Do you "roll your own"?

tonyjuliano · Jan 24, 2011

How many of you bulk load their own film?

I roll all my own TRI-X, TMY and TMX. I love being in control of how many frames are on each roll (and hate 36 frames).

Nice write up on how I do things Dead Link Removed.

ozphoto · Jan 24, 2011

I do. As you say, it allows for shorter than usual rolls, meaning more flexibility for me.

ndrs · Jan 24, 2011

I have several 30 metre boxes of Ilford P3 surveillance film that I obviously have to roll myself. I don't like the result much, though. Is it my Watson loader or my clumsiness, but my rolls are never the same length. If it's shorter, I'll reach the end and lose a frame or two because it's been exposed to light. And if it's longer my Nikon FA stops counting at 36 anyway and I never know how many are actually shot. Sometimes I manage to get rolls so long I have problems loading them onto the reels afterwards.

I'm thinking of giving up using the loader and measure / load manually in darkness.

Steve Roberts · Jan 24, 2011

ndrs said:
I'm thinking of giving up using the loader and measure / load manually in darkness.

Loader? What's a loader?
My outstretched hands are near as dammit 36 exp. I usually roll shorter films (typically mid-twenties) but the exact length rarely bothers me. For precise measurement, a couple of notches in the workbench edge would, I'm sure, work fine.
Steve

Necator · Jan 24, 2011

I roll my own Ilford HP5+, for increased flexibility and lower cost. I don't bother when it comes to 100 ISO film, as I have a nice stock of Rollei Retro 100, that I got dirt cheap.

Brac · Jan 24, 2011

I used to years ago, but I don't use enough rolls of any particular black & white film these days to make it worthwhile anymore. Less and less films seem to be available in bulk lengths too.

Brokenmatt · Jan 24, 2011

I just "discovered" by bulk loader while cleaning a darkroom cupboard. It's got about 50' of Plus-x and I have no idea when I last used it! I have loaded a short roll to test. It's amazing how quickly my hands remember how to do things! I used to only shoot bulk (in the 70s and 80s) as a poor student. Cant wait to see how this comes out.

jgcull · Jan 24, 2011

This is a timely thread for me to find. Thank you!

Toffle · Jan 24, 2011

jgcull said:
This is a timely thread for me to find. Thank you!

Myself as well, I just "discovered" a Watson loader in a box of darkroom gear I picked up last year. I look at it and have more questions than answers, like do they scratch the emulsion? Can you switch bulk rolls in the loader? How do you secure the end of the film to the reel? How much waste is there per reel? etc...

yeknom02 · Jan 24, 2011

I bought a Soligor loader on eBay, and I've rolled about three or so rolls of HP5+ from it. It works fantastic, though I've put it down for a while so I can try out a variety of different black and white films. But the HP5+ is my insurance policy against running out of film.

hpulley · Jan 24, 2011

I should roll my own B&W as I often find 36, heck even 24 can take me too long to finish. I am rolling my own 126 from unperforated because I have to...

Mike Wilde · Jan 24, 2011

I have for years. Oniginally , out of student poverty, without a bulk roller ala watson etc. Just notches in edge of desk as a length guide for 35 exposures, to match my negative filing system. I would work after dark with a sleeping bag pinned to my room window, and towels stiffed around the bottom of the door.

Now I have a few differnt loaders, and keep hp4, fp4, pan f and formerly, when easier to find, c-41 and e-6 films as well as the former plus x pan and olf trix.

I also bulk roll duping films, since they are only sold in 35mm 100' rolls.

I also have a 100' roll of 70mm that I slit and respool for 120 film ocassionally. Dust control is a bitch though when working without a bulk loader.

Rarely in the last decade have I bought pre packaged 35mm film. My freezer is packed with it though as people give me their old unwanted film stocks.

removed account4 · Jan 24, 2011

i have an old lloyds roller and a handful of spools
when i was a broke student i would buy 100' rolls of pan x
i haven't used it in a long time.

tom

you can switch rolls. if you have a tin to put the
switched out film into just get some black masking tape
and you are good to go ...
the way i secure the film onto the cassette spool is again with a bit of tape.
i use a long enough piece to go around the spool and on both sides of the film ...
it depends on how clean the felt is, on both the cassettes and the bulk loader
whether or not it is going to scratch your film ...

ndrs · Jan 24, 2011

Toffle said:
... do they scratch the emulsion? Can you switch bulk rolls in the loader? How do you secure the end of the film to the reel? How much waste is there per reel? etc...

Watson (mine at least) has a wide gate you can open and close and not a velvet-coated slit that can collect dust and scratch your film later. Theoretically, your film's surface does not touch anything before entering the cassette.

You have to take out the bulk roll and put it back into its lightproof package to change for another one. Goes only in darkness.

I use a strip of 20 mm masking tape, 5 cm perhaps, to secure the end around the spool, sticking it to both sides of film. Works very well and is easy to remove again.

You only expose an extra 5-8 cm per each roll loaded if you work with lights on. You can do it in darkness of course, but what's the added value of the loader then.

Xmas · Jan 24, 2011

Hi

You can get color or mono cine film cheap, short lengths or expired, survelliance film expired, etc.
Many cameras will take non felt trap casselles, FILCA & IXMOO for Leica, Contax, Kiev, Nikon rfdrs,...
Join a camera club claim poverty and try and get bits as gifts...

Noel

Jeff Kubach · Jan 24, 2011

I roll my own but not film!

Jeff

Tim Gray · Jan 24, 2011

I do periodically, but for Tri-X and T-Max 400, the cost for factory rolls is so low ($3.50), it doesn't seem worth it. Now if I could get T-Max 3200 for $45/100 ft, I'd have to think about it.

Anon Ymous · Jan 24, 2011

Jeff Kubach said:
I roll my own but not film!

Jeff

I roll my own too... including film.

brucemuir · Jan 24, 2011

I have 3-4 loaders going at any ome time.
I buy Arista Premium 400-and reuse those cassettes for a variety of emulsions that I look for cheap.

Moopheus · Jan 24, 2011

Tim Gray said:
I do periodically, but for Tri-X and T-Max 400, the cost for factory rolls is so low ($3.50), it doesn't seem worth it.

Yes, Kodak's pricing doesn't offer much discount for bulk rolls, whereas for Ilford it seems to be a much bigger difference. On the other hand, for the moment, Freestyle still has the Arista Premium 400 for $35 a can, and if I were shooting a lot of Tri-X (which these days I am not, usually going for lower-speed films), I would take that deal.

Existing Light · Jan 24, 2011

I do roll my own, 35mm film as well as some other stuff that I have to roll myself

pgomena · Jan 24, 2011

I rolled my own 35mm color slide film when I was in school and had a big AV project. Budget was everything, and I wasn't shooting action or sports so I didn't have to worry much about hitting the end of the roll. Saved a bundle.

I hated doing it otherwise and figured that film was the least expensive part of a "real" shoot. I always used factory loads in the "real world." I found out the hard way that self-loads and re-used cassettes liked to jam when combined with an auto-winder or motor drive. Scratches on film from dust in the felt light traps on the cassettes weren't a big deal in school or for newspaper work, but for personal work I would not take the risk.

Now I just avoid using 35mm in general. I like bigger negatives. (And I can see to focus the bigger cameras.)

Peter Gomena

MattKing · Jan 24, 2011

I've two bulk loaders - one with Plus-X, the other with TMY-2.

I like the flexibility.

Uncle Bill · Jan 24, 2011

I roll my own 400 and 100 ISO black and white film, for now a tail end of a Legacy Pro 400 100' roll and then switching back to Tri-x. As for 100 ISO, I'm using up my roll of Plus X and switching to Ilford Delta 100 after that.

Jeff Kubach · Jan 24, 2011

Anon Ymous said:
I roll my own too... including film.

Jeff

Do you "roll your own"?

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