35mm Four Negative Strip Storage?

[dpneal]

How do people store strips of four 35mm negatives received from a minilab?

I'm reluctant to use standard "seven rows of five" archival sheets on strips of four negatives.

Unfortunately, asking the lab to leave my negatives uncut isn't an option -- I have bad dust-control issues at home.

 

[eric]

How do people store strips of four 35mm negatives received from a minilab?

I'm reluctant to use standard "seven rows of five" archival sheets on strips of four negatives.

Unfortunately, asking the lab to leave my negatives uncut isn't an option -- I have bad dust-control issues at home.

I use the one from Print-File specially designed for strips of 4 from the mini-lab. 4 across and I think 6 down. www.pfile.com

 

[TPPhotog]

How about when you take the films in, give them a page of something like Kenro for each film which takes 6 neg strips (7 strips per page) and asking them to cut the negs to fit?

 

[Woolliscroft]

I'm, afraid I use the normal archival sleeves with commercially deved, 4 to a strip negs and have to use two sheets of 8 x 10 paper per film for the contact prints. It might be less economic, but it works. There are labs here that do send back strips of 6, e.g. Lab 35, so you probably get them over there too. Actually, though, I quite like having a bit of spare room on the contact sheet. I always put a cigarette pack on the contact printer to hold back a white area to write the film number and other information on.

I used to have a dust problem in my dark room. I got two little electric domestic air filters and have them running 24/7. It's like an industrial clean room in there now and cost next to nothing (from memory less than 10 UK pounds ($18) each.

David.

 

[dpneal]

How about when you take the films in, give them a page of something like Kenro for each film which takes 6 neg strips (7 strips per page) and asking them to cut the negs to fit?

They have a little automagic cutter/sleever machine -- it's either strips of 4 or not cut at all.

 

[dpneal]

I used to have a dust problem in my dark room. I got two little electric domestic air filters and have them running 24/7. It's like an industrial clean room in there now and cost next to nothing (from memory less than 10 UK pounds ($18) each.

David.

Thanks for the suggestion David -- I live in a one-bedroom apartment with a very fat and unpleasant Siamese cat and a very beautiful wife. (Gotta keep those descriptions straight ...)

Anyway, dust control in my apartment is a real problem.

 

[dpneal]

I use the one from Print-File specially designed for strips of 4 from the mini-lab. 4 across and I think 6 down. www.pfile.com

Thanks for the link Eric -- I'll have to look into getting a package of these (especially since I'm using 24-shot consumer film mostly these days anyway).

 

[Nige]

They have a little automagic cutter/sleever machine -- it's either strips of 4 or not cut at all.

I'd go for the 'not at all option'. Do they then sleeve them in a single long plastic sleeve? That's how I get my 120 roll films (C-41 and E6) back, uncut but sleeved and rolled in a largeish diameter roll (approx 4"). The couple of C-41 B&W rolls I've had 'processed only' have been sleeved (different shop BTW). If they can't sleeve then ask them not to roll at all, just leave hanging after processing and you'll bring your PrintFiles with you and cut them into 6's on the spot!

 

[dpneal]

If they can't sleeve then ask them not to roll at all, just leave hanging after processing and you'll bring your PrintFiles with you and cut them into 6's on the spot!

That's a great idea. They have fairly ample counter space and a pretty clean environment.

Duhhhh ...

Thanks!

 

[Nige]

this must be a bit of magic...

Many years ago, someone had asked in a forum somewhere, how to cut negatives with scissors. Now most people who do this on a regular basis don't think about it twice, and many answers indicated such, but the original poster was very worried about cutting crooked and wrecking their negs... someone, who's name I can't remember posted an answer I thought was great and applicable to many things in life!. What makes this "magic" for me, was I haven't been able to find this paragraph again and I've search high and low for it. Just after replying earlier, I was doing some work (after all, I'm at work!) and opened a 'draft' note with no title and there it was! My note is dated Feb 2001.

Anyway, the paragraph read as follows.

"You have stumbled on one of life's great questions - how not to make mistakes. The obvious answer is to do nothing. But this is the biggest mistake of all, since you will end up having accomplished nothing. The best solution is to not shy from anything - but to learn to concentrate on what you are doing. This sounds obvious, but how often are you thinking of the next thing you need to do or of something you've already done while you do a simple task, and end up screwing up? I find that concentrating on whatever I'm about gets the job done quicker, easier, and more often correctly and even creatively than when my mind is divided. The trick is to learn to do it amidst all the distractions that beset us nowadays" ...Anon

 

[dpneal]

Oh, I'm not shy about cutting negatives -- I just hadn't thought to cut them @ the store, rather than at home where I have lots of dust problems.

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I was totally overthinking this.