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Looking for some advice on notching film that I cutting down.
I have a 7x11 camera (and holders etc...) that I would like to start shooting wi th. I plan to get some 11x14 film and cutting it in half in order to make 7x11 f ilm. What I am looking for is some good suggestions on how I might be able to no tch the film so that I can pre-cut film prior to loading into holders... or to t ake with me on extended travel.
Your inputs are greatly appreciated!
Steve
seems to me, an important part of this whole thing is cutting the film down to size. how is that to be accomplished? i've tried cutting film on my paper cutter and ended up with a mess when the knife draws the film off the guide. i've seen roller cutters; i wonder if they work? what method do you intend to use to cut the film?
I would use a surgical knife to cut and a perforator to notch. I would put a little iron strip in the perforator so, that the film cannot glide in too far.
A roller cutter works well if you tape a guide along it. Cut emulsion side up. After this, just cut off the right upper corner of both films.
I use a nibbling tool for sheet metal that is available from any good hardware store.
Just get a small one
I cut 4x5 down to 2.25x3.25 and use a modified paper punch. Modified with a piece of cardboard to allow only 1/2 the hole to cut. It works quiet well. In the same vein are there color film processors out there that process 6x7??
Kerry Thalman, who used to cut 8x10 to 4x10, told me that the only cutter worth using was the Rotatrim. Indeed I've cutted several hundreds of 8x10 to 5x7. I cut down one millimiter more than needed to make up for alignment errors, and with this technique it just works fine. I don't feel I need notches. I just try to remember to put the emulsion side up in the box. Out of a thousand cutted sheets that I exposed, the only time I shoot backwards was when I unloaded and reloaded in a hurry.
Joining the party....
One of the studios I used to work for used the Roto - trim to cut 8 X 10 down to 4 X 5 in order to use the same emulsion batch for multiples of the same product etc.
We put several layers of camera tape, cut thin, on the appropriate part of the Roto -trim to act as a guide to assure the proper dimensions. The first cut, cut maybe 1 mm, maybe 1/16th or so off the long edge to make a sheet 8 X 9 & 15/16ths or whatever it was. The second cut, long wise, made two 4 X 9 & 15/16ths and then the 3rd & 4th cuts made the 4 X whatever that works out to. Then all 4 sheets were loaded after the trimmings were thrown out. The whole operation was done emulsion side up and worked very fast and smooth.