Tech Pan film is too thin....

[steve_d6]

<p>to easily load onto a reel.<br>

I spend forever trying to load two rolls in my dark room. It is so thin, it would easily bind and not fully load. At least twice I had to take the reel apart and start over. It would wrinkle, bind up and so forth.<br>

Is there a technique you can share? I can load film when using other thicker films without much problem. I suppose someone may suggest buying another plastic processing tank with reels hoping for a different result, but I thought I'd check here first.<br>

Steve</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>I have never had a problem with it using plastic or SS reels. Make sure all your reels are real clean and that you rotate the plastic reels in your hands back and forth so they grip.<br /> I use Many films on the Polyester base Like the Rollei films and PolypanF and I only had problems with reels that were not real clean.</p>

[steve_d6]

<p>Hello Larry,<br />What is the best way to insure they are as clean as possible to eliminate this possible cause? Take 'em apart and stick 'em in the dishwasher? Other?<br />Thanks for the comment.<br /><br />Steve</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>Yep a dishwasher but do not use the heat dry remove them before dry cycle. also check that the little ball bearings are moveing properly and that they are still there as I have a few reels with missing balls. :)</p>

[john_shriver]

<p>Dishwasher will do a good job cleaning plastic reels. <br>

One frequent source of "sticktion" on plastic reels is wetting agent (Photo Flo) residue. <br>

Or, learn to load stainless steel reels, it's not that hard to master, and it's a skill you'll never forget. Get a new Hewes or vintage Nikor reel, avoid the "no-name" Chinese ones, they come bent from the factory.</p>

 

[larrydressler]

<p>Not to slam the Chinese but there are some good reels made in China but as said the no name ones are to avoid. Also I love a few Chinese films.. in 120 and Large format.</p>

[User_502260]

<p>I can load TP or Imakelink HQ in 35mm size into a ss reel more easily than into a Paterson reel. The Imakelink HQ and FS which I had spooled into 120 size is much more difficult to load into a reel. I got a black plastic tank with a film apron from Freestyle and that solved the problem. The same tank and apron come in 35mm size.</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>Problem with the old Apron Lasagna reels is that the film can float. I got a thin metal dist that i drilled holes in and cut to fit .. OK I ground it down to sit on top the apron. Works much better.</p>

[maesphoto]

<p>Maybe this sounds silly after all the nice and seemingly useful advice until now, but why don't you load your film under water (everything under water). Usually after fixing my film the usual way I mostly unwind the film to look at the results; after that I put the film back on the reel to have it washed in the tank. This happens with reel and film under water and works fine. I almost never get scratches or other damage on my film.</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>I never met a plastic reel that liked loading wet and Well I use a dark bag so loading it under water is a real rough thing to ask of me or even others... :)</p>

<p> Don't know what he uses but I will say many these days use dark bags.</p>

[User_502260]

<p>The old Kodacraft tank came with a metal disc to push the film down. The ones I have seen all lacked a cap to agitation was gentle side to side motion. The tanks from Freestyle don't leave much travel room for the apron or film so that hasn't been a problem.</p>

[maesphoto]

<p>I'm using plastic Paterson reels from at least 3 generations Paterson developing tanks. I never had any problem loading wet. Wetting the film can have the advantage of reducing the curling tendency of a film that's too thin or too dry. Nobody is saying that you can't use a blanc test-film first.</p>

 

[maesphoto]

<p>Obviously, using the wet method is supposed to be done in a real darkroom keeping both hands, reel and film under water in a deep enough sink.<br>

And yes I am using a changing bag (or to be correct an excellent changing tent) where I'm working extremely dry of course and usually don't have any problem loading dry. Even with e.g. the Polypan F film with a polyester base. And like a few people advised I keep the reels clean and dry.<br>

Loading wet is an emergency method I learned a long time ago from experienced BW photographers, and like I said I use it to inspect my wet fixed negatives, putting them all wet back on the reel to obtain nice thorough washing.*</p>

[mjferron]

<p>The dishwasher would scare me with some of the heat. I just use a drop of detergent and do three vigorous agitation cycles with reel in tank. One with detergent and two fresh water.</p>

[mark_tate]

<p>clean is good but being <em>totally </em>dry is more important , the smallest drop of water will cause the film to bind and in a film reel there is an awful lot of area for water to sit</p>

<p>I have never had any problems with tech pan itself</p>

[willscarlett]

<p>I've always loaded Tech Pan onto stainless steel 35mm reels without any trouble. I've never used Paterson reels, so I can't speak there.</p>