How to obtain EMPTY 8x10 film boxes

hblad120

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I'm putting together my 8x10 system for an upcoming trip and one of the things I need to plan for is acquiring empty film boxes to place my film after it has been exposed.

Is there a way to acquire empty 8x10 film boxes in advance of my trip? I don't want to go through the expense of buying twice as much film I need and storing half the film away before I travel in order to use the empty boxes.

What other methods are there to store film during the duration of a trip that I have not considered, which also take into account limited space?
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Ask at a lab that processes 8x10" film. They often have spares.

One way to keep things straight without carrying too much bulk, if you are using the Zone System or something like it, is to have one box with a system of dividers with tabs that you can feel in the dark. I put one tab on the top edge of the top divider, and then tabs down the right side for +2, +1, N, -1, and -2. If I'm going for long enough that I'm shooting lots of film, I can split the stack into new boxes as I empty them.

Also--you don't need to post the same question in more than one forum. They both come up in everyone's "new posts" view.
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Opaque black envelopes inside a box or a larger envelope work fine if you are processing the film yourself. If you are using a lab, it's non-standard, and depending on how bright the lab folks are, it may lead to confusion (it's happened to me).
 

mjs

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If you do your own darkroom work you probably have some of the opaque black plastic bags in which photographic paper is wrapped. Inside of a heavy shipping envelope it is probably at least as safe as an empty cardboard film box. Insert the bag with the open end at the bottom of the envelope.

mjs
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Harrigan

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I simply put my exposed film in the same box with the unexposed, except the exposed shots do not go back in the bag. simple, easy and effective. if you're worried about scratching the top sheet use a bad neg or a waste sheet or something. If you need n+ or n- then can seperate the film with a sheet of black paper interleaves like you get w/ the efke film.
 

scootermm

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Let me know, I have many many empty boxes and envelopes along with black opaque bags, I can mail them to you as I only need one and have many more than the one I need.
 

narsuitus

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Since most of the labs in my area do not process 8x10 film, I ask them to give me their 8x10 photo paper boxes.
 
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