Best bulk film loader

[jo_o_abrantes]

Hi! I currently have an AP film loader but it seems to be scratching

the film. I am considering buying a new one from adorama and i would

like to know your opinions about the various models. I have Watson,

adorama (in the image it's exactly the same as the AP), Lloyd's and

Alden. Which is the best one?

[joey]

I've always used Watson without problems. Alden has a very good reputation, bit I've never tried their loader.

[frank.schifano]

I have a Lloyd's and three Aldens, and I must say that I prefer the Alden units for two reasons. First, there is no felt in the light trap to hold grit and scratch the film and second, because you can count the clicks as you wind the film on. Each click equals 1 frame.Using the Alden loader is slightly more complicated than the Lloyd's unit, but I don't think that you'd find that to be a real inconvenience after a little bit of practice.

 

Having said that, I have never had a problem with the Lloyd's unit. I just see that the felt lips in the light trap have the potential for causing problems if you are not careful about keeping it clean.

 

The Adorama unit looks like the Lloyd's unit with the addition of some film counters and that could be the source of your problems. There must be some sort of follower mechanism inside resting against the film and that might be causing your scratches. Neither the Lloyd's nor the Alden units have this "feature."

[photojim]

The Watson film loader doesn't have felt either, but you waste a little more film on the end of each roll than you do with the Lloyd's loaders. (I don't know the Alden ones well enough.) I consider this to be a reasonable tradeoff.

[jim_a]

I've had the watson bulk film loader since college. It's an inexpesenive unit that has served me well. The Alden also seems like a good unit. I think it's good advice to avoid the Lloyds and felt.

[al_kaplan1]

I've used a Watson for 40 years, but only when I'm lazy. It's faster, wastes less film, and eliminates a lot of the possibility of scratches from the cassette's own felt light trap if you don't use any loader at all. I tear of a bunch of pieces of masking tape and put them on the edge of my bench. In the dark I extend my arms, unwinding film from the roll, tear it off. Then I tape it on the spool and wind it with my fingers. Insert in the cassette and clip on the cap. All in the dark. In the meantime the roll is on edge in the can. It won't roll away and it's easier to grab than if it's lying flat. I usually do a whole 100 ft. at one time.

[lex_jenkins]

I've only used the Watson. They're okay, tho' I'm not confident about the light sealing of the film loading section. The spindle (with the film advance sprockets) is cracked but the thing keeps working anyway.

[peter_schauss1]

Just looked at B&H. The Alden loader is about twice the price of the Watson. What do you get in the Alden for the extra money.

 

Also, a few questions about bulk loading:

 

- Do you have to do this entirely in the dark?

 

- Is it necessary to use the entire 100' role all at once?

 

- Which kind of cassette is easiest to use?

 

Thanks,

[nicholas_t.]

An 'AGRIF'. 8^p

[lex_jenkins]

I just examined the edges of some recently developed negs from Tri-X loaded from my Watson bulk loader and it definitely leaks light. There's a narrow band along the full length on both edges. It doesn't extend beyond the sprocket holes in most cases and seldom interferes with the negative frames themselves, but it's annoying nonetheless.

 

I could probably fix it by putting black tape over the film loading door before winding the film into the cassette but what a hassle. It'd be nice to start out with a better loader in the first place.

 

Just to clarify, the light leak is occuring in the area where the cassette is loaded, on both sides of the flip-up door. The area where the bulk roll is stored doesn't leak. There's an interlocked gate that must be closed in order to open that flip-up door so the bulk film roll is pretty safe. But there's not much other than finger pressure and luck to keep that flip-up door shut during winding.

 

On the plus side, when the film is being wound into the cassette the gate between the loading compartment and bulk film roll can be opened to prevent any friction and scratches on the emulsion during loading. There's no need for any felt or other light sealing material. And while it's possible to load a cassette without opening the gate the emulsion will usually be scuffed.

[trooper]

I've had a few brands of loaders over the years and keep returning to my Lloyds. A little care in keeping the felt clean and I've never had a light leak or a scratch, either. There is minimal material at the spool end, so that one isn't as likely to waste some film end frames. They're awfully rudimentary rigs, but they get the job done.

[kc_dougherty]

I have three Watsons. One I have had for more than 10 years and it works beautifully. I used to buy reloadable cassettes but now I make my own with either Fuji (best) or Agfa (pretty good) and substitute one end cap with a pop-off from a cassette with such ends (usually off-brand film found in off-brand single-use cameras have such cassettes. The cassettes are DX coded and it works 98% of the time. when you put it together for the first time, check to make sure that the end cap isn't letting light in around the spool where it pokes through. If they seem to meet well, you should be all set. These are cheap ways to make cassettes that you can use for a while and then "retire" and make new ones. Keep the light traps clean!

 

KC

[jim_a]

I get the cassettes from my local camera shop/photo lab they were left over after

developing in their C-41 machine. I use them once and throw

them away. The attached image should tell it all. Butt the end of the film coming

out of the cassette with your bulk film. First stick a piece of scotch tape to the

cassette film. You can't beat free and there are no ends to pop off.

[barney]

I like and have used the Alden 74 35 mm bulk film loader. I own two of them. I have used them for about 4 years. I use the black plastic film casettes. I have used but do not care for the metal film casettes. I keep the plastic film casettes in a plastic freezer bag until I use them. Before each use, I blow compressed air over the felt in order to clean out any particles that could scratch the film. Using this procedure has allowed me to reuse these cassettes many times over. I have never had a problem doing this. The Alden bulk loader is more expensive but I feel the extra expense is justified. I plan to purchase another one in the near future.

Best Regards to all: Barney

[anthony_lavansus]

It's nice to hear that the Alden 74 is a good bulk loader. In

refrence to the higher price I think you should be able to find one

used for a pretty good price. I found one at Goodwill for $3. I

have one question though: what could be wrong with a used

Alden 74 that I would not be able to see without putting film

through it?

[edward_zimmermann]

The A-P bulk loader should NOT scratch film. If clean there is nothing in the design of the Bobinquick Jr to scratch. They are really among the most reliable loaders made. Instead of focusing upon your loader I'd look to your cassettes and, even perhaps more probable, camera for the source of the problem. The Alden/Watson design is really vastly inferior. The Lloyds is very good but needs to be correctly maintained and kept clean (all bulk loaders need to be kept clean). Between the Watson and the Alden, the later's make quality is better but both can have, beyond dirt, flaws that can damage film. They all in operation-- when not defective or dirty-- work fine, although the A-P and Lloyds waste less film and are better suited to daylight use and automatic cameras that continue to shoot untill end-of-film and then rewind--- with the Alden/Watson design the fogged tail in the cassette is significantly longer.

<P>

Beyond all of this.. One should ask: Why Bulk load? In colour negative stocks I can get the cartridges cheaper than in the bulk to load them and in B&W materials the price difference in typically, when sourced through wholesale distributors, not large--- one does not want to compare the price of film with bulk as purchased from a spot-market jobber like Freestyle or even mailorder discounters with cartridges purchased at a high-street photo shop. Unless one is using vast amounts of materials, special materials (such as microfilm) or needs/wants films in lengths not standard--- or are slitting film for subminis--- I don't think it makes sense to bulk load. In even a perfect bulk loader there is always the chance of something going wrong when re-using cartridges.

<P>

Looking even closer (using the German market as an example)...

At the local drugstrore Ilford FP-4plus is selling for around 3 EURO. A bulk roll of 17m (50 feet) of that film sells for around 28 EURO by mailorder which factors out to around 10 rolls of "36-exp" film or 2.80 EURO per film exclusive of the cost of the cartridge (either free if recycled from a mini-lab or ?). Even going through my local "to the trade" wholesaler I suspect that I can "save" at best 50 EURO Cents per cartridge by bulk loading. For a professional who shoots a lot of film it tend to make little sense since labour is not free and outstrips (using even work trainees) the cost of the savings. For the hobby photographer? We are probably talking about maybe an average of 2 films per weeks or around 100 cartridges per year? Still not a terribly exciting savings.

<P>

One can save more by going via 2nd tier surpliers that re-label stocks--- sometimes purchased on the spot market. Cartridges with "fresh" Ilford or Agfa materials are available under labels like Jessops, Tura or Orwo at a much lower price, undercutting by large margins the cost of the bulk though conventional channels.

[lex_jenkins]

Like Edward, I'm not big on bulk loading either. There's hardly enough savings to matter and if the film is scratched, there goes your savings.

 

Maybe I got burned out on bulk loading from school and newspaper jobs.

 

OTOH, I still use two Watson bulk loaders. Not for economy but for experimentation. I'll occasionally load up 12 or 18 frames of Tri-X to try out a new developer. And that's even less economical because the same length of leader and roll-end are used regardless of the number of frames loaded.

[geoff_smith4]

Hi All,

I noted comments on limited savings. Here in Australia, Ilford Delta 100, 36 exp. costs $9 per roll while 30 metres costs $70. At 18 rolls bulk loaded that's less than $4 per roll, a saving of more than $5 per 36 exp. roll.

[lawrence_moore]

I'm with Geoff on this one. I've just purchased 30m each of Neopan SS and Acros400 @ $49AU per tin - Even with shipping on top of that, it's about $3AU a roll. That's a considerable saving.

 

If I had access to inexpensive B&W preloaded film, I wouldn't bother with the loader, but there's nothing comparable here in OZ! When the bulk film arrives I'll be brushing the cobwebs off my Computrol (Made in Israel) bulk loader.

[alex_z]

I'm just getting into bulk loading, just acquired a bulk reels of Tri-X and Neopan 1600 along with well used (but fully operaitonal) Computrol loader.

I was really surprised to reveal the loader has been made in Israel, i.e. my country...:)

 

Have to learn the loading though...