ACROS 100. So springy it jumped out of my hands.

JammyB · Sep 7, 2014

I shot a couple of rolls of ACROS 100 for the first time yesterday and I've had a right nightmare getting it on to a patterson spiral.
Ive only ever used Kodak and Foma so far and I've never had as much trouble as this.
When I took them off the roll they were coiled up so tight I needed a third hand to un-coil the roll while loading it. Then when I eventually got to the second roll I was un-coiling it a bit to get it started and fumbled it and the roll launched itself out of my hands into the piles of junk sitting around in my attic. I spent the next twenty minutes or so crawling around in the pitch black trying to find it. I was about to give up and turn the light on when I layed my hand on it.
I un-coiled it and rolled it tightly back up in the other direction to try and take the stress out of it. After that I was just able to get it on a spool.
If anyone has any tips or tricks for dealing with this I'm all ears.

Richard S. (rich815) · Sep 7, 2014

Never had that problem with Acros myself. Fomapan and Shanghai GP3 yes.

analoguey · Sep 7, 2014

120 or 35mm?
Shanghai a little bit of post-process washing in very dilute soap helps..

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summicron1 · Sep 7, 2014

i shoot it in both 35 and 120 and have never had this problem, but I use steel reels, not a patterson reel. I've found most films are too tightly wound to load easily onto a patterson or similar plastic ratchet-type reel, especially 35. Maybe roll the film backwards and wait an hour to load it?

I also load my film in a changing bag -- for some reason it is easier to see what I'm doing, and if I drop something, there's nowhere for it to go.

rince · Sep 7, 2014

Never had that issue with Across in 120 either. I only use Paterson reels and never had an issue with getting Across on the reel.

JammyB · Sep 7, 2014

It's 120 I'm using. Its been stored at the bck of a cold fridge, then stood to allow it to reach room temb before it was loaded. It was loaded in to a Bronica SQ-Ai wich I havn't used much. Could it be the angle its pulled onto the spool in the camera? it quite tight on the Bronica. but I used it for two rolls of Foma recently and they had no issues.

bsdunek · Sep 7, 2014

I don't know what the base is for Acros 100, but if it's anything like Ilford Delta 100 & 400, I know what you mean. The only way I can get those on the reels is to wind it backwards and then on the reel, just like you described. I think the Delta has a Mylar base which sure takes a set.

MattKing · Sep 7, 2014

Work over a large tray with a towel lining it - the film is less likely to leap past where you can find it easily.

Loading tightly coiled film is more difficult, but certainly possible. It helps to have a practice roll, and to start the load by pulling the edge of the film into the entrance to the outside grooves.

Regular Rod · Sep 7, 2014

JammyB said:
I shot a couple of rolls of ACROS 100 for the first time yesterday and I've had a right nightmare getting it on to a patterson spiral.
Ive only ever used Kodak and Foma so far and I've never had as much trouble as this.
When I took them off the roll they were coiled up so tight I needed a third hand to un-coil the roll while loading it. Then when I eventually got to the second roll I was un-coiling it a bit to get it started and fumbled it and the roll launched itself out of my hands into the piles of junk sitting around in my attic. I spent the next twenty minutes or so crawling around in the pitch black trying to find it. I was about to give up and turn the light on when I layed my hand on it.
I un-coiled it and rolled it tightly back up in the other direction to try and take the stress out of it. After that I was just able to get it on a spool.
If anyone has any tips or tricks for dealing with this I'm all ears.

Yes it is terrible stuff. Take it all off the spool and carefully and slowly (to avoid static sparks that may fog the film) peel the tape away from the backing paper but leave it on the film. Then fold the tape over the end of the film. This stiffens the edge just enough to let you start it in the spiral and then the spiral will do the rest in the usual way. When you hang it up to dry put two or three weighted clips on the lower end. The extra weight will help to reduce the ludicrous curling. It makes great negatives but it is a horrible film to work with in 120 format. You can now look forward to the joys and excitement of putting it in the negative holder...

RR

JammyB · Sep 7, 2014

Yes, I scanned it this evening and it was a PITA To get into the holder.
I will try the thing with the tape.

polyglot · Sep 7, 2014

Try not refrigerating it after shooting; it's not going to magically fog or lose its image even if you leave it in the cupboard for a month or two. I shoot a lot of Acros and it's never a problem except if there's the tiniest bit of moisture near the reels which will cause it to stick abominably. If it's really tightly wound, you can reverse-curl the leader before feeding it into the reel but you shouldn't need to do the whole roll.

And once dry, it should be perfectly flat! Dry it hanging vertically with a small weight (couple of bulldog clips) at the bottom, and it will come out perfect. There should never ever be any issue getting Acros into a scanner holder unless you let it dry curled up.

DannL. · Sep 7, 2014

I had this trouble with an entire brick of 120 that I bought last fall from an advertiser on this forum. It was inexpensive, so I thought "why not?". After five "rolls from hell", I tried to spool the last five with the lights on. It was physically impossible to spool the film. I told the vendor about the problem, and their response was nothing less than arrogant, as if it was my fault. It "was" my fault . . . I chose to by film from them instead from my usual supplier. There's a moral to this story . . .

Jon Shiu · Sep 7, 2014

After pulling it onto the reel and through the ball bearings, keep your thumbs over the film (it's okay to touch the film) on the little triangles where the film goes in. That keeps it from jumping out and you can also manipulate it with your other fingers also. I just loaded a 40-50 year old roll of Tri-X and it wasn't too hard.

Jon

RattyMouse · Sep 8, 2014

I have loaded a hundred rolls of Acros onto Paterson reels without problems. I wonder if your cooling the film has something to do with it. I would try skipping that next time and try again.

Nuff · Sep 8, 2014

I store my acros in freezer and I didn't have any curling issue like you describe. But than I use stainless steel reels and it practically loads by itself.

ACROS 100. So springy it jumped out of my hands.

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