Railfan Technology > How To flatten bent photo negatives?

 Of the several hundred pages of 35mm negatives I have stored in plastic negative files, about 6 or 7 have folded over and "bent" or "crinkled" the negatives.  How to flatten them again?  Soak in water?  Iron with low heat?  Pressing in thick books doesn't work.  Anyone with a clue as to what does works?  I anxiously await your suggestions.

Ed

I was given some 35MM negatives, still rolled in the film cans which were taken in the early '40s.  They were coiled up like blue spring steel and nothing I tried would do the trick. 
I ended up buying a box of Gepe snap together plastic slide mounts, cut the negs off as singles and mounted each one in a slide mount.  Worked like a champ.
They had been uncoiled and recoiled so many times over the years that they had gotten scratched, but I was able to scan them and Photoshop all the blemishes out.
This may help your problem.

I'm a former darkroom rat.  I would soak the negative for a couple of minutes in room temperature distilled water. Gently wipe it dry with a new sponge that has been rinsed with the distilled water.  The emulsion will be soft, so only a swipe or two per side.  Hang it to dry from the corners, using cloths pins on the bottom as weights to prevent curling.  If you want to be more careful, you could use Kodak Photo-flo 200, which prevents water spots and streaks.

If you know anybody with a PlusTek scanner, the film tray will hold the film flat while scanning.  

Marty Bernard

 I have been using glass plates on my flatbed (Epson 4490 Photo) but the flattening is not permanent.  So I CAN scan them, though I woud like to make them flat again for storage.

Ed