Gloves when loading film reels?

[Benjamin]

Come to think of it - when I was a young apprentice, the fitter that I worked with advised me to wear boxing gloves - in bed at night!.....I disregarded that advice too!
Dave.

Still, it was probably better advice than wearing gloves when loading film onto the reel.

Life's to short.

 

[Trius]

I wore gloves (or a single glove) when handling film when I printed in a commercial lab. Your hands can't be oil-free all day, and there is enough acid in skin oil that it can etch film, or even glass, if left on long enough.

However, for handling my own film in loading, I've never worn gloves, especially in a changing bag where the sense of touch needs to be as good as possible.

If heath and humidity are a problem, I would suggest purchasing a changing tent or building a changing box. In both cases there will be more room, hence more air circulation.

For me, I find a room I could make light tight. Heat and humidity weren't really an issue for me with the changing bag, it was the damn bag being all collapsed on my hands, which interfered with my focus on the feel of the film going onto the reels.

That said, I really need to get some Hewes reels. And a new tank.

Edit: I totally forgot that in the lab we sometimes used these, especially helpful for those who were checking the prints prior to sending back to the photographer.

 

[RayPA]

Never. Not once for loading film onto reels.


/

 

[Keith]

I wore gloves (or a single glove) when handling film when I printed in a commercial lab. Your hands can't be oil-free all day, and there is enough acid in skin oil that it can etch film, or even glass, if left on long enough.

However, for handling my own film in loading, I've never worn gloves, especially in a changing bag where the sense of touch needs to be as good as possible.

If heath and humidity are a problem, I would suggest purchasing a changing tent or building a changing box. In both cases there will be more room, hence more air circulation.

For me, I find a room I could make light tight. Heat and humidity weren't really an issue for me with the changing bag, it was the damn bag being all collapsed on my hands, which interfered with my focus on the feel of the film going onto the reels.

That said, I really need to get some Hewes reels. And a new tank.

Edit: I totally forgot that in the lab we sometimes used these, especially helpful for those who were checking the prints prior to sending back to the photographer.

My ex wife was acid enough to etch glass by just standing near it! :angel:

 

[shadowfox]

@ Shadowfox: I do use the clip with 35mm. It causes me no problems. But with 120, the clip makes it tough to center the film properly; and in the process of trying, I flex the film too much, making static crinkle marks. So now I am experimenting with using a reel with no clip. The only problem is that the film wants to slip back towards the center of the reel and pile up there. So a new skill is required to keep that from happening. One idea is to start the film and then tape it to the stainless crosswire with a 1/2" of masking tape. It's much easier to center the film without the clip!

Aha! to counter the centering problem with 120, I first separate the film from the backing paper, fold the tape which is found at the end onto the film itself, making a pretty thick and rigid end.

Then I insert that end into the clip, which due to the rigidity, kinda center itself when I aligned the top and the bottom (curving the film inside while doing this). Then I just use my left index finger to guide the film into the groove and reel away.

Will, I bought a set of second hand metal cans and reels. At least the cans were stamped with Nikkor. The reels could be as well but aren't stamped with anything. They don't have clips but the center of the spirals poke out like little tabs where to begin reeling the film. Frankly, I think I'd rather have clips cause when nothing holding the film's end it can easily slide away from the core of the reels.

Jeffrey, I know what you're talking about, I think I have several reels that has the spiky tab also, I don't remember why I don't use those. The clipless reel that I mentioned does not have any tabs, it's just a hollow space at the center of the reel, with U shaped (if seen from the top of the reel) wire guarding the end of the film from slipping out. Works really well.

 

[rjbuzzclick]

Aha! to counter the centering problem with 120, I first separate the film from the backing paper, fold the tape which is found at the end onto the film itself, making a pretty thick and rigid end.

Then I insert that end into the clip, which due to the rigidity, kinda center itself when I aligned the top and the bottom (curving the film inside while doing this). Then I just use my left index finger to guide the film into the groove and reel away.



A while ago I read somewhere online the tip about cutting the two leading corners of 120 film when loading onto a wire reel. There's usually at least 1" or more of space before the final frame. I cut the corner about 1/2" and it made a big difference for me in reducing crinkling. I don't expect it would be a good idea for the plastic reels though.