LOADING FILM CASSETTES FROM BULK ROLLS
Bob Lewis
With Konica Chrome R-100 35mm x 100ft bulk rolls I have had difficulty when spooling lengths of film on my Durst tank spirals. The difficulty is due to `notches` which are cut at the edges of the film to accommodate 36 exposures also includes the leaders, cassette lengths. With a Durst centre-loading spiral a notch may drop into an adjacent spiral and parts of the film may touch together. If a notch is exactly set at the start of the roll you will have no trouble but random winding will soon make the notches out-of-step, especially if you try to get a couple of
extra frames from a 36 exposure!
To overcome the notch trouble, go into a dark-room and Switch OFF the lights. Put the bulk film into a Watson (or similar) loader and place the beginning of the film near the sprockets and then screw down the drum lid. With the sprocket-box open carefully feel the edges of the film and pull out sufficient film to find the first notch: the first notch is the start of a complete 36 exposure length.
Cut the film at right angles across the first notch. (you may find you have an odd length ; keep it for test strips). Push the bulk film back into the magazine drum, but leave enough film in the sprocket-box to mate the sprockets and film holes together and then Close the DRUM gate. Now Switch ON the lights so that you can fix masking tape of the protruding end of the film to a cassette. The short length of exposed film will be too short to affect the last camera frame.
Switch OFF the lights again. Put the cassette to the loader winder, making sure the film sprocket-holes are in line with the sprockets. CLOSE the sprocket-box lid. and OPEN the drum gate. Double check to be sure you have got things right (sprocket-box closed, drum gate open) and then Switch ON the lights again so that you can see and adjust the winder dial.
Now here comes a little wrinkle! Set the winder dial to '0' and then wind-on the film until the dial counter clicks to '42'. Switch off the lights again and Close the drum gate and OPEN the sprocket lid. You can now feel about a little, and the second notch; it won`t be very far away from the sprocket, Cut across the notch as before. Remove the cassette and CLOSE the sprocket-box lid. Trim the cassette leader and and you now have have an exact 36-exposure cassette with no annoying notches, and with correct frame numbering. In the same way, carry-on until all the roll is exhausted. With a new Konica Chrome R-100 35mm x 100ft roll May 1991 emulsion No. 617 I got exactly 20 complete lengths, so it appears that Konica is being generous as well as being cheap!
There are other shortcomings with a Paterson tank I have but there is no problems from edge notching trouble. However there is still an advantage to consider the notches as I have suggested when using a Durst. When you are setting-up a programme it is nice to have the slide numbers printed on the film in the same order that you pressed the camera button. You may accidentally mix-up the cut slides before you have framed them and you won`t know what you have done.
Some old stagers having a dark-room do not bother with a loader. They simply find an approximate 36-exposure by rule of thumb to thumb; opening their arms wide. (A complete 36-exposure film is about 64 inches long). Not far off, and it could be spot on if they can feel from notch to notch as I suggested, Quite simple in a dark-room, but not so easy under the blankets!Brief quick reference:-
(1) In the darkroom, switch off the lights. Place bulk film in loader. Cut film at first notch. Put film at sprockets and close the drum gate.
(2) Tape film to a cassette and place it on the winder handle. Close sprocket lid and open drum gate.
(3) Wind film from `)` to `42`. In the dark, open the sprocket lid and find the second notch and cut at sprockets. Close drum gate and switch on light. Remove cassette .
(4) Carry on similarly as with (1) to (4) to complete the roll.