Best Reels for Developing 120 Film?

[kangaroo2012]

I use Jobo reels and take all the film off the reel, in a dark bag or pup tent.
Then cut the corners of the film and adhesive tape and load as usual.
The thicker taped end is easier to thread onto the reels.
The reels must be dry or the gelatine film sticks.
Good luck

 

[leicapixie]

Steel reels are hard to use.
Plastic reels jam..
I prefer steel but try not to kink film getting new moons everywhere!
120 dries faster..

 

[benlees]

I use off brand Paterson reels with the "cheater" tabs. Easy peasy. Works great for both 35mm and 120.


Steel reels I often get kinks in the film.

 

[css9450]

Is it easier to center the film on the clip with Hewes reels?

I believer it is easier with the Hewes. The shape of the clip sort of self-guides the film towards the center, increasingly so the further you push the film onto the clip. The other brands? Not as much, if at all.

 

[Emile de Leon]

Any good quality steel works..even the el cheapo steel is ok..

 

[sepiareverb]

I too vote for Hewes. I have replaced all my various reels with Hewes and find them vastly easier to load. I might have actually shot 220 B&W had I sprung for a Hewes reel back in the day.

Any good quality steel works..even the el cheapo steel is ok..

Better than a Paterson yes, but once you use the clip on a Hewes 120 reel you will know why they cost more. The films are forced into alignment right at the outset with all types of Hewes reels, so never any backing up to straighten films out.

I was incredibly skeptical of the raves, but now rave too.

 

[retinax]

I have zero problems with clean Patterson reels, 120 or 135. I can't even find steel reels in Europe. How certain reels work for some people and not for others is one of the big mysteries left in the world.

 

[ka7197]

I am using the small Jobo 1000 tanks for 35 years now, for both 135 and 120 film. The 1000 series tanks come in three sizes—small holds one 135 film (280 ml of chemistry), medium holds two 135 films or one 120 film (500 ml), and large is for five 135 or three 120/220 films (1,150 ml). The plastic reels are adjustable to 135, 127, and 120/220 film, and they are fairly easy to load and sturdy enough for everyday use.

 

[ruby.monkey]

Clips cause problems for me. I find it hard to center the film exactly between the flanges while inserting into the clip. And the off-center loading then prevents the film from loading properly. It doesn't have to be very far off to make the film bind and crinkle. So I just start the film onto the reel without clipping it. Seems OK.

Is it easier to center the film on the clip with Hewes reels?

The 35mm reels hook into the film's first sprocket hole on each side, so it's basically impossible to load it crooked unless you've damaged the film beforehand.

 

[JHutchins]

I have zero problems with clean Patterson reels, 120 or 135. I can't even find steel reels in Europe. How certain reels work for some people and not for others is one of the big mysteries left in the world.

I think there are a couple of reasons for this. One is manufacturing inconsistency. Not all reels, even from one manufacturer are the same. I once bought a few cheap stainless reels and was struggling to load them and was baffled because I'd never had difficulties with a stainless steel tell before. I looked closely at them and saw that the spots where the spiral was welded to the frame were so sloppy the film couldn't possibly fit into the spiral. Every single reel was useless garbage. I'd used reels of the same brand before and they were fine so it was a manufacturing defect but if one of these reels was your first experience with steel you'd never understand how people tolerate them.

Part is wear. Steel bends and plastic wears with time. Bent steel reels are more difficult of course, as are worn plastic reels. If you don't drop it steel well last indefinitely, plastic won't, but who has never dropped a reel?

Part is the kind of film you use -- different films have bases of different thicknesses and some of the modern thin polyester based films are more challenging with plastic than older emulsions with heavier bases.

And part is weather. Plastic definitely gets more challenging as the humidity goes up.

In the end, while any well made reel in good condition can work well, especially if the air, film, and your hands are dry; I find a well made stainless reel easier and faster. And Hewes reels are always well made and for 35mm worth the added expense. For 120 there are perfectly fine alternatives as the tolerances needn't be as tight. On the other hand, 120 is harder to load in plastic than 35 mm is.

 

[nikon_sam]

I've used Paterson reels since the mid 70s and I like them...I can load two rolls of 120 on each reel...I also have a steel tank and am good with loading 120 on those reels but have a tough time with 135...
Whatever you use just remember to keep them clean and dry them off after every use. They will serve you well for many years.

 

[Canyongazer]

Observations of a retired photography department prof:


* Most students are leery of SS because they think Paterson's will be easier to load. Initially, that is true.

* Once mastered, almost all find SS easier and faster, whether 35 or 120

* With wear and use the "slick" begins wearing off Paterson reels. After that they can be quite the PITA.

* Kindermann SS are superior to all other steel reel and tank brands with which I am familiar.


Based on three decades working with perhaps 50 tanks, 200 reels and I shudder to think how many photo majors. 🙂

 

[stevierose]

I have Jobo tanks and after a lot of frustration trying to load their plastic reels I bought the Hewes 120 reels for Jobo tanks and haven't had a single problem loading film since then. They are expensive if bought new (though somewhat less from Freestyle) and they limit the number of rolls you can process in a Jobo tank compared (at least theoretically) to the Job Duoset reels. The Hewes 120 SS reel only holds one roll, whereas the Jobo plastic Duoset reel is supposed to be able to hold 2 rolls, so twice the rolls per volume. The problem is, I have never been able to load 2 rolls onto a Jobo reel, even one roll is usually a problem, so I've just accepted that I will use more chemicals.

 

[michaelwj]

I always found JOBO easier for 120 than Paterson type. Paterson for 35mm, JOBO for 120.

How are you using the JOBO ones?

 

[Bendj]

I find the plastic AP reels much easier than the Patterson ones due to the large film guides. and they are good value too.

 

[Russell W. Barnes]

I've only ever used Paterson reels and I find them easy enough to load. Hell... I can even do it blindfold! 😀 I actually find it easier to load 120 film than 35mm, and I take on board the useful tip mentioned earlier about only moving one side of the reel to ratchet the film on. 35mm can sometimes stick and crink the odd neg if I'm not careful.

As for 120 film, I can get two on one reel but it's an inexact science and depends on the film thickness. I wind the first film on, grasp it lightly but firmly across the diameter of the reel, and gently coax it round by holding the film steady and moving the reel until I feel the end stop. I can then ratchet another film on.

I've stopped doing this now as I've had a couple of 'overlap' issues costing a couple of frames: fortunately nothing I couldn't afford to lose. I think the first film can work its way backwards with ratcheting the second film. I'm loathe to use tape for joining or buffering as I think it might come adrift when in the soup and stick to a neg or several.

 

[Rob-F]

I finally broke down and bought a 120 Hewes reel from Adorama. $54.00! It was new, in the original box. It's identical to a reel I already had! I already had a Hewes reel and had been using it for years, and didn't know it. I'm sure I didn't pay more than $10 or $15.00 for the one I already had. So either I have two Hewes reels now, or else neither of them are. They are made from more parts than my two non-Hewes reels--one of which is a Nikor. They have seven cross-rods between the flanges, to only four for the Nikor and the other non-Hewes.

But I have never found the Hewes I already had, to be any easier to load. It's the one I was thinking of when I wrote about having a problem centering the film.

Should I send it back? Or am I missing something?

 

[Rob-F]

Here's a quote from another thread that addresses what I've been saying:

"I have recently become a convert to the old Nikor reels. The 35mm reel that I have has no clip so centering the film between the top and bottom and feeding it straight are automatic. The 120 version has a clip with a spike. You still have to center the film on the reel but it is easier to make it feed straight because the film can pivot on the spike."

My 35mm reels are Nikor, and I don't have that centering problem with them. As the poster wrote, there's no clip, and no way to start the film wrong. It guides in and centers automatically. My centering issue is with the 120 Hewes.

And here is another thread from four years ago that I had forgotten:

https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132569:

I'm feeling a little silly for not knowing I already had a Hewes 120 reel (and having trouble with it)!