Opaque leader on 135-36 films prone to light piping, worth it?

Hi!

I recently found some colored film leader on eBay. I’ve had an idea for some time about attaching such a leader to some of the films that I sell, as they can have severe light piping issues if loaded improperly. However, I was always worried about how to lineup the perforations correctly. Actual film splicers that do this are very expensive.

But, I have been thinking about making a jig that would correctly line up the perforations so that I can attach a 4-6” leader to each film with regular tape. This would allow the film to be loaded in basically any condition, and it would also allow the film to be stored outside of a black can. I don’t particularly know if anyone cares about that, but those seem like good things to me.

I am just curious to hear some thoughts about this, would it be something worth considering?

IDK. It would mean a lot of added labor per roll and in the end, people probably buy your film because they're in an experimental mood anyway, so you might as well just include a warning about the light piping and keep it at that.

What if the tape somehow comes loose and sticks to the shutter blades of someone's camera? Nah. I'd not bother and keep things simple.

Tape can sometimes get stuck in the felt trap during a rewind, depending on how it is done. Splicers either use special tape or film cement. I'm not sure how well it will work if you use regular tape (I've had issues with it in hand-loaded 35mm if I use it in the area that goes through the trap).

I know that in the distant past, Kodak did this with the predecessor of HIE, but I don’t know of any other films that have had this treatment. I do have some scrap film that I can use before I purchase like 300 feet of opaque leader, so I can play around with the idea first, and test it with some of my cameras.

loccdor said:

Tape can sometimes get stuck in the felt trap during a rewind, depending on how it is done. Splicers either use special tape or film cement. I'm not sure how well it will work if you use regular tape (I've had issues with it in hand-loaded 35mm if I use it in the area that goes through the trap).

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I think this has less to do with the tape itself, and more to do with the misalignment of the film. I know that if you don’t get the film exactly straight, or if the edges aren’t lined up, there can be a decent amount of resistance, and sometimes the tape might even break. But I have found with properly taped film, it doesn’t even feel like there’s a splice at the end.

Provided that neither of the film ends will curl. This can create a distinct kink which may be problematic. It's an unknown factor if people won't shoot your film right away.

You can easily make one yourself. Choose a suitable wooden strip and, at one end, place about 2-3 centimeters of the film on it. Using the film’s perforations as a guide, hammer in four small nails - two on each side. Count another four perforations that you leave unused, then hammer in another four nails, again two on each side. Place a marker that divides exactly the space between the first two and the next two in the row - this is where you will need to cut the film and, respectively, the leader from the opposite end. With the film and the leader aligned together, apply tape at the splice point, leaving a little extra on both sides so you can fold it over onto the back. This will ensure that the film does not jam. Using a sharp object, make holes in the tape where it covers the perforations (this is important for the transport mechanism).

That’s the idea with my 3D printed jig I want, yeah. Wish I could get a real splicer as that would make things a ton easier, but unfortunately the tape ones have gotten quite expensive it seems.