Identifying old sheet film found in holders

[aeyb701]

I wanted to pass along a way of identifying by notch code old sheet film found in holders which one may from time-to-time come across.
Notch codes are sometimes unfamiliar and hard to discern by feel in a dark bag, so in the dark bag place along with the film and holder a pencil and a piece of paper, and by placing the film sheet against a support like the film holder or box, make a rubbing and voila you have an exact image of the notch code to then look up somewhere on line.
The film is pretty resilient and not likely to scratch, which is much more likely in the wet processing end of things.
-Jon Archibald

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Good tip. And I'll go one further. Since it's tough to see in the dark use a crayon instead of a pencil. Less risk of damage to the emulsion.

 

[aeyb701]

Quite agreed Chris. What I meant, but didn't come across with, was to put the bit of paper between the film and the pencil, like what people do to gravestones of the rich and dead.
Best regards,
Jon A.