Bulk Loading Film

[Socke]

Argh! I just calculated how many rolls it takes until I save money bulcloading.
I should stop reading this forum 🙂

 

[rover]

Bulk loaders cost almost as much as a roll of film! So I still don't have one. This is how I do it, inspired by a certain old-school photographer on the photo.net leica forum.

I do the whole operation in the dark. I put a soft, lint-free towel in the can the roll comes in, stand the roll upright (the can corrales the roll and prevents it from coming discombobulated, and thus saves undue wear on my heart) and I pull out an arm's length at a time -- about 30 frames for me. While I'm pulling off the length of film I lift the spool gently off of the towel with my other hand to avoid friction against any surface.

If I were more enterprising I'd put a cut-up coathanger through the core and balance it over the bathroom sink so the roll would be suspended in air and free from scratches.

When I'm done I reassemble the can, tape it back together, seal it all away in an airtight ziploc bag, then chuck it back into the freezer. You could salvage some silica gel and toss that in with the film to be double-sure it's safe from moisture during the freeze/thaw cycle but everything's been great for me so far.

If it's good enough for Al Kaplan, surely it's good enough for everyone else, right?

Al is a wonderful man, but I am happy I dropped the $15 on ebay for a loader.

 

[Max Power]

Al is a wonderful man, but I am happy I dropped the $15 on ebay for a loader.

I'm with you on this one 😀

A roll of Delta-400 is $7 CAD here in Quebec City, it's really expensive stuff. For a Canuck, bulk loading just makes sense, especially when a roll of APX-100 is $29 CAD from Photoco. I think that I figured out that in building 30 frame rolls, it costs about $1.50 CAD once the price of the bulk-loader is amortised. And if you take your time, you can find a bulk loader for $10 USD on Fleabay. Even in an expensive photoshop, cassettes are only about $1 apiece.

The most critical thing, for me, is to follow a really strict process when both loading the loader and in loading the cassettes themselves...One false move and you will spoil a 100ft roll of film. IMHO, using Al Kaplan's method is just not worth the stress and strain.

Just my $.02

Kent

 

[kiev4a]

Bulk loaders cost almost as much as a roll of film! So I still don't have one. This is how I do it, inspired by a certain old-school photographer on the photo.net leica forum.

....
If it's good enough for Al Kaplan, surely it's good enough for everyone else, right?

As someone else noted, you can pick up a bulk loader for almost nothing on ebay (I paid $10 for my watson-type). In addition, you run the risk of getting fingerprints on the film using you method -- plus, I would be I can load 10 rolls while you are loading one.

 

[XAos]

i'll have to give that a try gene. that's agfa? don't think i've tried any b&w agfa.

how many film cassettes are you going with. i just realized i need to pick some up soon.
i think i've seen them locally but have never priced them out.

joe

I know this one's old, but I got about 20 of em to start with, 10 would have been sufficient. I know people who load the entire roll at once, but I get tired of it - that it leaves you more flexibility for short rolls if you roll a little more than what you expect to use at once.

I only bought one loader, a Watson, and it's got APX400 in it. When it's gone I've got a roll of Tri-X and I plan to stay with that for the near future. One thing I didn't do, was figure out the spool business. Mine didn't seem to fit, so I took the spindle out and the spool just sits in the loader loose.

 

[taffer]

Ok, so my bulk loader is here 🙂 It's a Jessops (same as AP, Arista, Konica), and comes with 100ft of Ilford 400 ISO B&W film inside, bad part is I don't know which type but guess it's HP5 or XP2, I'll give it a try with a short roll and see after developing.

Btw, does anybody have the instructions for this loader or know where could I find them ?

Also, together with the loader I got an unopened and sealed can with 100ft of Konica XG100 color film inside but I don't have the expiring date 😛 Anyway I'm not probably going to bulk load color film, so if somebody has an outdated (let's asume this one is) can of B&W film, please let me know if you'd like to trade.

 

[solane]

a tip for loading your first large roll of film. (this may seem obvious but its really helpful) practice opening and closing the bulk loader while its empty in daylight. practice opening it and putting the lid back on it until you feel confident about doing in the dark before you unwrap that tasty 50' of 100' roll.

its silly -- i know-- but someone (my fabulous photo prof) once told me the same thing and i'm sure it saved me from ruining my first bulk roll in college.

 

[taffer]

Thanks for the info Solane, I was also thinking on sacrificing the last 10-15 frames on the roll and open it to see how's put inside, better that than ruining a tasty new roll, as you say 🙂

Btw, I just loaded my first canister, got a bunch of them from the local QSS store, with the tail of the remaining film outside, it's a piece of cake to use some scotch tape and stick the leader of fresh film, I think that's explained in some website out there.

Now let's see if there are some light leaks or scratches problems...

 

[peter_n]

Tell us how it goes, Oscar! I'm about to embark on the same adventure. 🙂

 

[wlewisiii]

Inspired by all of you, I had gotten a loader off of goodwill for about $15 and then hadn't done anything with it. Well, no more. I got paid for some computer work and picked up a roll of Plus-X (the local cameras store only had it and TMax 100 in stock and I already know how nice Plus-X plays with Diafine 🙂 ) and some Kodak cannisters today. After the little guy is asleep for the night tonight... 😀

William

 

[doubs43]

Inspired by all of you, I had gotten a loader off of goodwill for about $15 and then hadn't done anything with it. Well, no more. I got paid for some computer work and picked up a roll of Plus-X (the local cameras store only had it and TMax 100 in stock and I already know how nice Plus-X plays with Diafine 🙂 ) and some Kodak cannisters today. After the little guy is asleep for the night tonight... 😀

William

Plus-X is great film. I predict you're going to get "hooked" on bulk loading! 🙂

Walker

 

[Stanton]

I have been using cassettes from my local processor by taping film to the tail of the film hanging out of the used cassette for some time with no problems at all. That takes the cost of cassettes down to zero. I find that the economics are that it pays to bulk load black and white, but not color. Dave

 

[Chaser]

i just loaded 12 rolls of trix wooo

 

[XAos]

Wheww....

I finished up my roll of APX400 - was starting my 100 ft roll of Tri-X. Went to load it and realized I left the gate open. AAAAAAARRRRGHGH. I spooled off a long roll, threw it away, and loaded a few short rolls to test. They're hanging to dry now and look ok. little bit of dirty edges outside the sprocket holes, but man did I feel sick when I realized it.

 

[wlewisiii]

Note to self: find better or use more tape on spool inside canister. I was shooting the first roll from my 100' roll of Plus-X today and felt it come loose as I advanced to 36... I removed the film in my changing bag and it's in the tank right now, but that's something to be a wee bit more carefull of in the future. That or find a few old Contax/Kiev canisters 🙂

William

 

[XAos]

I did that once, now I use about an inch of tape on the film, over around the spool, and another inch down the back. Haven't had any more come off - I think its the both sides thing rather than how much is on it. If you get the right angle it'll just peel right off - this way the back holds even when the front might lift.

 

[wlewisiii]

Well the neg came out of the tank looking fine (Plus-X at EI 400 in Diafine. Major yummy on a sunny sumer day.) so no harm done. I'll try that tape technique for the next batch, XAos. I've got three other rolls to use first, but I'll probably be ok now that I realize the issue.

Thanks for the tip!

William

 

[XAos]

The GSN bit me on this and I knew what was up right away. Once I started cranking, I couldn't release the latch until I finished the stroke. To finish the stroke ripped the film off the spool - I'm not sure any amount of tape would really help this.

 

[FrankS]

Hi guys, that just happened to me on Saturday! After the meeting of the RFF small group in Toronto dissolved, I stayed on a bit in Kensington Market taking street pics. Things were going really well and I took some amazing photos including a street person (a little removed from reality, but happy) dancing in the street. We looked at each other a few times and I had a big smile on my face. Once he came over and said something like "I usually don't allow pictures." Eventually I went over to him and gave him $2 for his begging hat and asked him directly if I could take a picture of him up close. He adjusted his long straggly hair a bit and I snapped off a good one, and thanked him. The problem was, the last 10 or so shots that I had taken were directly on the film pressure plate. I had not taped the end of the bulk-rolled HP5+ securely enough and it sesparated from the spool! Luckily this did not happen earlier in the day. I did have another roll of film that I was going to stay on and shoot, but I was hot and tired, so home I went. Needless to say, the rolls I loaded today are securely taped onto the spools! Makes me think that a changing bag might be a good thing to throw into the car to have handy. Lesson learned!

 

[Doug]

Note to self: find better or use more tape on spool inside canister. I was shooting the first roll from my 100' roll of Plus-X today and felt it come loose as I advanced to 36...

William, I've not had that happen, but then I always have applied the tape all the way around the spool and sticking to both sides of the film.

Ouch, just read your comment Frank, that's gotta sting! Shooting on the pressure plate is guaranteed to be disappointing...