i hate cutting 35mm negatives into strips

pentaxuser · Aug 7, 2008

I too have a Rowi which is designed I think primarily for cutting individual slides but does a good job of negs. My bugbear is keeping the last neg at either end of the strip straight in the neg carrier when there no end available to keep the strip straight. There's a prize for anyone coming up with a good suggestion as to a convenient way to keep the first and last neg straight in the carrier. Splicing/taping ends on to each end of each strip is one way but it's hardly convenient.

pentaxuser

pgomena · Aug 7, 2008

I don't mind cutting 35mm into strips. I used to hate contact printing the strips until I got a Paterson contact printer that holds them in place very effectively. I don't shoot 35mm much anymore except for C-41 "happy snaps" of the family. (I don't enjoy printing 35mm b&w any more. I've been spoiled by larger formats.)

Peter Gomena

jolefler · Aug 7, 2008

Not too badly

More like a dislike instead of hate. My Barnack bodies don't leave much of a space between frames, but it's do-able with a minimum amount of care and thin shears. Start the cut, then aim for the proper spot on the perforation across the film strip from it. Rarely do I mi ss

23mjm · Aug 7, 2008

I can say I have never given it that much thought!!! It is just a part of developing your own film, I also have to cut 120 in to strips too. I use good ol tried n true scissors. I have cut 1000's of rolls. Oh well whatchya goin to do???????????????

eddym · Aug 7, 2008

I don't understand the poll question. Is it, "Do I cut strips?" or "Do I hate cutting strips?"
Whatever, my answers are yes and no. What's the big deal?

SuzanneR · Aug 7, 2008

hehehehe... I think someone's been up too late cutting film!! I don't mind cutting it... getting them into the damn sleeves... errrrrrgh....

patrickjames · Aug 7, 2008

Cutting film is a pain. I put the film over a lightbox an then go to town with some scissors. What is even more of a pain is the cataloging. Talk about boring. Every now and then I get lazy and end up with unmarked film at the darkroom, at home, in my Jeep..... But the cataloging does make it easy to find negatives when I am looking for one.

Patrick

removed account4 · Aug 7, 2008

patrickjames said:
Cutting film is a pain. I put the film over a lightbox an then go to town with some scissors. What is even more of a pain is the cataloging. Talk about boring. Every now and then I get lazy and end up with unmarked film at the darkroom, at home, in my Jeep..... But the cataloging does make it easy to find negatives when I am looking for one.

Patrick

cataloging?

that is another poll!

john

Arvee · Aug 7, 2008

I disliked cutting with conventional scissors so I bought one of the teeny, super nice Fiskar guillotine cutters (about a 5" grid) for $10-11 and cutting is now a piece of cake and the cuts are always square and very easy to position for precision cutting. I even use it to bevel the corners for easy insertion into the sleeves.

Try it, you'll like it!

-Fred

Alex Bishop-Thorpe · Aug 7, 2008

Beveled corners...that's quite smart, I keep catching my strips on a half-cut perforation when I go to put them back in. I'll give that a shot.
To answer the poll, I do cut my own negatives but I don't really mind it. Usually at that stage I'm just happy there's no drying marks and I can cut and sleeve it with out any grumbling and swearing on my part. Cutting and sleeving is nearly a zen exercise compared to some things that can go wrong in the darkroom.

NormanV · Aug 7, 2008

What a fuss about nothing!

Larry Bullis · Aug 8, 2008

Fabian said:
...sometimes the spaces in between negatives are very small. ...

Shoot movie roll ends. The spaces are all the same because the sprocket holes are more precise.

Larry Bullis · Aug 8, 2008

The worst thing is having one or two too many frames. 35 fit on an 8x10 contact sheet pretty well, but 36 won't. We used to cut them in 6 and proof on 8-1/2x 11 paper. Just try finding THAT anymore!

Usually, it means counting frames from both ends, hoping to find a bad one on a boundary that can be sacrificed.

I'd rather waste a few frames than go through this. Too often, I forget to waste those critical frames!

brian steinberger · Aug 8, 2008

I never even thought about cutting film. It's just something you do after your film has dried. I've never had a hard time cutting between images in 35mm or 120. I don't understand why this would be so hard...

Mike Richards · Aug 8, 2008

Another Bevel Fan

SuzanneR said:
hehehehe... I think someone's been up too late cutting film!! I don't mind cutting it... getting them into the damn sleeves... errrrrrgh....

As others mentioned, just snip a small bevel on the top and bottom of the end of the strip you push into the sleeve. You can get them out easily by hooking a blunt pointed object into one of the sprocket holes on the other end.

nemo999 · Aug 8, 2008

I use 6" scissors with no problem - a mini 4x5" lightbox is a big help.

Ronald Moravec · Aug 8, 2008

Actually the key is very small scissors with narrow blades. Mine have 1" long very narrow blades. Try a sewing shop. The longer the blade, the wider and the more light it blocks making an accurate cut difficult.

Sometimes helps to cut emulsion up.

The very best way is my Kaiser slide cutter. Has a illuminated bulb under with a built in magnifier in top. Blade slides on a track like a quality paper cutter and there are marks to line up the sprocket holes with the cutter. A near perfect tool.

http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/products/kaiser-slide-cutter--2115/2988/

eddym · Aug 8, 2008

You wouldn't believe what I cut 35mm film with...
Twenty-something years ago, I was getting together materials to teach a darkroom class, and I needed some scissors for the students to cut their film with. Thinking hmmm... I don't want them using anything too dangerous, cutting off a finger or something and suing me... and I came across a pair of plastic children's scissors for use in kindergarten. They had a thin strip of metal for the actual cutting surface, but clunky plastic blades that would make it pretty difficult to inflict any harm upon oneself... or others. Sure enough, no students -nor their fingers- were lost in our darkroom class!
Yo these many years later, I still use use those same scissors to cut 35mm film in my own darkroom. And yep... I still have all my fingers!

Larry Bullis · Aug 8, 2008

eddym said:
You wouldn't believe what I cut 35mm film with...

Yes I would!

We learned in art school that if you need to make accurate and even intricate cuts (like for making paper dolls!) that those kids' scissors are the best kind of scissors to use. Part of the reason for it, I think, is that with any scissors, the most accurate way to use them is in toward the hands as far as possible with the blades spread wide. With those scissors, you are pretty much there already.

removed account4 · Aug 8, 2008

i gave myself a haircut with left handed preschool scissors just like that
when i was 18 ... lucky for me my hair grew back

Paul Verizzo · Aug 8, 2008

benjiboy said:
It's not too bad with cutting negs into strips of six, bit cutting 36 trannies to mount is a real pain, having to make 72 cuts

Isn't it 37 cuts????

Palmer · Aug 8, 2008

Have we really nothing better to ask than whether we like or dislike cutting negs?!! Really, this has to be one of the most pointless posts.

Woolliscroft · Aug 9, 2008

I don't see the problem. It's such a simple thing that I have never thought about it as an issue. Ditto medium format film.

David.

Thanasis · Aug 9, 2008

Yep, hate it. Ruined the odd negative in doing it too.

benjiboy · Aug 10, 2008

Paul Verizzo said:
Isn't it 37 cuts????

As you can tell maths was never my strong point.

i hate cutting 35mm negatives into strips

do you?

yes

no

i don't shoot 35mm because i hate cutting the stips so much

someone else cuts them for me

pentaxuser

pgomena

jolefler

23mjm

eddym

SuzanneR

Moderator

patrickjames

removed account4

Arvee

Alex Bishop-Thorpe

NormanV

Larry Bullis

Larry Bullis

brian steinberger

Mike Richards

nemo999

Ronald Moravec

eddym

Larry Bullis

removed account4

Paul Verizzo

Palmer

Woolliscroft

Thanasis

benjiboy

i hate cutting 35mm negatives into strips

do you?

yes

no

i don't shoot 35mm because i hate cutting the stips so much

someone else cuts them for me

Moderator

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