How to perforate film?

[amuderick]

A friend asked me if I could manage a way to load B&W film into a 110 cassette for his Pentax 110 SLR. I thought the new TMax 400 would be perfect for this small format. Slitting 35mm or 120 film into 110 size strips seems pretty straightforward.

While I know that many 110 cameras, including the Pentax, can get by without perforations, I like to be complete in my projects. How hard is it to add perforations to the film? I imagine a cam lowering a die to punch it out every X number of millimeters. However, I don't see any indication online that anyone has built an amateur device to do this.

Is it such a pain in the neck and not really worth it? Ideas and opinions are appreciated. Thanks!

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I've read about people printing out 16mm movies on overhead projector film using an inkjet printer, slicing up the sheets, and perforating by hand with an X-acto knife. This sounds extraordinarily tedious and particularly challenging to do with real film in the dark, but I suppose with IR goggles it is possible.

 

[Simon R Galley]

Dear Amuderick,

Whilst always amazed at the ingenuity of APUGGERS I feel perforating film with an X-acto knife to be a rather inexact way to perform this ( incredibly exact ) function, I also hasten to add that I doubt you would ever play the violin again....

Simon : ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited

 

[Steve Smith]

I have a laser cutter that could do this. It would have the unfortunate effect of fogging the film though!


Steve.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Indeed, I'm amazed the hand perforated film actually runs in a projector, given how common it is for mechanically perforated film to jam in a projector, but there really are people doing this, as described in a recent article in the German magazine _Smallformat_. Remember, though, they're doing it in the light.

 

[bdial]

A small leather punch might work, and you could build a jig with a hole for the punch and a pin through the last hole to get the spacing right. With some practice, one could probably do it in the dark.

 

[pauliej]

Does your friend also want to be able to load Polaroid into this 110 camera too? It may be easier to talk Kodak/Ilford/Fuji/Foma/etal to get back into the 110 film biz. Seriously, arent there some companies that re-spool or load out-dated film sizes (620, 110, 126, etc) Film for Classics, or something like that? Not sure if any are APUG supporters, but I bet there is one or more out there that can help your friend. I hope this helps you.

I just checked Filmforclassics.com, and NO, they dont have 110 film available. Sorry.

Paul

 

[jim appleyard]

Perhaps your friened should buy a 35mm P&S? Much better image quality that 110.

 

[PHOTOTONE]

A perforation is a hole punch. You "could" have a custom hole punch made (the shape of the hole being the "custom" bit), and mount this hole punch on a "jig" that would allow you to punch the holes in the dark at regular intervals. 110 and 126 both should be rather easy, as they only have one perforation (on one side of the film) per frame. Much easier than trying to punch for motion-picture use. The holes are used (in the cameras) for stopping the advance of the film, to center each frame and achieve equal frame spacing.

 

[greybeard]

Given the the holes in 110 are only for indexing of successive frames, the problem should be relatively easy. I once made a square punch and die set to make "lighted office windows" in black paper for one of my children's art projects; it took a few bits of scrap metal, a couple of files, a drill press and about half an hour. If you would like all the details, email me---the essentials involve drilling a small hole and filing it out to rectangular, and then filing the outside of a nail to just fit through the hole. The drill press is then used like a punch press---one guide and a pin at the frame spacing would allow you to perforate as strip of film in no time.