Need your help > Best way to load 120 film onto Paterson reels?

[Dave Jarosz]

Practice in daylight.....

Practice in daylight.....

Practice with a test roll in the daylight. Do it with your eyes open until you get familiar with the feel of the reel & film. Then close your eyes & try again until you've got it. I always put the film end with paper tab into the reel first, it has more weight to it and is easier to get started. Good luck.....Dave

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

I develop 120 in Paterson tanks on a regular basis, loading them in a changing bag. Once I've split the sealing strip with my fingernail, I simply roll the backing paper backwards to make a new little cylinder and, when I get to the start of the film, I just continue rolling for about ten full turns. Then I release the cylinder that I've created, letting it unroll, catch the end of the film and feed it into the reel.

The film will load easily every time provided, as mentioned above, the reel is dry and also that you have aligned the reel lips, so that they're parallel. Don't try to push the film in but pull it gently through the lips until it starts to bind a little, then start to oscillate the two halves of the reel and the film will feed in very happily. Once the film is nearly fully loaded, tear the end away from the backing paper, give it a couple more oscillations to get the whole film inside the reel, drop it in the tank and lock on the lid.

It might save film and sanity if you sacrifice a roll to practicing this with the light on, I did that once, a very long time ago and a couple of run-throughs was enough to bed the idea in my limited brain 😀

 

[f16sunshine]

Remove The Damn Ball Bearings!

Remove The Damn Ball Bearings!

The best thing I ever did was remove the ball bearings from the patterson reels.
Now I seldom ever get anything resembling a jamb.
Another thing is to condition the reels before spooling the film on.
I keep a dry extra-soft toothbrush handy.
Polish the inside of the spool splines with the toothbrush before putting the two sides of the spool together.
Residue from wash water or previous developments can create friction on the inside of the splines.
Polishing with a toothbrush will buff any gunk out of there eliminating binding.
One last thing is for warm weather. Put on a pair of latex gloves if it's hot out.
It keeps from having an effect of sweaty damp hands binding the film.

One caution when removing the bearings. You must make sure to spool the film in a bit further to keep it from sliding out during agitation. It's a simple precaution.

 

[puxmep]

snip a tiny bit off each corner with scissors and I do mean a tiny bit. Just to lose the shapness of corners. That makes life easier as corners less likely to catch.

This is what I do as well. Do not have problems with loading 120 anymore.

 

[Ezzie]

...........Also when I load I generally put the end that had the sticker attaching it to the outer paper in first because it is a little more rigid. I also ensure that I load the film the same way it was rolled so it follows arc of reel more naturally.

Same here. I unroll the film and rip the tape off and roll it onto the spool backwards. In fact I find it easier than 36 on 135, as the film is shorter and friction is less. However, keeping the spools clean and dry is vital. If I´ve remembered to do so I warm the spools in the oven at 60C for 10 minutes before starting, just to make sure they are dry.

Tried steel spools and didn´t like them, nor plastic spools from Hama.

 

[bigeye]

Internet was invented for Paterson 120 reel tips.

I gave up and bought a Kalt reel. Internet has thrived selling cheap reels.

I gave up the Kalt and got a Hewes reel. Nick is right. They're made in the UK, too, so you are not insulting the pluck, inventiveness or craftsmanship of British products by dropping Paterson.