Work Flow - Big Stack

I just hosed-up a half-dozen sheets out of a 30 sheet stack and I am looking for a different approach.

When your batch forces you to work from a stack of unloaded, exposed sheets (versus working from the film holders) how do you manage to keep them straight? I usually unload them all to one stack, record a "inventory list" and pull them by counting through the stack - giving intitial and adjusted development as needed. For some a UNKNOWN reason, my stack got "shuffled" and I had no idea what development to give to the sheets in the stack. This represented a full day's work and I am really pissed. (I'm sure I am the only "Dilbert" to do this!")

I would like to hear how others handle the "big stack" and keep them straight. Are you clipping corners or what?

Just when you think you have the program under control, you get sent back to rookie-land for a slice of humble pie - and this was BEFORE I started in on the Scotch!

blaughn said:

I would like to hear how others handle the "big stack" and keep them straight. Are you clipping corners or what?

Click to expand...

That's another great advantage to developing by inspection: You can actually see what's on the negative, and whether to pull it now or give it another few minutes.

blaughn said:

Just when you think you have the program under control, you get sent back to rookie-land for a slice of humble pie - and this was BEFORE I started in on the Scotch!

Click to expand...

That's as good an excuse for starting on the Whisky as any I've used.

When shooting 4x5 , I always take several boxes for N , N+1, N-1.
SO when I take out my film in the field I put them in the good box . I keep track on eac box f the film I put in it. And If I need +2 or -2 I put them in the Minus and plus box and add it on the listing on the box.

With 8x10 and larger I put all the film in the same box and keep track of them.

Recognizing that my organizational skills are severely curtailed in the dark (I could never read the darned inventory list in the dark, anyway), I try to do any organizing separately and beforehand. That means separating the sheets into appropriately-marked boxes as I unload the film, and doing each group separately to minimize the risk of human error. Trying to increase efficiency only works until one screws thing up - sorta like five attaboys being cancelled by one aw-shit.

I either unload film into different boxes or if I'm traveling and that's too bulky, sometimes I use one box with tabbed dividers for -2, -1, N, +1, +2 that I can handle in the dark. The tabs run down the right side of the dividers in order, and there's a tab on the top of the top divider so I can always keep the stack oriented properly. If it's a long trip and I'm shooting a lot of film, I can divide the stack into two or three boxes as I use up more film.

Michael Smith and Paula Chamlee use the system you've been using, but they develop by inspection. Michael claims he has never gotten a neg out of order this way, but if he ever has, he could always correct it by inspecting the neg and developing it to the proper density.

If you're using different boxes, why not have a notch system cut into the upper right hand edge of the box, similar to the notches cut on film? I'm not sure how you would handle plus and minus though. It's just a thought.