Would anyone be interested in heavy-duty Zip-Loc bags for filmholders?

If you are like me, you probably keep your sheet film holders in Zip-Loc bags to avoid dust. The problem is finding heavy duty Zip-Loc bags in the right sizes. I'm thinking about buying them in bulk quantity but, before doing so, I would like to get a feel for whether anyone here would be interested in buying some if I do. I would list them here and on eBay. I could also get anti-static bags if there is any interest in them and I could get them in just about any size needed.

I would like to get an idea of what people here think a fair price would be per dozen. If you are interested, please let me know what size Zip-Loc bags you would need, whether you would prefer regular bags or anti-static bags and what you would consider a fair price per dozen. If I get a response that indicates this is feasible, I will order them in bulk and offer them here and on eBay. Of course, they could be used for things other than film holders as well.

I just loaded a bunch of 8x10's so I'll have them loaded and have no excuses not to shoot. Then I thought "where do I put these?". I thought of looking for a cooler at Target/Walmart thing.

I didn't know you can get ziplocks in anti-static.

No idea what 12 would costs though. Will it be double zip or single zip?

I'd be interested in 5x7 and 4x5 antistatic. The hefty one-zip jumbo size 2.5 gallon come in packages of 25 for $4 or so. I can fit five 57 holders to a bag. I usually wipe them out with a orange antistat cloth before using. The zip mechanism usually gives out after four or five shoots.

If the bags were custom sized for these holders, made from antistat materials and had a burly ziplock mechanism or some other way of sealing, I'd pay $4 per dozen.

I could probably get them in either single or double-zip. Thanks for bringing up that excellent point.

I'm really just trying to get an idea if there would be any interest in them here. If there is, I will buy them in bulk quantities and offer them to anyone interested. That's about the only way you can buy specialty bags like these and most of us don't want to buy them by the thousands.

As for price, I'm not so much asking what anyone thinks they cost; I'm asking what you think would be a fair price per dozen if I did do this.... i.e, what you would be willing to pay for them. Knowing that, I could determine if this is feasible at all. In any case, I would price them fairly. I wouldn't do this to get rich, obviously. If there is a need for these here and I bought them in bulk, other's here could benefit and also find bags that they might not otherwise be able to find. I know that I've had a hard time finding the right size heavy-duty Zip-Locs in the past. Last year I finally got them in a size that perfectly fit my 8x10" film holders but I couldn't find anywhere to buy them in small quantities. I found that the bags that particular medical supplies were sent to a relative in were perfect for 8x10" film holders. But, as far as I know, you can only buy them in bulk quantities. So I thought that if other photographers here are looking for them, maybe I could make them available by buying them in bulk.

Not a big deal! I'm just wondering if anyone would be interested.

Thanks Frotog. That's the type of feedback I'm interested in. BTW, I would try to get bags that are heavier-duty than the type that are wearing out on you. I would be looking at ommercial grade bags. I have such bags for my 4x5" holders now. They are much tougher than regular bags sold at the local grocery store and they last a very long time. We each work differntly, of course, but I always keep each individual holder in it's own bag. When you put several holders in a bag, that means you are opening and closing it much more often and you are also putting holders back into it and that can definitely introduce dust into the bag. After cleaning and loading holders, I put each one it's own bag which is not opened until I expose film in that holder. The less it is opened, the less dust and that's the great advantage of storing them this way. The idea is to expose them to open air as little as possible but storing a bunch of holders in one bag defeats that purpose to a large extent.

Eric: Yes, you can get several types of anti-static bags. BTW, I am using the term "Zip-Loc" to include generic bags of that type... not just bags made by Zip Loc. As for you wondering where you would put your 8x10" film holders: Even if you put them in a cooler, they really should be in Zip-Loc type bags. I wouldn't even think of NOT storing my film holders in Zip-Loc bags. They are an incredible boon to large format photographers. I store my 8x10 holders in a soft cooler bag but each holder is in a Zip-Loc. The bags are to prevent dust. The cooler is to protect them from physical damage and also to prevent rapid temperature changes when they are put in or removed from my freezer. Another nice thing about doing this is that if you keep your holders in the freezer, the Zip-Locs prevent condensation on the holders when you take them out of the freezer. I keep every single holder I have in Zip-Locs when not in use.. even if empty... and they are, in turn, in soft cooler bags in the freezer. I suspect that some photographers don't realize that dust, lint, etc., that gets on the outside of the dark slides gets stuck in the felt light-traps when the slide is withdrawn which can cause problems with subsequent loads even if you clean your holders religiously before loading them. Keeping them in Zip-Loc bags is a great help in preventing the dust from getting on the holder in the first place. By storing film holders in Zip Loc bags, dust problems are greatly reduced, to put it mildly.

I'll let this thread run for a while and come back to it in a week or so to see if there is enough interest for me to order bags in bulk.

Thanks much!

ZoneIII said:

If you are like me, you probably keep your sheet film holders in Zip-Loc bags to avoid dust. The problem is finding heavy duty Zip-Loc bags in the right sizes. I'm thinking about buying them in bulk quantity but, before doing so, I would like to get a feel for whether anyone here would be interested in buying some if I do. I would list them here and on eBay. I could also get anti-static bags if there is any interest in them and I could get them in just about any size needed.

I would like to get an idea of what people here think a fair price would be per dozen. If you are interested, please let me know what size Zip-Loc bags you would need, whether you would prefer regular bags or anti-static bags and what you would consider a fair price per dozen. If I get a response that indicates this is feasible, I will order them in bulk and offer them here and on eBay. Of course, they could be used for things other than film holders as well.

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I already have 3M bulk anti static bags I bought online for 4x5 filmholders. They were extremely cheap but I had to buy a box of 2000!! They work really well..EC

Zip-Loc up until last year some time sold 2 gallon freezer bags at Target. They were perfect for 4-5 8x10 plastic holders. I've got about 2 left but i can't find them anywhere now. I may be interested in some 2 gallon size, maybe 24 total.
vinny

Checkout these folks:

http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_208_2.asp

I use these bags for everything from 4x5 - 11x14. They also have anti-static bags.

AllenR beat me to it. ULINE sells all kinds of sizes. Not the cheapest or smallest quantity but pretty reasonable as these things go.

Zone iii and I have a similar fondness, or mania, about holders and ziplock bags - I too can't imagine using holders independent of the freezer bags. The only reason I put several holders to a bag is because the bag takes up room in my roadcase that I had custom built for 57 holders. I'm not too sure if single bags would be all that helpful - perhaps too much material too bother with. Besides, if you carry your bagged holders in an exterior case and if there's a little extra room at the top of the bag to fold over then you're dust free between holders within a bag. I could see myself loosing patience with a bag for each holder - it would get in my way and slow down my process. Also, the ziplock on the hefty bags is far superior to the old style ziplock that you see on the uline bags. They're stronger, there's no fussing around with trying to get them sealed and they're easier to operate in the field.

I was given some anti-static 12"x15.5" bubble bags. They have work great for 8x10. No zip on them but they are tall enough just to fold over. Each holds 2 to 3 holders. After 5 years years, they are worn out and I need to replace them. Because there is not zip, they may not be perfect under very dusty conditions, But I have had good service from them

I like the little extra padding the bubbles have given the holders. Looks like with shipping they would cost about 50 cents each for 200 of them.

They have 10"x15.5" anti-static bubble bags that should hold one 8x10 holder for a few cents less each for 250 of them.

There is a 4mil, double-track zip, anti-static (non-bubble) 12"x15" for about 30 cents each for 500 of them. (No 10" wide bags that are tall enough in this style.)

Any of the above would be useful to me. I also have considered buying a case and then selling the extra here. I suspect most people would want the zippered bags.

Vaughn

frotog: I have no problem at all keeping each holder in a ziploc and it doesn't hold me up at all. The key is to get bags that fit a single holder right. As for putting mulitple holders in a bag... as I said, you lose most of the advantage of using the bags in the first place when you do that. The idea is to seal up the holder and not open it until you use it or are going to process the film. If you are opening it to take out and put back other holders, you will introduce dust. In addition, the bags would be more of an inconvenience to work with several holders in them. With only one holder per well-fitted bag, you can see instantly what you have and which sides of a holder have exposed or unexposed film in it. You shouldn't have to shuffle through holders in a bag. As far as space goes, I have never had a problem with that at all. In fact, it is such a tiny consideration that it never even crossed my mind and I can fit the same number of holders in a case with or without holders. Again, I'm talking about using perfectly fit bags.

frotog said:

Zone iii and I have a similar fondness, or mania, about holders and ziplock bags - I too can't imagine using holders independent of the freezer bags. The only reason I put several holders to a bag is because the bag takes up room in my roadcase that I had custom built for 57 holders. I'm not too sure if single bags would be all that helpful - perhaps too much material too bother with. Besides, if you carry your bagged holders in an exterior case and if there's a little extra room at the top of the bag to fold over then you're dust free between holders within a bag. I could see myself loosing patience with a bag for each holder - it would get in my way and slow down my process. Also, the ziplock on the hefty bags is far superior to the old style ziplock that you see on the uline bags. They're stronger, there's no fussing around with trying to get them sealed and they're easier to operate in the field.

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"I also have considered buying a case and then selling the extra here. I suspect most people would want the zippered bags.

Vaughn"

That's the idea. I use them and would like to get some more but the grade, size, and type I am talking about are only available in bulk quantities. Anyone can buy them, of course, but most of us don't want to buy them by the thousands and not use them. So I thought I would ask if anyone here would be interested in some. Unfortunately, I guess my question has been misinterpreted because the discussion has veered off onto descriptions of how people use them instead of whether or not they would be interested in getting some without having to buy them in large lots. The idea was not to make money on this. But I'm glad I asked because I have my answer. There obviously isn't enough interest to bother with it. I appreciate the responses I have received. Thanks much!

I buy bags for use up to 8x10 at the local supermarket. I have never had a problem when using bags that are not anti-static.
I am interested in finding something for 7x17.

Zone III...if one wants a direct answer around here, one has to ask a direct question! LOL! Like -- Who wants to buy XX"XX" double zip-lock type bags for XX cents each, and how many of them? Otherwise you'll get these interesting discussions on different bags and film holder storage.

I am considering getting these from Uline:

"There is a 4mil, double-track zip, anti-static (non-bubble) 12"x15" for about 30 cents each for 500 of them. (No 10" wide bags that are tall enough in this style.)"

If I do (I want to make sure they'll zip properly with an 8x10 holder in them first), I'll put a notice in the For Sale forum -- will probably sell them for 50 cents each, which will include shipping if I can break even doing so. But don't hold your breath!

Vaughn

Google "anti static ziplock bags" They are everywhere and not expensive.. an example http://www.jcdanczak.com/our_products/subcat_34.html ..EC