Transporting Uncut 120?

Hi all,

This is my first post at APUG, and it's very good to be here! I'm a wedding photographer based in the UK and have been shooting more and more film for personal work over the last few years. I became seriously interested in film after digital had made it's mark on the scene so my explorations on film are very much self taught and full of knowledge holes! I've recently bought a 500c/m from a friend and am really enjoying my time with it.

My first question (of many I'd imagine!) is this. I've shot and developed a few b/w films here at home. I'd like to get them scanned by my local pro lab and am going to take them in today. The chap at the lab mentioned that it'd be easier to take them in uncut. I'd already cut some of them, but the others are not yet filed. Any ideas on how to transport the film to the lab safely without cutting it? I was considering loosely rolling it. and popping it in a couple of 35mm canisters placed end to end?

Cheers all,

Tony

Rolling the film up with the emulsion on the inside and placing it in some sort of container should keep your pictures free of damage. If you must do everything by the book, there are dedicated 120-tubes for sale here and there.

You can use a clear plastic sleeve to store the film until the lab has scanned them. It comes in long rolls and you just cut as much as you need, and it's how many of the labs out there that had large volume of film usually stored the film to deliver. I usually got them in this sleeve, rolled up, and put into a 3" card board box.

This is what you need (from Printfile, an APUG advertiser): http://www.printfile.com/120-1m.aspx

I recommend the plastic sleeves, too.

For the uncut roll... could you spool it back onto a developing reel and transport it that way?

I have a couple of Hewes reels, and I still have their original boxes, too.

Plastic sleeves, and then get some paper cores from the lab to roll them up in. They will give them to you gladly.

If the lab also does processing, they likely have the long sleeving, see if they can sell/give you a few meters to tide you over.
That would be the ideal solution, but rolling it up into a couple of film cans will work.