What are the difference between loading 120 and 35mm?

[robert_davis2]

What are the difference between loading 120 and 35mm ? Using a

paterson reel. Looking at the roll I just took out of the camera I'm

guessing the paper needs to come off. How much paper is there? How hard?

[howard b. schwartz]

just pull off the backing and load the film on the reel. actually, i found it easier than 35mm because it was bigger (i was using a stainless steel reel for developing).

[jim_reed]

I use a Patterson reel for both 35mm and 120. Yes, the paper backing, which runs the entire length of the film, needs to come off. The film is taped to the paper backing near the end of the roll, so just snip that off with a pair of scissors.

 

Practice loading the reel with a roll of blank 120 several times in the daylight before you attempt to load a "keeper" roll of film. It is not necessarily harder than 35mm but I find that it is different, and you have to find a technique that works -- every time -- for you.

 

As with 35mm, make sure that you trim, or bevel, the corners of the leading edge of the film before you load it on to the reel. I start the fill just past the ball bearing catches and then PULL it on to the reel. Works everytime. Good luck.

[nacio_jan_brown3]

Loading 120 film, which is floppy relative to 35mm, is easier if, instead of cutting off the end taped to the backing paper, you pull the backing paper off the tape and then fold the tape over the end of the film. This makes the end stiffer. As mentioned in posts above, you should clip off the leading corners of the film if you are using a Paterson type ratcheting reel. A little nail clipper is just right for this, as it keeps you from clipping off too much. If you are using a stainless steel reel the corner clipping isn't necessary. njb

[art_haykin]

With 120, you must be careful not to crinkle or buckle the film, or you'll get little crescent marks in the emulsion.

[Troll]

Because it is so much wider than 35mm, it's easy to "crinkle" the film with a tiny little bending as you're rolling it on the reel. This will cause half-moon shaped black spots on the negative, so you need to practice in the light with a disposable roll of film until you have the technique down pat. Good luck!

[gene crumpler]

I routine trash the last exposure, either 12 or 10, to allow for the crimp marks at the end of the film being loaded.

[ryuji_suzuki]

With Paterson reel and 120/220 films, wider strip and thinner basec ompared to 35mm format make it a little tricky to load the film without making any creasing mark.

Based on my early experience with this type of reel, if the film advances smoothly from the start to the end, you have nothing to worry about and won't make any mark or damage. If the film get stuck or won't advance in middle, you are more likely to run into trouble by forcing something. When film gets stuck, be gentle. When I notice it, I usually count 10 slowly without doing anything. Quite often, this is all I need to do to.

 

 

 

Make sure the reel is free of wetting agent, and is completely dry, especially around the balls. Also, if you are using a dark bag, make sure it's dry too. I usually keep it inside out between uses. Then you should finish loading films before your hands get sweaty. I use Paterson 5 reel tank (3 120 formats at a time) but I can manage to load three before moisture buildups up inside dark bag. For 35mm I use Kindermann stainless steel reels and I don't care about these details -- even if the reels have peanut butter, films will load anyway. (whether peanut butter interferes with even development is another matter, and is probably correlated with amount of degreasing agent in the developer.)

 

I sometimes peel off the tape from the film. I sometimes tear it off at the middle. It doesn't really matter.

 

I don't taper 120/220 films when loading to Patterson reel. I never had trouble with it, though I can see tapering may make loading easier by preventing sharp corners stuck at the side of the reels.

 

Incidentally, you can open 35mm casette just by fingers with severe damage to the casette but no damage to the film. Just push the stub (forming the slit) against the way it comes out of the cylinder. Then unroll the cylinder. Then, you can actually cut (tear off) the tapered end of (or whereever part of) 35mm film with hand, quite straightly -- it's easier than opening some potato chips bag. I don't need any sharp tool in my dark bag whether 35mm or 120/220 I'm loading. (though I never damaged film because of coexistence of sharp tools, I went quasi-panic a few times when I forgot to take scissors in to dark bag after opening the canister. Now I have nothing to forget about.)

[robert_davis2]

I know I should pratice with a test roll but I've just taken this roll to check the old camera out. So it's a new [to me] camera. A new film format. Not to mention a film I haven't used before. Nobody said I did things the easy way. Nothing special on the roll. Hopefully today or at worse tomorrow I'll find the time to get it done.

 

The point about the bigger tanks reminds me. I wanted to ask do the bigger tanks use chemical in a linear way? 3 rolls of 120 using 1.5litres instead of 500ml for one roll? Or does it use more/less. I tried finding what I thought would be pretty basic enough from the paterson website but nothing.

 

Thanks everybody

[chris_eve]

I started with 120 in a Paterson back in the '60's, it's not really difficult. If you've used the reel before you'll know what it "feels" like, take it steady and you'll have no problem.

 

As far as I remember (I use Jobo tanks horizontally these days) the Paterson does use 500cc per 120, so 1.5 litres for three films. Why not fit your reels onto the core, put them in the tank then fill with water to cover the reels ... then measure the water ;-)

[greg_smith4]

120 is much more difficault to load (at least for the first few times). You might want to find some old film that is no longer needed to practice with.

[robert_davis2]

Just finished doing it. Ended up the hardest part was finding the tank in the dark. Amazing when you consider I put everything right in front of me. Film came out fine. Considering all the new things I'm kind of impressed with myself. But then considering my skill level it doesn't take much to impress me.

 

Thanks again.

[viktor s.]

Sometimes when 120 or 220 film gets stuck when winding it on a Paterson reel, it works to rap the flat side of the reel sharply a few times on a hard, flat surface. This will often be enough to get the film moving on the reel again.

[michael erlich]

To keep the reels loadable over the long term remove the film from the

reel before dunking it in wetting agent. Wetting agent residue will

eventually build up on plastic reels and make them impossible to load.

[doug_bennett]

I've found dryness to be the major concern. I dry the reel, and my hands, with a hair dryer before loading. I've found that with thin 120 emulsions, a tiny amount of moisture can cause it to jam up during loading.