid mold growth and bacterial action. Do not blow dry your films! Doing so may induce "blocking" or the phase when gelatin emulsion is adhering strongly to the adjacent layers of the film pack.

Your first step to document drying is to rinse it clean with de-ionized or distilled water and place it in a cool temporary storage area. At this stage, films should not be unwounded for examination.

But before rinsing it, some films may require unblocking treatment to gently release the adhesion between the film layers. This is a specialized treatment that often requires more time and professional service.

While document salvage of you films is happening, you may also consider cleaning your films with a solvent to get rid of unwanted oils and grease that might have been carried onto the film during the disaster.

Decomposing films that are often subjected to document drying have high free acid levels meaning the gelatin emulsion might be unstable and these films may suffer even more damage if not handled properly.

After thoroughly rinsing the film, it is now time to identify the extent of damage in the contents of the film. Initial mitigation should be employed in film document drying. Open the cartridge access door and try to shake out water. Using clean and low pressure air to dry it out, remove rings from the reel tape to further remove the water.

In film document salvage drying, always keep the media wet until restoration could be thoroughly applied. You may use zip-lock bags, plastic trash can liners and others.

Due to the sensitive nature of film document drying, it is highly recommended that a professional should handle it. Improper handling of the film may result to blocking and further damage that can occur due to incautious examination.