Fastest / Best way to make contact sheet & store 36 exp. Film?

I realize this is pretty elementary to most, but I'd like a little discussion on this if you'll give it. Seems to me that 36 exp roll film doesn't lend itself to making a contact sheet very easily. I'm always cutting something off, etc. Suppose I could just make 2 sheets per roll - is this what you do? Seems kind of a waste to do that, though.

Also, how do most of you store your negs? I've been mostly storing mine in those clear plastc pages for years now, but just getting back into B&W darkroom work, I borrowed a book from the library, and it was saying not to do that. The author showed some negs that had been squished and stuck to the plastic; basically ruined. They were advocating some kind of folder system in a file drawer. What do you all currently do? Just wantng to educate myself beyond what I've learned through the school of hard knocks in the darkroom.
Thank you for your time,
Jed

Dear Jed,

I've used the plastic holders since the late `80s with zero issues. Before that I used glassine (sp?) sleeves and did have an issue with some where the glue degraded and got onto the film. I keep the sleeves in polyethylene binder boxes on a shelf in my home office. It is an old home and it is not air-conditioned.

Of course if the negatives are wet at all before they go into the sleeves there will probably be trouble.

Good luck with whatever you decide,

Neal Wydra

I was using the plastic sheets but stopped about 2 years ago. Invariably, some kind of dust or grit would get in (even though I stored them in enclosed binders), and the act of pushing or pulling out the negative would generate a scratch. Anyway, I switched over to individual side loading sleeves for each strip, which goes into a little folder, which goes into a box. It's easier to handle, easier to pull negatives in and out, and I have more room to write information if I need to on the folder. I also cut them in strips of 6 now instead of 5 for the binder pages.

I use the ones from Archival Methods. It's more expensive than the binder pages, but I don't shoot so much film that it's that big of a deal.

As far as contact sheets go, I'd just fit as many as I could on a page, and the gather up the remainders from a couple of rolls and stick them on a single page.

I just went through the same research in trying to figure out how to reorganize years' worth of negatives. After reading most of the threads here on people's storage preferences I ended up getting six of these:

http://www.printfile.com/ff35packageof50.aspx

and two of these:

http://www.printfile.com/ult35-6bxwpackageof25internationalmulti-hole.aspx

for each fifty rolls of 36 exposure 35mm film I had to organize. I also got some of these to store them in:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/140932-REG/Besfile_B_9051_Archival_Binder_With_Rings.html


It wasn't cheap, but it seems to me to be a very good system. I prefer the folding design of the individual jackets because you open them up to remove the negative, rather than sliding it in and out and risking scratching if there are any foreign objects in the sleeve. Get the polyester ones, I've read they're better than the other ones. I'm almost done reorganizing and I'm very happy with the products. I have the same type of system for 120 format. For 4x5, I got these: http://www.printfile.com/4x5-foldflap.aspx and these: http://www.printfile.com/np-flipbox45.aspx. Hope this helps.

I don't have too much trouble with the regular old print file sleeves that hold 7 strips of 5 frames. Been using them since time began or thereabouts. Each sheet holds 35 and I put the last frame/frames if there are a couple in a sleeve that is good for 7 rolls - I write the roll number next to the sheet that has the last frames from different rolls. I have no issue getting 35 complete frames on an 8x10 paper. the edges of the top or the bottom strip may be a little cut off but who cares. Years ago you could by contact paper that was about the right size for the print file 6 frame by 6 strip sleeves but that never appealed to me - I just use the cheapest RC paper I can find for contacts and the same for test prints.

RB

Thanks for the tips, I'll give those options some research. I actually have 3 of those plastic binder boxes, and I do like them as well. Suppose I could just keep on with them. I'm liking the 7 x 5 idea, because it all fits on an 8x10 for a contact sheet easily.

Jed

I store my negatives in 6x6 strip sleeves. If I line them up carefully with the top and bottom sprockets hanging off of the edge, I can do a contact sheet across the short dimension of 8 1/2 x 11 paper. The down side is that I have to use more expensive paper.

pschauss said:

I store my negatives in 6x6 strip sleeves. If I line them up carefully with the top and bottom sprockets hanging off of the edge, I can do a contact sheet across the short dimension of 8 1/2 x 11 paper. The down side is that I have to use more expensive paper.

Click to expand...

Yea that was not even attractive to me when there were a bunch of 8.5x11 papers just for doing that - now...

RB

i use 8.5x11 paper for the contact sheets and print files pages in archival boxes for storage.

same for 120 film and 4x5 negatives.

I gave up trying to fit a whole roll on one contact sheet and I just fill up negative sheets as I need. 36-exposure rolls need an extra slot. Rolls begin partway down a sheet instead of at the top. I don't mind - it doesn't matter.

If you care, you can simply shoot to exposure 35 and stop. 35 exposures fit in a standard negative sheet perfectly, 7 x 5.

I usually proof in Printfile sleeves, then remove the film, stack the strips, and put them in plastines. I used to use glassines, but switched all my old stuff over when I started using plastines for my new stuff. I use the Printfile pages that hold the film and a contact sheet, but not for storage. I use the contact sheet slot to ensure perfect alignment of the unexposed paper to the film. Neat little trick that saves a lot of time and frustration.

For proofing extra frames, I use an extra strip, and staple it to the main contact sheet.

I have a new proofer on the way that will eliminate the need for any Printfile pages for my 35mm negs. Whoopee!

I use 6x6 negative sleeves and manage to get them on an 8x10 using a Paterson contact sheet holder.

I manage to squeeze a 36 negatives onto an 8x10 sheet by cutting off some of the sprocket holes. Negatives are stored in a plain #10 enveloper with the contact sheet clipped to it with a paper clip. Inexpensive, reliable, 0 problems with dust, grit, scratches or anything else even with some that have been stored that way for many years. Write notes on the envelope with a pencil.

If you like envelopes for neg storage, these are by far the best envelopes I've ever used: go here: http://www.hollingermetaledge.com/, and search for the product UNE210. It's an "unbuffered negative strip envelope." They say it is for 35mm, but it also fits 120.

I make contact prints on Ilford RC 8.5x11, with bare negatives against glass. After I have a suitable sheet adjusted for exposure to show best compromise across the roll, I sleeve each strip into a polyester fold-lock, and then store the fold-locks in PF Ultima sleeves. I put the contact sheet in an 8.5x11 polyester sleeve and store it and the Ultima sleeve in an acid-free manila-like folder. I then place these folders into a storage box.

I treat my contact sheets very well as they encompass time spent and represent the negatives right after they were cut down to strips. They are the window into my archive, and as such, I believe they should be held with high importance.

I use the printfile sleeve pages. If your negative is not perfectly dry, it will stick to the plastic and potentially get damaged. Moral of the story is just be sure the negative is dry when you put it back into the page after printing. A drop of water from your hands not being fully dry is something that can easily happen when printing.

I have so many negatives there is no easy way to store/organize them otherwise. I suppose no storage system would be good for a wet negative.

As for contact printing, I use the 7 row by 5-shot strip pages. This doesn't fully store the 36-37 photos I'm apt to get on a roll, unless there is an obviously botched photo you can eliminate at the start or end of a roll, or at the start of a strip. So often a roll will continue on over to the next page.

They print onto 8x10 paper fine if you don't mind the sprockets being cropped from the top and bottom strips. I put the paper and negative page together in my hand, then put it down on the enlarger table. Put a piece of glass over it, and make a contact print.

A slightly less expensive alternative to buying the 8.5x11 paper because you don't like cropping would be to not use one of the rows in the page, so you get 30 images per page.

After the contact prints have dried, I three ring punch them and put them in the negative binder book adjacent to their respective negative pages.

Everything goes into the book in chronological order. When the book gets full, write the date range on the binder, put it away, and start a new book.

I'm using the Paterson contact proof printer. It's good for 6 strips of 6 frames:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/items/40249.jpg

I then file the negs using Kenro neg sheets:

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/images/products/prod_kenro_KNF0811.jpg

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention another trick that I use. Use the spare trailer off the end of the roll (which will usually be at least a single frame of clear film) and using a sharpie, write down the development/film/camera/roll/etc. notes onto this spare section of film. Place this onto your contact sheet as you make it. After the contact sheet is made you'll have this data exposed onto the same sheet (appearing white lettering on black) - allowing a natural form of keeping the data in one place. It also saves one the hassle of trying to write on RC gloss after the fact; with this method it's in the emulsion just like the contacts themselves. This makes it very convenient to find roll notes as the same time one is going through contact sheets.

vue-all makes some 7 strips of 6 negative sleeves, Ultrafine(and Freestlye too I think) has them

http://store.ultrafineonline.com/vu80nepa357s1.html

Vue-All product # 8040

I make contact sheets(c-41) onto 10x12 paper(same size I use for 6x7 negs), cut from 12" lab rolls from "e-prey". b/w I just use 11x14 paper and trim to size after proofing.

Then I store the negs in 11x14 boxes(proofsheets in a separate box) from Conservation Resources. I generally pick up 3-4/year. Great value, and much safer than 11x14 paper boxes

http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/LG0024/

-Dan

DanielStone said:

vue-all makes some 7 strips of 6 negative sleeves, Ultrafine(and Freestlye too I think) has them

http://store.ultrafineonline.com/vu80nepa357s1.html

Vue-All product # 8040

Click to expand...

"Vue-All® Negative Saver ARCHIVAL Storage Pages are made from 2 mil polyethylene. Because polyethylene is soft, it won't scratch your delicate film emulsions."

Polyethylene may not scratch it - but dust absolutely can AND will. Absolutely avoid any sleeves that require sliding. The only real archival sleeve is a polyester fold-flap that has *no* sliding.

Dead Link Removed (chapter 14)

Good grief, now I have to take out a second mortgage to redo all my negatives!

rwboyer said:

Yea that was not even attractive to me when there were a bunch of 8.5x11 papers just for doing that - now...

RB

Click to expand...

Adorama's house brand of 8.5x11 is pretty cheap.

Even at that size though, I have to take the 6th strip out of the Printfile sheet and place it crosswise on the end, particularly if I place the negs just far enough down the paper so that my notes across the top of the sheet will print.