Negatives: How do you store them?

[hamustar]

Hi everybody,

I shoot film(and like to see photos taken by others too) as I like the film-look. The kick comes in when using a film camera, sending it for development, and anticipating the results. The end result - either we print 'em or we scan'em for sharing.

After that, the negatives seem to have done their job. I'm moving to another place now and hence am packing my camera stuff. I noticed I have way too many old negatives that are just sitting in their envelopes. Am I going to 'use' them again? Don't think so. 🙁 but such a shame to discard them.

Which makes me think...is it better to shoot digital instead....
OR how do you guys keep your negatives? Mine's just stacked in the lab's envelopes (tons of them).

 

[peter_n]

I use negative holders from PrintFile and binders in slip cases from Archival Methods and recommend them both.

 

[Chris101]

Envelopes are fine, but do put them in a box to keep dust and moisture off them.

Before any archival storage nuts get on me, I know this is not the *best* method of storing negatives, but from the tone of the OP, it seemed like not a lot of time would be put into preserving these negatives. That, and I have plenty of 90 year old negatives that have been stored in envelopes and shoe-boxes, which are in quite printable shape.

ps, I keep my negatives in PrintFile sleeves, a binder and in acid free boxes in a humidity controlled drawer.

 

[hamustar]

Thanks Peter and Chris, for your fast response!

Ok, I didn't know there were commercial solutions to archival. The international version from Printfile seems like what would help.

Chris, I also keep them in Ikea boxes 😛
I guess it's time to start cataloging all these negatives.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Another vote for Print File:

http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/mt print file.html

Cheers,

R.

 

[lynnb]

I use sleeves similar to Printfile. About your other question - digital image archive is, IMHO, not as secure as negs. Storage media can fail and become obsolescent (likewise software and hardware). Multiple file migrations can corrupt data. Industry standard file formats now may not be around in future. Human error is more likely to accidentally erase files than damage negs. There's a lot to be said for film. Not that I don't use and like digital - it's just that film definitely has advantages which are often overlooked.
Regards,

 

[John Lawrence]

I used to use Clearfile negative holders, but I gather you can't get them in the UK anymore, so I guess I'll be switching to Printfile when my current stash runs out.

John

 

[dave lackey]

Envelopes are fine, but do put them in a box to keep dust and moisture off them.

Before any archival storage nuts get on me, I know this is not the *best* method of storing negatives, but from the tone of the OP, it seemed like not a lot of time would be put into preserving these negatives. That, and I have plenty of 90 year old negatives that have been stored in envelopes and shoe-boxes, which are in quite printable shape.

ps, I keep my negatives in PrintFile sleeves, a binder and in acid free boxes in a humidity controlled drawer.

Chris,

What kind of humidity controlled drawer? That sounds like a great idea but cannot think of where to get one...or what one looks like...😕

 

[Sparrow]

😀

Kenro paper sleeves and binders, those from the 70s are still OK if a little brittle at the very edges, plastic tracing film from the same era is crumbling to dust now.

My slides fared less well in wooden slide boxes (Prinz ones I think), they got damp in a house move and were damaged by mould.

 

[johannielscom]

I wrote an article on my website on this. It explains an easy and cheap way to store negatives and also offers a file handling strategy to later easily retrieve a negative from a scanned file's name.

A direct link is here, but the rest of the site might also be nice to have a look at 😀

 

[Tim Gray]

I store mine in mylar sleeves. But printfile pages are good if you like them.

Don't throw them out. You never know when you might want to return to the original negative. They don't take up that much space.

 

[not_in_good_order]

I use Clearfile pages, the 35mm ones that hold 7 rows of six frames.

 

[MartinP]

I use Hama pergamyn sheets for 35mm and roll film, pergamyn bags for 4x5 sheets, and have recent or much-used neg-sheets in a couple of over-sized binders while the rest are in archival document boxes (stored horizontally of course). The interesting bit comes on the retrieval end of the scenario . . . oops.

 

[ethics_gradient]

I use negative holders from PrintFile and binders in slip cases from Archival Methods and recommend them both.

How big are those binders? I have some of the larger Printfile pages (7 rows of 6 negatives) that don't fit well into the Printfile Workbox thing I bought. Have been thinking a binder with slipcase or two would be the ticket for long-term storage.

 

[Rob-F]

I use the plastic file pages, like most others here. The ones that are 3-hole punched for use in a binder. But I don't keep them in a binder. I tried that, and found it slow and annoying to have to unsnap the binder rings to look over each page. I'm trying ideas of keeping them in manila folders in a file cabinet; and/or putting them in oversize ziplock bags stacked flat. I'm not sure if the latter might be the wrong thing to do, owing to a lack of air circulation and possible buildup of any outgassing. Maybe a set of horizontal metal dividers from the office supply store and kept on the darkroom counter would be better.

 

[Jamie123]

My lab returns the negs in plastic file pages (no idea what brand they are). I put the file pages in a letter sized cardboard envelope, write the content (i.e. Sarah @ her home, june 2009) on the envelope with a marker and put it in a box. This method makes it very easy to find what I'm looking for as I can flip through the different shoots quickly (sort of like fliping through CDs or records at a store).

 

[peter_n]

How big are those binders? I have some of the larger Printfile pages (7 rows of 6 negatives) that don't fit well into the Printfile Workbox thing I bought. Have been thinking a binder with slipcase or two would be the ticket for long-term storage.

They hold PrintFile's 35-6HB sleeves, which are 6x6, so the binder I link to above won't fit 6x7.

 

[Brian Puccio]

I wrote an article on my website on this. It explains an easy and cheap way to store negatives and also offers a file handling strategy to later easily retrieve a negative from a scanned file's name.

A direct link is here, but the rest of the site might also be nice to have a look at 😀

I've got a plastic negative binder with sleeves that hold up to 42 frames per page so each sheet is just one roll. The first roll I shot is labeled on the sheet as Roll 000001. The images are named roll000001_frame01, roll000001_frame02, etc. I add date, time and other information to the EXIF, so my metadata is where my metadata belongs. It also makes it easy to integrate with my DAM software (Apple's Aperture, though I head a lot like Lightroom).

 

[Brian Puccio]

How big are those binders? I have some of the larger Printfile pages (7 rows of 6 negatives) that don't fit well into the Printfile Workbox thing I bought. Have been thinking a binder with slipcase or two would be the ticket for long-term storage.

I've got pages that do 7 strips of 6 frames stored in this binder.

6x6=36 is just annoying when almost every roll is 37 or 38.

 

[Steve M.]

Well, my long time philosophy is, don't ever throw anything away you might never need. What looks like useless stuff suddenly becomes priceless as soon as you pitch it. My suggestion is to throw them all in a box for now and move them w/ you. Sort it all out later.

Moving is a harried experience even under the best of circumstances. No time for making big decisions that can be deferred until you're comfortable and relaxed.