Wrote off using a film drying cabinet for years, but now I built one for $40

I always thought those DIY film drying cabinets were overkill and just went with hanging my rolls in the bathroom. After three straight weeks of dust specs ruining my 120 negatives, I grabbed a plastic storage bin, a HEPA filter from Amazon, and some weather stripping at my local Ace Hardware. Has anyone else found a cheap hack that actually worked better than you expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_scott4415d ago

Doubt it makes that big a difference honestly.

wells.morgan15d ago

Wait, is this actually better or are you just convincing yourself that it is? A plastic bin and a cheap HEPA filter don't really create a true dust-free environment the way a purpose-built cabinet does. For starters, that weather stripping you used probably doesn't seal tight enough once the bin warps from temperature changes in your darkroom. I tried a similar setup five years ago and still got lint from the filter itself settling on my wet film. Not to mention the static buildup from the plastic bin attracts dust like crazy, which made my 35mm negatives look worse than when I just hung them in a closet with a fan running.