120 film home processing

[glenn_owens1]

Does 120 film use the same process as if i develop 35 mm by opening

the film canister and winding on the spool? I've heard 120 is harder

to do but dont know why. What brand of equipment should i look into?

thanks

[glenn_owens1]

ive been reading the archieves and my answers are mostly there. thanks.

[pete_andrews10]

120 film is a bit trickier to load onto spirals. Plastic spirals tend to stick, and stainless spirals need a bit of practise to load without buckling the film. It's very important not to buckle the film when you're loading it, because this causes little crescent-moon shaped marks when the film is developed.

 

I'd recommend using stainless steel reels and tanks. Once you get the hang of loading them, they're quicker and more reliable to load, and generally more economical on chemicals.

 

The method of loading 120 is as follows: In the dark, unwind the film and backing-paper from the camera spool, letting the film form a separate roll from the paper. Keep unwinding until you come to the point where the film is taped to the paper. Then carefully tear, or unstick, the paper from the film. Now you can feed the end of the film into the centre of the developing reel. There's usually a spring clip to hold the film in place. Push the spring down, and nip the end of the film underneath it. Hold the film with a slight curve in it, so that it fits between the cheeks of the reel. Now turn the reel and feed the film in until all the film is on the reel. Pop the reel in the tank, out on the lid, and you should be good to go with your developing.

 

I suggest you practise loading the tank in the light several times with a junk film, before you attempt it with a "real" film.

 

Best of luck.

[h._p.]

Problems with plastic spirals can mostly be eliminated by reverse rolling the film before feeding it into the spiral and by making sure the spiral is absolutely dry before use. Any of the Paterson reels produced since 1970 are very easy to use, in my experience.

[frank.schifano]

Loading 120 film onto the reels is the only thing that is more difficult about processing 120 vs. 35mm film at home. All the resons stated so far are true. 120 film base is thinner and the film size is wider and that means it's a lot more flexible and therefore more prone to buckling when you load the reel.

 

Either plastic or stainless steel reels are fine as long as you are careful about a few things. The Paterson plastic reels and their look alike cousing with wide loading flanges work fine provided they are perfectly clean and dry. If they are the slightest bit damp, the film will jam and you'll have a mess. That's true for 35mm and 120. If you opt for stainless steel reels and tanks, you don't need to worry so much if the reels are damp but you do need to get some good quality reels. The cheap ones in my experience don't load well and again you'll wind up with a mess. The best stainless steel reels I've used are made by Hewes. They are very good, but they are expensive.

[michael erlich]

Another trick to loading 120 film on a stainless steel reel is to make sure after attaching the end of the film to the reel hub that the film is absolutely centered and straight on the reel. If it's the least off-center or tilted you won't be able to wind it on the reel and you will be cursing in the dark. Practice with a wasted roll in the light and then in the dark until you can do it consistantly well.

 

With plastic reels it helps a lot to use scissors to clip the corners of the film before starting to load it into the reel spiral.

[ivan_dzo]

I find 120 film easier to load. Ok you need to get it started, but then it's a dream. 135 films will often go 2/3 on then get sticky. Very difficult to sort out, whereas 120 loads in half the time. But it's a knack like any other manual skill.

[discpad]

<p>With plastic reels, you'll want to round off the corners with a corner punch you can buy in any hobby/crafts shop. I use a handheld rounded corner punch for both 35mm & 120/220 film, which makes life a LOT easier. About $6 at AC Moore, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby, most likely in the scrapbook department. The one I have is about the size & weight of a small frog, which is handy inside my Noritsu dark box...</p>

<p><align=center><img height=670 width=498 src="/bboard-uploads//00Eumz-27605484.jpg"></p>

[kblessinggr]

Not sure why people above say they have problems with 120s and plastic reels, but I've not had a problem I actually find it much easier to to load than 35mm. The film comes right off the paper back, just gota be prepared for that packing tape on the end holding the film to the paper.

[eric merrill]

Buy Hewes stainless steel reels. They practically load themselves. If anything, I find loading 120 reels to be even easier than 35mm. Use Hewes for 35mm, too.

 

Hewes is one of the cases where you do get what you pay for.

 

 

Eric

[dave_cheng1]

Karl is right. Loading 120 roll onto a plastic reel isn't more difficult. Make sure your hands are dry in the changing bag when loading the film. Moisture will cause film to be sticky and impossible to load. Or buy a Hewes reel as Eric suggested, especially if you want to load 220 rolls. Get a JOBO tank and a JOBO 1501 reel. You will love it. Hewes reels are expensive.

[michael_ginex1]

I have been using a U-shaped loader which for me has made it a snap.

It's basically a U-shaped wire on which there are two convex metal discs, one on each leg end. Suspended at the center portion of the U

is a curved metal guide about 3"Lx2"W that you insert the film into to start the film in correct alignment with the reel. The reel is "clamped" betweeen the two discs. After seperating the paper from the film, the film end is started into the metal guide and the next step is to get the film end under the reel clip. Once that is done the loading of the reel is almost foolproof. I don't do too much 120 work so having this tool really cuts down the time loading for me.

[ryan gratzer]

This thread's been helpful for me, too. I was lucky enough to have some housemates who, when I first got into developing, provided me with a practice roll of 120 and a stainless reel. It was a bit frustrating at first, and I never totally got the hang of it. So I think, now that I'm on my own and buying my own gear, I'll splurge and get a Hewes. I can't really afford it (very poor at the moment), but I think it would be a good investment.

 

I have a little tank question that I hope can be answered here. I have a jobo processor that I got a great deal on. No tanks, though. I only shoot 120. I was going to start out doing inversion processing, just so I feel like I have total control, but I pretty much have to buy the jobo tanks (I'm assuming the cog attachments only attach to jobo tanks). So I have to get the 1500 series. The 1520 tank, which I'm pretty sure can hold two 120 reels, is what I've been looking at. Is it fine, do you know, to put one plastic jobo reel and one hewes reel in the tank together? It's probably a dumb question, but I just want to make sure I'm not messing anything up.

 

Thanks.

[ryan gratzer]

Ah, nevermind. I think I found my answers. It looks like the Hewes reels are the exact same reels as the stainless Jobo reels. And it looks like you can't fit two reels into a 1520 tank, but can instead fit two rolls into one (my eyes were interchanging "reels" and "rolls"). So I'm just going to order a 1520 tank, and use the adjustible plastic reel it comes with. I'll upgrade later, as necessary.