bulk loading

seanE · Feb 9, 2016

I hear people saying you can reuse old cases and reload them from a buck reel, I doubt thats posable for me since there mangled torn, and fairly banjaxed by the time I'm finished praying out the film with a metal spoon,
So my question is, Can i just load the film in the dark into a broken cassette leave the lid off, And only remove the role again when back in the dark, This would not be to much of a problem for me since i don't shoot that many frames.

Xmas · Feb 9, 2016

seanE said:
I hear people saying you can reuse old cases and reload them from a buck reel, I doubt thats posable for me since there mangled torn, and fairly banjaxed by the time I'm finished praying out the film with a metal spoon,
So my question is, Can i just load the film in the dark into a broken cassette leave the lid off, And only remove the role again when back in the dark, This would not be to much of a problem for me since i don't shoot that many frames.

No very inconvenient.
You either:
-Get a large number of cassettes from any mini lab- for free.
-Buy plastic reloadable cassettes which have screw on end pieces.
-Or if you have an early camera get dedicated reloadable cassettes for your camera.

If you get mini lab cassettes you need to butt the sticking out film end of the cassette with the bulk film and stick good quality pressure sensitive tape both sides.

It is easier with a bulk loader.

I'd invest in a few plastic as well as mini lab cassettes and pick the option you find easiest.

You need a proper dark room or changing bag.

If you have a factory cassette you can retrieve the end with a home made extractor and pull the film out in the dark rather than using a can opener.

I only use plastic or dedicated cassettes YMMV.

Ricardo Miranda · Feb 9, 2016

It is easier than you think.
I suppose the "old cases" you mean cassettes that have been already used.
If you get cassettes from a lab they'll come with a small piece of film sticking out. you only need to tape that end bit with the start of your bulk roll.
Once you see these cassettes, you'll know what I mean.
You don't need to brake the cassettes.
FYI, some older cassettes like old Ilford up to the 80s are reusable, i.e. you can take the lid off easily and put it back.

Ricardo Miranda · Feb 9, 2016

Oops, Xmas was faster than me!

MattKing · Feb 9, 2016

seanE said:
I hear people saying you can reuse old cases and reload them from a buck reel, I doubt thats posable for me since there mangled torn, and fairly banjaxed by the time I'm finished praying out the film with a metal spoon,
So my question is, Can i just load the film in the dark into a broken cassette leave the lid off, And only remove the role again when back in the dark, This would not be to much of a problem for me since i don't shoot that many frames.

You need a film leader retriever if you want to get the film out without damaging a factory load cassette. There are a number of options, including DIY ones, but this is an example: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=08WTDFP867YGYDQN6JCB

Ricardo Miranda · Feb 9, 2016

See some of my cassettes. The first 2 are reusable. The others come from a lab:

HiHoSilver · Feb 9, 2016

Hi Sean,
Its not worth trying to putz w/ reloading a commercial roll of 35. Reloadable cassettes are cheap. If you need a bulk loader, PM me.

Xmas · Feb 9, 2016

HiHoSilver said:
Hi Sean,
Its not worth trying to putz w/ reloading a commercial roll of 35. Reloadable cassettes are cheap. If you need a bulk loader, PM me.

Depends lots of people use mini lab cassettes because they are free.
And two nails in a door rather than a bulk loader cause the nails were free...
I don't do either and the two nails are ok

aoresteen · Feb 10, 2016

Just use reusable cassettes for $1.25. Use a can of air to blow them out before each load.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/86473-REG/Kalt_NP11137_1_35mm_Cassette_For_Bulk.html

Invest in a bulk loader:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/31737-REG/Lloyd_LL01_35mm_Bulk_Film_Loader.html

Xmas · Feb 10, 2016

aoresteen said:
Just use reusable cassettes for $1.25. Use a can of air to blow them out before each load.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/86473-REG/Kalt_NP11137_1_35mm_Cassette_For_Bulk.html

Invest in a bulk loader:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/31737-REG/Lloyd_LL01_35mm_Bulk_Film_Loader.html

Xmas · Feb 10, 2016

I was abstract there are four options:

-Get a large number of cassettes from any mini lab- for free.
-Buy plastic reloadable cassettes which have screw on end pieces.
-if you have an early camera get dedicated reloadable cassettes for your camera.
-or some cassettes that look like normal factory cassettes with crimped ends are instead just clipped together and can be opened with finger nails.

Ricardo has two at the front in his photo. Lucky and Adox had been selling film in such cassettes this decade.

Ashfaque · Feb 10, 2016

Noel: The Adox Silvermax 100 roll that I have, does not appear to be easily openable. I'll try that pre-development. I haven't tried reusing any metal cans yet though.

Sean: I had a similar query when I started. I listened to Noel, Matt, et. al and bought some plastic screw-on reloadable cassettes from Freestyle (IIRC, they were from the Spanish firm AP). You can read my work flow here. Bulk loading is the way to go.

seanE · Feb 10, 2016

Thanks guys, I didn't know you could get cheap reloadable cassettes, There were some ''VERY'' used ones on the bay, But they were 25, And didn't look like they would be keeping much light out. What defines ''early'' i imagine an M4 would work with any cassettes.

davedm · Feb 10, 2016

If you use plastic re-loadable cassettes, make sure to put a small piece of tape at both caps or they could come loose while handling.

Personally, I did not like plastic cassettes from Freestyle. I like the metal ones better.

Xmas · Feb 11, 2016

seanE said:
Thanks guys, I didn't know you could get cheap reloadable cassettes, There were some ''VERY'' used ones on the bay, But they were 25, And didn't look like they would be keeping much light out. What defines ''early'' i imagine an M4 would work with any cassettes.

An M4 will accept dedicated non velvet cassettes that open and close in the camera they use the slot on the baseplate lock.
The Leica code for the cassette is IXMOO.
Some daylight loaders will operate the open and close mechanism, eg Watsons.
Usable cassettes are 10-20 USD each. They don't need to be as new.

Xmas · Feb 11, 2016

davedm said:
If you use plastic re-loadable cassettes, make sure to put a small piece of tape at both caps or they could come loose while handling.

Personally, I did not like plastic cassettes from Freestyle. I like the metal ones better.

All the plastic ones here only open at one end, but yes you need a sticker to ensure the end does not unscrew.

davedm · Feb 11, 2016

Xmas,

My Bad, Only one cap per cassette.

toro_mike · Feb 11, 2016

Xmas said:
All the plastic ones here only open at one end, but yes you need a sticker to ensure the end does not unscrew.

I must be lucky as I have never had to tape the tops on the plastic re-loadable cassettes. Drat, now it'll happen, I suppose!!

I'm not a huge fan of the plastic ones from Freestyle as the felt likes to begin falling off after awhile... I wonder if the metal ones are any better?

emjo · Feb 11, 2016

The film is sensitive to light (right?) so the cassettes must be completely light tight. Some cassettes are reusable, some not. I have some old (1980's?) Fuji ones that are easy to pry open and use for bulk loading. Some newer cassettes only open with a wire cutter(!) unfortunately. When my old cassettes go out I will get plastic ones.

Xmas · Feb 11, 2016

davedm said:
Xmas,

My Bad, Only one cap per cassette.

I'd not worry.
I use a small avery label with film type written on it 'D400' for delta 400 to stop the cap moving and identify the ISO/soup requirements.
We can get metal ones with both ends 'Spring off' where I some times use two labels.

rpavich · Feb 12, 2016

Xmas said:
I'd not worry.
I use a small avery label with film type written on it 'D400' for delta 400 to stop the cap moving and identify the ISO/soup requirements.
We can get metal ones with both ends 'Spring off' where I some times use two labels.

That's what happened to me. The plastic screw on kind don't come off for me, but the metal ones sometimes launch an end.

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