When working with RC paper I swear I see paper sparks. There is at times grey marks on my finished prints. Is it from the sparks? Am I just handling the paper too quickly?

-- Christina Reilly (tcreil1@banet.net), February 04, 1999

Answers

Christina,

how dry is your darkroom? What's on the floor? What sort of shoes are you wearing?

If you're working in a very dry environment, and/or your running around with rubber-soled shoes on synthetic carpets (or maybe even synthetics brushing against the RC paper), it's possible that you're having electrostatic discharges.

Try humidifiying your darkroom, or make sure you ground yourself (touch a metal tap or something) before you handle paper. Also be aware of any nylon or similar cloth brushing against plastics (like the RC paper, any acrylic/plastic trays you have, etc.).

duncan

-- Duncan McRae (duncanm@zip.com.au), February 04, 1999.

I get this effect when I slide a sheet of paper out of the pack, although I've never noticed any effect on the print. I believe the plastic-against-plastic rubbing causes a build up of static electricity. If that is corect, then earthing myself won't make any difference (although it is certainly worth a try!). I would have thought that a humid atmosphere would reduce the problem.

My solution is to slide the paper out more slowly.

I also get this effect with 5x4 film, and I think this process of charging the film has the effect of attracting dust. I now remove the entire pack of film from the plastic bag, and lift off individual sheets. Since doing it this way, I have had fewer dust problems.

-- Alan Gibson (Alan.Gibson@technologist.com), February 05, 1999.