Question about writing notes on the film leader

[Paolo Bonello]

Is there a specific pen I can use to write my film notes on the film leader that will not disappear with developing chemicals or affect the developing and fixing chemicals?
I ask this because I'm pretty bad at keeping track of film roll details and writing on the canister itself has its drawbacks.
Tell me your secret ways!

 

[maddoc]

Because I do a lot of bulk-loading I always write with a marker the film-type, number of exposures, and possibly e.i. on the film leader. Then I attach some tape with the same information to the outside of the film-canister. When loading the film into the camera (Leica), I put the tape onto the bottom plate and when the roll is finished I secure the film-tip onto the canister with the same piece of tape. Before developing, I cut the leader off and later put it together with the developed film in the hanger. May sound complicated but helps when using different cameras or changing rolls between different cameras.

 

[Paolo Bonello]

Because I do a lot of bulk-loading I always write with a marker the film-type, number of exposures, and possibly e.i. on the film leader. Then I attach some tape with the same information to the outside of the film-canister. When loading the film into the camera (Leica), I put the tape onto the bottom plate and when the roll is finished I secure the film-tip onto the canister with the same piece of tape. Before developing, I cut the leader off and later put it together with the developed film in the hanger. May sound complicated but helps when using different cameras or changing rolls between different cameras.

Sounds reasonable and well thought out. I was expecting to put the info written on the leader through the soup which is why I was asking about which pen to use but you cut the info off with the leader prior to development and then peg them together on your drying rack afterward.
If you're developing say 3 or 5 rolls at a time do you ever get confused finding which film belonged to which leader after you've developed them?

I had an idea though. If you scratched a unique number say 11,22,33,44,55 if your doing 5 rolls onto the leader right at the point where you'll be cutting it off then cut the number straight down the guts it should be easy to find the other half later by matching the numbers. 1|1,2|2,3|3 etc.

 

[maddoc]

Sounds reasonable and well thought out. I was expecting to put the info written on the leader through the soup which is why I was asking about which pen to use but you cut the info off with the leader prior to development and then peg them together on your drying rack afterward.
If you're developing say 3 or 5 rolls at a time do you ever get confused finding which film belonged to which leader after you've developed them?

I had an idea though. If you scratched a unique number say 11,22,33,44,55 if your doing 5 rolls onto the leader right at the point where you'll be cutting it off then cut the number straight down the guts it should be easy to find the other half later by matching the numbers. 1|1,2|2,3|3 etc.

Developing more than one roll at the same time actually causes this problem (I now hardly do) but in the past when I did, then I have cut the leader in different shapes. After developing I could identify the correct film by the cutting pattern. A little bit like DIY jigsaw puzzle. 😀

 

[michaelwj]

I sometimes use a permanent marker, I think the type is a lumocolor? It is barely readable initially, but can easily be read once the film had been cleared after developing.
I bulk roll too, and most of the time I use a coloured sticker which I write the EI, date, and other info on and stick it to the canister. I use a different colour for 400 and 100 speed films so I can easily identify them in my bag. I leave it on the canister in the camera (I can tell what film is in it by looking at the ISO wheel on the back door). If I'm developing more than one roll at a time, then I put the sticker on the outside of the tank in the dark bag to indicate the position of the roll in the tank.

 

[Paolo Bonello]

Some really good suggestions. Thanks for the replies.
I don't feel so silly now either because it seems like most film photographers have stumbled through this obstacle at some point.

 

[bence8810]

Because I do a lot of bulk-loading I always write with a marker the film-type, number of exposures, and possibly e.i. on the film leader. Then I attach some tape with the same information to the outside of the film-canister. When loading the film into the camera (Leica), I put the tape onto the bottom plate and when the roll is finished I secure the film-tip onto the canister with the same piece of tape. Before developing, I cut the leader off and later put it together with the developed film in the hanger. May sound complicated but helps when using different cameras or changing rolls between different cameras.

I use Gabor-sensei's method - we shoot together sometimes and his way seemed very reasonable.

Ben

 

[Paolo Bonello]

Well I thought i'd resurrect this thread and show you what I ended up doing. This little $10 engraver I had tucked in a drawer isn't much good for anything but it does scratch the film pretty well so i leave it near my desk and scratch/engrave the info I remember or have written on the cannister about the shoot onto the leader. The corresponding numbers 1a/ 1a to 5a/5a make it easy to match the leader with the film later. I leave one number on the film leader which I then cut off and a matching number stays on the rest of the roll. That should do for now until I get myself some coloured labels as mentioned earlier so I can write more info than I have been scribbling onto the canister until now.

Notes engraver by Paolo Bonello, on Flickr

 

[newsgrunt]

I've always meant to buy a few rolls of the twin check numbers that happy snap labs use to keep track of film and envelopes. you could keep this on you when shooting, one goes on the leader, another in a notebook with details and factoids.