Wearing gloves when processing black & white paper

[AnselMortensen]

Tongs for printing, and
gloves for film processing is my workflow.

 

[mshchem]

I try to keep my hands out of the trays. I keep a bucket or pan with fresh water to rinse off my fingers. I use some nice heavy gloves when handling nasty stuff.
I can't stand gloves when handling paper.

 

[GregY]

I use nitrile gloves for tray processing film or toning prints. Tongs for prints. At 16x20 or 20 x24" i use fingers as much as tongs ang have a basin of water to clean them before exposing the next print.

 

[Bill Burk]

If I am working out of the paper safe (test strips) I use one hand that didn’t get wet. If I am reaching in the box, I double check for pinholes and dry carefully.

 

[eli griggs]

I think it would be more difficult to determine if gloves are dry than bare skin. Given that, I would probably go through more than 20 pairs of disposable gloves in a typical darkroom session. So, no gloves unless I am doing something like toning or bleaching, or if I have any open cuts on my hands or fingers.

Keep a generous bucket or tray full of either running water or a full fresh water exchange for a quick shaking of contaminated gloved hands, violently from side to side to remove/knock off, most of the chemistry and a thick terry towel of stack of them to dry the gloves enough to continue the process without interruptions.

For my painting and other endeavors, I find it convenient to go to Goodwill or Salvation Army last chance stores, buy old towels and cut them into rags that can be safely tossed out as needed, without the endless cost of Bounty paper towels.

Extra thick cotton diapers are great too and already in a convenient size.

How are folks here cleaning the rubber tips of tongs, to prevent grime from marking their papers?

 

[Pieter12]

I prefer not to wear gloves, but I do keep a small bucket of fresh water to quickly rinse then dry my fingers. Since I use a slot processor that employees a clip to grab the paper, my hands are never immersed in any of the chemicals, just my finger tips to help move larger prints from slot to slot, then to the water tray. I buy 12-packs of cotton guest towels at Costco and they last and work well for me. Paper towels only for spills.

 

[dpurdy]

I wear a glove to process sheet film in a tray but never to process paper. I am perfectly happy with my stainless steel tongs for paper. You just have to learn to work with what the paper wants to do. If I was going to start using gloves with paper I would probably use kitchen type gloves so I could put them on and off easily.

 

[koraks]

Using tongs and/or gloves is sensible and I'd recommend it. I admit I don't always do so, although for b&w prints I generally use tongs. I don't like to have wet fingers all the time and having to do the rinse/wipe routine every few minutes. It's just inconvenient.

When processing sheet film in trays, I usually don't use gloves (let alone tongs!) I rarely, if ever use staining developers for sheet film anymore and one of the reasons is I'd rather not slosh around in a bath of pyro with my bare hands.

For color prints I mostly use an RT processor so I don't have to touch any chemistry. Very rarely I do color prints in trays; this is my greatest sin, really, since I mostly do this with bare hands. I might regret that later on since CD3 is kind of nasty, like pyro (but not quite as nasty as CD4 used for C41 film).

Anyway, use protection, kids. Don't listen to the people who say it's a "distinct disadvantage" or that it doesn't matter. A person can only speak for themselves; sensitivity to dermatitis is extremely personal and variable so even if Ansel Adams never had any trouble (that we know of...) doesn't mean that you will be spared a painful itch all over your hands - or worse.

Be smart.

 

[logan2z]

If I was going to start using gloves with paper I would probably use kitchen type gloves so I could put them on and off easily.

I use these, purchased from Amazon:

LANON Nitrile Chemical Resistant Gloves, Reusable Heavy-Duty Rubber Gloves with MicroFoam Textured Palm, Acid, Alkali and Oil Protection, Black, XL https://a.co/d/5VukBAa

They do limit your dexterity a bit, but they offer good protection and are easy to slip on and off as needed. I give them a quick rinse/towel dry and slip them off before heading back to the dry side of the darkroom.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Pyro or color chem with bare fingers??????? (((*^&&%E&*TO*(YP)!!!!!!!!! There have been some long-term health horror stories related to that practice - Russian roulette darkroom-style.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

Limiting exposure to even the more benign darkroom chemicals is a good idea. Avoiding exposure to the more toxic ones is crucial.

I use pyrogallol, selenium and a few other things that I don't want to get my hands in. Repeated exposure to Metol can cause painful and irreversible contact dermatitis. Why risk that by regularly sticking your hands in Dektol or the like.

There are tried-and-true ways to keep hands out of chemicals: tongs and gloves. Both have their place.

Like others, I use gloves for tray-processing film in PMK, etc. No problems with shuffling the stack (but unloading the holders with gloves on is a bit more of a challenge). I've used one pair of nitrile gloves over several sessions. Watching out for pinholes, as Bill suggests, is a good idea, though!

I use tongs for printing. I can work an entire session without getting my hands in developer, stop, fixer or toner. For larger prints, I use two sets of tongs. I like the old-style rubber-tipped bamboo tongs. I can work up to 20x24 with a pair of tongs in each hand.

If it's really necessary, I'll pick up a print with my fingers from time to time, but that happens only rarely, so my exposure is quite small.

Is it some macho thing to bare-hand it all, or what? It's so easy not to get your hands in chemicals, I don't see why anyone would choose to.

Best,

Doremus

 

[cliveh]

I can understand people using gloves or tongs with colour processing and alternative process methods, but my OP was about black & white printing and am surprised that so many of you avoid putting your hands in dev, stop or fix. They are only mild alkalis and acids and you can always rinse your hands afterwards. You wouldn't flinch about getting vinegar on your hands.

 

[Don_ih]

Getting any film chemicals on your bare skin is a very bad thing to do that is very easily avoided. There is no reason to do it at all. Admitting that you swish your hands around in developer and fixer is the same as advising others to do it, by the way.

I developed a metol allergy about 1 month after I started making prints. I get hives if any developer gets on my skin. It can take a day to go away.

I have heavy chemical-resistant gloves (like kitchen gloves but better) when my hands have to get wet for any reason. I use tongs for prints. I use good disposable gloves if I have to develop film in a tray - and I throw those gloves away as soon as I take them off.

They are only mild alkalis and acids

That's not the issue. See the Metol Safety Data Sheet, particularly:

"May cause an allergic skin reaction. Harmful if swallowed. May cause damage to organs through prolonged or
repeated exposure."

The thing to remember is some people would be able to swim in a vat of D76 every day and never become allergic to metol. Other people would become allergic immediately.

 

[DREW WILEY]

I'd certainly "flinch" about having my fingers in vinegar for a prolonged period. It can leach out the protective oils in the skin and leave you subject to irritation. Even too much exposure to hot water can.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

I can understand people using gloves or tongs with colour processing and alternative process methods, but my OP was about black & white printing and am surprised that so many of you avoid putting your hands in dev, stop or fix. They are only mild alkalis and acids and you can always rinse your hands afterwards. You wouldn't flinch about getting vinegar on your hands.

Metol is the big irritant in a lot of print developers. Repeated exposure can lead to severe and painful contact dermatitis, so that's a thing to avoid. Yes, stop baths are not terribly toxic, but having your hands in mild acid for extended periods can irritate skin, dry them out, etc. A minor issue, but easily avoided. I don't soak my hands in salad dressing for extended periods of time either

Keeping your hands out of the fix is just good darkroom hygiene. Even microscopic amounts of fixer carried around the darkroom can damage paper or film. A lot of the fingerprints you see on processed film are from fixer-contaminated fingers, not from skin oil or whatever. Fixer isn't as easy to wash off as you may think, so simply not getting it on your hands to possibly spread around is a good idea. Plus, all that ammonia in alkaline fixers is a real irritant and the astringents in hardening fixer makes prunes out of your fingers

Film developers that contain pyrogallol, pyrocatechol or amidol can be dangerous. These chemicals accumulate in your system and can cause organ damage and cancers. Edward Weston's Parkinson's disease can possibly be attributed to his bare-handed use of amidol (there is a debate about this and no definite answer, but...).

Selenium and other toners are not things you want to have skin contact with. Also possible carcinogens and easily absorbed through the skin.

So, if you're using any of the above things, you're likely wise to avoid or minimize contact. It's easy, so why not?

I suppose I could put together a working group of chemicals for black-and-white processing that were quite benign and that I would feel fine about putting my bare hands in (I still wouldn't want fixer on my hands, though, for the above-mentioned reasons), but as long as I need tongs or gloves for some chemicals, it's simple to just use them for the entire work-flow.

Best,

Doremus

 

[GregY]

I can understand people using gloves or tongs with colour processing and alternative process methods, but my OP was about black & white printing and am surprised that so many of you avoid putting your hands in dev, stop or fix. They are only mild alkalis and acids and you can always rinse your hands afterwards. You wouldn't flinch about getting vinegar on your hands.

Cliveh i'm as much concerned about not contaminating my paper supply as anything else. It's the old dry side/wet side story....

 

[cliveh]

Don_ih, sorry to learn of your allergy to metol and can understand how you feel. However, I would have thought this is quite rare. For my own part, I put my hands in print dev, but use tongs to transfer to stop and fix.

 

[albada]

You can get dermatitis from hydroquinone. I know that by experience after developing paper for weeks with a metol-free developer. Use gloves or tongs!

Mark

 

[DREW WILEY]

There's nothing rare about metol allergy. Some people aren't allergic to poison oak or poison ivy either, at least until they are. Sensitization to any number of things can happen both suddenly and dramatically. And then there are other chemicals which have more of a long-term effect. I've known a number of career printmakers who ended up deeply regretting their former carelessness.

With fixers, I learned a long time ago how tenacious they can hold onto skin, and in turn spread residue around the darkroom. Needing to scrub one's hands with soap after each test strip or print is quite an annoyance to workflow, whereas a pair of rubber gloves washes off with plain water far more easily and quickly.

 

[Don_ih]

I routinely deal with far more dangerous things than photographic chemicals. Using gloves and tongs just doesn't seem that inconvenient.

 

[bdial]

I learned about dermatitis the hard way in my youth, working in a lab with bare hands in chemistry everyday.
Keeping your hands out of the chemistry, one way or another is good practice. Gloves work, just rinse and dry them the same as you would working without gloves. I use gloves or tongs somewhat interchangeably, depending on the situation.

Some B&W chemistry is more or less benign compared to some color chemistry, but that doesn’t mean it’s harmless.

 

[snusmumriken]

I use tongs mostly, and am pretty successful at avoiding chemicals getting anywhere but in the trays. But I don a pair of re-usable Marigold washing-up gloves when contact is unavoidable, eg when washing the trays.

I read somewhere that the allergic response to metol was actually caused by a common contaminant, which nowadays is largely removed. Is that true or untrue?

 

[koraks]

Is that true or untrue?

IDK; I wouldn't bank on it in any case.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

I'm Canadian, so...

 

[logan2z]

I'm Canadian, so...

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