Which 120 films dry flattest?

[JerseyDoug]

As an experiment I bought a few rolls of 120 Foma 400 film. It dried with a bad enough curl that I had a hard time getting the strips into a Print-File sleeve, even when I cut off the corners. The ambient conditions and process were the same as when I develop my usual 120 Kentmere 400 which dries a lot flatter. Does anybody here have enough experience with different 120 films to comment on which are the best and the worst as regards drying flat?

 

[thinkbrown]

Foma in 120 is by far the worst film I've ever dealt with curl wise. Love how it looks but god it's an absolute pain to deal with.

My general experience is that most 120 film stocks dry fairly flat without much fuss, which is what makes foma so noteworthy in that regard.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

TMY dries pretty darn flat.

 

[mshchem]

I shoot a lot of TMY 120, beautiful stuff. I just finished 3 rolls of the new Kentmere 200, dried flat (I use the old Pako and Kodak film clips to hang to dry).

I've not shot much Foma film, wonderful papers!!!

 

[250swb]

Delta 100 or 400 dries flat.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

No surprises -

Flatest: Kodak
Next flatest: Ilford

 

[retina_restoration]

Fomapan is the worst. Bergger Pancro 400 is almost as bad.
FP4 dries very flat, and the Delta films dry quite flat, with D100 being slightly better than D400.
TMY/TMX dries perfectly flat, with Tri-X a very close second.

 

[Tel]

Fomapan is the worst. Bergger Pancro 400 is almost as bad.
FP4 dries very flat, and the Delta films dry quite flat, with D100 being slightly better than D400.
TMY/TMX dries perfectly flat, with Tri-X a very close second.

+1; I shoot a lot of Tri-X and it’s a joy to scan. I use a better-scanning tray with anti-newton glass plate to hold the film flat but Tri-X doesn’t actually need that. In my experience, the absolute worst film for curling was Lucky—I put it in the scanning tray, laid the glass plate on top and then had to tape tthe glass down to the tray to get (sort of) flat. Terrible stuff!

 

[AnselMortensen]

I have found Aviphot 200/CatLabs 320 in 120 to dry flattest...no contest.

 

[GregY]

I can't say which dries flattest, but at the 'least' end of the spectrum.....Foma.

 

[mshchem]

I've found my Dad's old Ansco 35mm negatives (1940's) that coiled, back from the lab. I don't think they even tried to sleeve, they returned in the can. Thus glass carriers so universal, and glasses used to mount slides.

Making film is still very very high tech.

 

[Rick A]

I don't care one whit about curling or coiling as long as the film doesn't cup.

 

[mshchem]

I don't care one whit about curling or coiling as long as the film doesn't cup.

Bi-axial coating

 

[John Wiegerink]

I don't care one whit about curling or coiling as long as the film doesn't cup.

I've had Foma do both and why I always use a two sided glass carrier in my Nikon LS8000 scanner. I hate having those extra glass surfaces to keep clean, but have no other choice other than wet scanning. Yes, I'm seriously looking into wet scanning setups for both the Nikon and my Epson flatbed.

 

[Chuck1]

Any recommendations for the thickest 120 b+w film would be appreciated

 

[koraks]

Any recommendations for the thickest 120 b+w film would be appreciated

I wonder how much difference can be expected. AFAIK the default thickness is 110um, let's say +/- 10um. Much thicker doesn't seem plausible as this would create problems with flexibility, critical focus, transport, total roll diameter etc.

 

[JerseyDoug]

Thank you all. I have 5 rolls of Tri-X coming from B&H. It was my go to 120 film for years and years. I started experimenting with less expensive ISO 400 120 films because of the price. But this is another reminder that you really do get what you pay for.

 

[Sanug]

I can recommend Kentmere 200. Dries more flat than the other Kentmeres. Maybe the base is different, maybe it is just because the film rolls are very new.

 

[benderscameracorner]

Surprised people are saying their Tri-X dries flat... all the stuff I've shot in the past few years bows noticeably from edge to edge. Even in my scanning holders.

Admittedly it is all aged/expired stuff, some retail rolls, some bulk rolled, so I'm not sure if that's a factor. Then again, much of the Pan F, Delta and TMax I've shot recently is similarly old, and has dried far, far flatter.

 

[GregY]

Surprised people are saying their Tri-X dries flat... all the stuff I've shot in the past few years bows noticeably from edge to edge. Even in my scanning holders.

Admittedly it is all aged/expired stuff, some retail rolls, some bulk rolled, so I'm not sure if that's a factor. Then again, much of the Pan F, Delta and TMax I've shot recently is similarly old, and has dried far, far flatter.

"bulk rolled". the question was about 120 films...

 

[benderscameracorner]

"bulk rolled". the question was about 120 films...

Similar issues with Tri X between 35mm and 120 - it's the same emulsion and film at the end of the day, yeah? Curling seems more pronounced in 35mm generally, yes, but it's still noticeable in 120 too. And more problematic in DSLR scanning if you can't tension/hold the film properly flat.

Again, they're old rolls, 20-30 years old in some cases, so I don't know what effect age has on the curling vs the film itself. I don't particularly like the look of Tri X so I've never been terribly motivated to buy it fresh to compare, somehow old rolls keep finding their way into my life through other purchases.

All my film gets dried the same way (hanging vertically off bulldog clips both ends in the shower) and other emulsions just seem less affected. I've read plenty of posts over the years of people complaining about Tri X curling like mad, hence my surprise at people discussing the opposite.

 

[GregY]

Similar issues with Tri X between 35mm and 120 - it's the same emulsion and film at the end of the day, yeah? Curling seems more pronounced in 35mm generally, yes, but it's still noticeable in 120 too. And more problematic in DSLR scanning if you can't tension/hold the film properly flat.

Again, they're old rolls, 20-30 years old in some cases, so I don't know what effect age has on the curling vs the film itself. I don't particularly like the look of Tri X so I've never been terribly motivated to buy it fresh to compare, somehow old rolls keep finding their way into my life through other purchases.

All my film gets dried the same way (hanging vertically off bulldog clips both ends in the shower) and other emulsions just seem less affected. I've read plenty of posts over the years of people complaining about Tri X curling like mad, hence my surprise at people discussing the opposite.

I've used lots of Tri-X....120 & 35mm are on different acetate.
I've also not had problems with the 120 curling...but i'm using current films....
IMO the characteristics of 30 yr old films are quite different.

 

[mshchem]

I can recommend Kentmere 200. Dries more flat than the other Kentmeres. Maybe the base is different, maybe it is just because the film rolls are very new.

Age is definitely a factor. I have shot 3 rolls of the new Kentmere 200, looks pretty good to me.

 

[abruzzi]

I've also not had problems with the 120 curling...but i'm using current films....

Same. I've had issues with Tri-X bowing edge to edge in 35mm, but never on 120.

 

[Rick A]

I've had Foma do both and why I always use a two sided glass carrier in my Nikon LS8000 scanner. I hate having those extra glass surfaces to keep clean, but have no other choice other than wet scanning. Yes, I'm seriously looking into wet scanning setups for both the Nikon and my Epson flatbed.

I've shot miles of Foma 120 and never had any problems with cupping, it can be curly if you don't let it hang with a weight for a few days. I've never needed a glass carrier with it.