Best way to preserve rare bulk load film- freeze in loader, load all at once and freeze cassettes, take out and freeze partial rolls?

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xonefs

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Part of the reason I got the fancy AP daylight loader with geared frame counter is that due to tech pan film being much thinner those markings for turns and number of exposures on the lloyds and similar will not be accurate. A 150ft roll of techpan is the size of a normal 100ft roll and fits in normal loaders. I suppose I could figure out what the equivalent turns and frames are but seemed like a hassle.
 

Xylo

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Part of the reason I got the fancy AP daylight loader with geared frame counter is that due to tech pan film being much thinner those markings for turns and number of exposures on the lloyds and similar will not be accurate
That is definitely a good reason. And the AP loader is definitely better than the Lloyds. The Watson is also pretty good, but it's just too big for nothing.

I never got a chance to use the old Technical Pan, so I didn't realize it has such a thin base. That probably has something to do with how sharp the film really is.
 

relistan

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Living in the cold north, bulk loading and regularly storing stuff in the freezer, I've come to know a bit about freezing film.
Humidity will come 90% from condensation. The ambient air is rarely a problem. What happens is that when something cold goes back to a warmer environment, the humidity that's in the air will settle on every surface that's cold. Warm air can absorb a lot more humidity than cold air. So, you want to avoid the water from coming in contact with the film.

The best solution is to put the bulk film, or even the entire bulk loader in a plastic ziploc bag before putting it in the freezer. When you need some film, you have to plan ahead, so the night before you pull the bag out of the freezer and very importantly, you leave it inside the bag making sure that the exterior air never gets in contact with the interior air. The next morning, when you pull the loader from the bag, it will be very dry and ready to use.

As for the cassettes, like everybody says: put tape on both sides of the film!
If not, it's just asking for trouble.

This how I do it, too. Works great.
 

Steve York

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Part of the reason I got the fancy AP daylight loader with geared frame counter is that due to tech pan film being much thinner those markings for turns and number of exposures on the lloyds and similar will not be accurate. A 150ft roll of techpan is the size of a normal 100ft roll and fits in normal loaders. I suppose I could figure out what the equivalent turns and frames are but seemed like a hassle.
Those are good day light loaders. I have a couple. Not sure they'll fit a full 150' though.
 

Steve York

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So I acquired a 150ft roll of techpan that has been freezer stored all its life.

I have not bulk loaded before and also got an AP daylight loader. Seeing as this film was expensive and more importantly likely not replaceable I would like to know the best way to bulk load and continue to store it.

I'm wondering what is the best option to minimize risks of condensations and multiple freeze/thaws.

So it seems my first option would be to put it in the loader, then load a few cassettes, and freeze the entire loader with the bulk roll still in there. Then take out and let that thaw and load more later and freeze again. This would mean I couldn't use the (expensive) AP daylight loader for anything else while it's loaded in there and I don't have another one. Not sure if there is any risk freezing the whole loader itself.

Or put it in the loader and load all 35mm cassettes in a short period of time and freeze the loaded cassettes. This would take up more space and give me a lot less flexibility to decide later to load short rolls and choose which cassettes to use since I would need a lot at once.

Or load a number of cassettes to freeze but far from the whole thing (say 5-10), take the remainder of the bulk roll out and then seal it back up and freeze that. This risks me messing something up opening back up the loader and unloading the remainder of the bulk roll to put back in storage. not sure how difficult this is.

So I'm wonder what is the least risky and best way to control condensations from forming among those options. for any of these options the frozen stuff would be put in bags and desiccant packs could be added.

I'sd just spool it all up into canisters and refrigerate what you're not going to use in the foreseeable future. How old's the techpan?
 
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