options for accurately cutting 120 and 35mm negs?

[wildbill]

What devices are cheaply attainable for making accurate cuts between 120 negs? I'd like something i can sit on the light table or something that's backlit already. I've already got scissors.
I modified a pair of scissors when i was a loader to cut 35mm movie film across the holes in the dark. The arri BL4 and 35-3 magazines were easier to load that way. Anybody made anything for 120?

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I suppose you could get a small rotary cutter, like a 12" Rotatrim, but why is it so hard to do with a scissors, and how precise do you need it?

 

[wildbill]

It's not hard but with most films but jandc classic 400 curls for me pretty bad. I've only messed up once and cut into the image area.
Just because.

 

[thedarkroomstudios]

Put an eyelet or cup hook on the wall, hook your drying clip to this, pull it tight and start cutting at the opposite end (working towards the wall) this way you've eliminated the curl and the wall-hook acts as a 3rd hand to keep things straight when cutting. fwiw

 

[MattCarey]

I had a problem until I got a very small pair of scissors. They used to be in my fly-tying kit (before I made my last "mutant moth").

Matt

 

[wildbill]

Beside's scissors, does anyone have a cutter, maybe like the labs do?

 

[Jarred McCaffrey]

Perhaps some combination of a light box, a straight edge, and an exacto knife would work out for you.

When I worked in a 1-hour lab, we had a backlit guillotine type device to cut and package negs quickly. I swear that tool was the source of lots of scratched negs.

 

[panchromatic]

Perhaps some combination of a light box, a straight edge, and an exacto knife would work out for you.

When I worked in a 1-hour lab, we had a backlit guillotine type device to cut and package negs quickly. I swear that tool was the source of lots of scratched negs.

I agree with that scratches can occasionally occur... At the store I work at we use a similar thing, and I always put my negs in long sleeving before running it through it... we don't use it for 120, we usually cut those by hand with scissors.