gobo Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Dear group, I use Fidelity 5x4 film holders, and have my Velvia sheet films processed by various Pro labs.The problem is that I always get my films back with small crimp marks on the longest edge at top and bottom of the film.These are about 5 dots very close together, and are within the picture area. (not within the borders).This obviously shows up on the scans / prining.I guess the option os to re-frame at the picture taking stage to enable a crop out, but has anyone else experienced this ?The labs all tell me it is the norm, but would appreciate a second opinion.Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_sampson Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 The clip marks come from where the lab technician attaches the sheet to a rack, which is then run through a 'dip-and-dunk' processor. This is by far the most common type of color film processor, because they eliminate the possibility of scratches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcus_horbach Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Graham, this is a typical example of the unacceptable sloppiness which seems to be the norm nowadays. I know only a few labs that do this job generally well. I switched labs in New York until I found a careful one. Personally I am not willing to make the compromise Frank suggests. Perhaps it is a good idea to make a blacklist of sloppy labs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_kennedy Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 No clip marks on my 4x5s. I think it's just the dip & dunk process that makes those marks. FWIW, my lab does a good job, if you're in the Northern Virginia / Tysons Corner area: <A HREF="http://www.positiveimage.net/index.htm">http://www.positiveimage.net/index.htm</A> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pvp Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 I get these marks on all my films, and I figure to just live with it. Since I scan and then work digitally, I can either crop them away or (in some cases) just clone over them with unblemished sky... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric rose Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 I never found it such a big deal. Usually the last 1/16 of an inch on the neg isn't that important to the overall image. Easy to crop out as mentioned before. The lab I use must have changed processes as I no longer get the marks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oskar_ojala Posted October 4, 2003 Share Posted October 4, 2003 Leave a little bit of "wiggle room" in your composition (I find it's not always easy to say exactly where the edge will be when looking at the groundglass, so it's not na issue for me, especially since my lab puts the clips where the edge stops and the image starts). Obviously, if the clip marks are ruining a nice composition just remove them digitally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pascal_miele Posted October 4, 2003 Share Posted October 4, 2003 For BW many labs use manual process and they can use no clip attachment. For E6 or C41 dev it's a machine dev, with nitrogen burst, a good attachment of the film is indispensable....and you have clips marks ! A way for no clips dev is roller transport machine, but this type of machine is not very frequent because it's very hard to have a clean dev with no scratch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk_thompson Posted October 4, 2003 Share Posted October 4, 2003 there will always be clip marks of some sort, unless you run it through a roller transport processor that dries in-line as well--of course, then there may be some other type of marks to replace your dreaded clip marks...it always cracks me up when people shoot "full frame" on 4x5, when you really need a little fudge room for handling before and after the process. there was an intern where I work a few years ago that shot like this, and it drove us nuts...never left any room to get a dryer clip on the film, or even to get a neg into a carrier...we had to lurk over his shoulder in the studio to get him to leave a 3/16th or 1/4 inch or so. you need that fudge room on the side, unless of course you never actually use the film for anything.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobo Posted October 5, 2003 Author Share Posted October 5, 2003 Thank you for all your comments, I am at least relaxed now I have found out that many of you have encountered the problem. Due to the fact that this is my first year with a Toyo 45G and have never shot large format before this is a new learning curve. I use 35mm, 6x7 and large format, but enjoy the methodical working with LF most of all. I shall leave a generous border around the frame from now on, and thank you kindly for all your helpfull comments. Graham (Kent) England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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