8x20 Questions

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Neil, the double face tape can be purchased at any good art supply store. I put a piece near the flap and when I slide the film in I have no problem. Once loaded I just lightly press down the film and I'm good to go. No problem getting it out you just have to be careful. Well worth the effort. Seeing in the panoramic format took time for me but now I love it. My camera is not that heavy but having a big surface to mount to is a blessing.

[John Jarosz]

I'd like to follow-up the x-ray film mention with a question of my own.

Do any of you use x-ray film for 8x20? I say specifically 8x20 because there is (apparently) no x-ray film with a 20" dimension or a dimension in a multiple of 8". If you do use x-ray for 8x20 can you say what size you start with and how you cut it in the darkroom? Any safelights acceptable or must it be completely dark? Did you build some kind of fixture for cutting?

Thanks

John

[Oren Grad]

One question that I have, what do you include in your "sandwich" when exposing the image? You mentioned 3mm. But that's close to an 1/8", which is pretty standard for glass. Is this 3cm, which would indeed be a heavy piece of glass?

Definitely not 3 cm - I don't have space for a forklift in my darkroom.

Sure, 1/8" will do - as you say, it's essentially the same. Any glass on the bottom, the 1/8" glass on top. I have a large thin piece of glass that comes close to covering my enlarger baseboard, and thick glass in several different sizes to use as the top of the sandwich. For pressure to be as even as possible I select a top glass that's larger than the format I'm printing and the paper I'm printing on. For example, the other day I was contact printing some 6.5x8.5 negatives on 8x10 paper, using a thick top glass that was around 11x14 IIRC. I have the edges of the glass chamfered and rounded off for ease and safety in handling.

[ndg]

Though I don't shoot 8x20, my technique might be of some help. I use a 14x20 camera so I cut down 14" x 36" Xray film ( a box of 25 sheets is about $60). I invested in a Rotatrim for this and it is awesome. I cut a sheet in 2 stages due to the length of the board of the Rotatrim. It is about 12". I cut off an 11" piece to give me an 11" x 14" sheet, then a 5" piece to give me a 5" x 14" sheet ( two 5" x 7"s). I am then left with a 14" x 20" sheet. At that point you could cut that 14" x 20" piece down to 8" x 20". That leaves you a 6" x 20" piece that one can cut down to smaller pieces. At a price of about $2.50 a 14' x 36' sheet, it might be worth considering.

I'd like to follow-up the x-ray film mention with a question of my own.

Do any of you use x-ray film for 8x20? I say specifically 8x20 because there is (apparently) no x-ray film with a 20" dimension or a dimension in a multiple of 8". If you do use x-ray for 8x20 can you say what size you start with and how you cut it in the darkroom? Any safelights acceptable or must it be completely dark? Did you build some kind of fixture for cutting?

Thanks

John

[Michael Roberts]

Nana,
What about scratches? I've read the x-ray film emulsion is very soft and scratches easily. Have you had any problems with scratches as a result of making the multiple cuts you are doing?

Michael

[ndg]

Nana,
What about scratches? I've read the x-ray film emulsion is very soft and scratches easily. Have you had any problems with scratches as a result of making the multiple cuts you are doing?

Michael

Michael, what i have noticed is that Xray film is quite hardy when dry. The dry film does not scratch easily. It is a different story when the film is wet.

[Michael Roberts]

Ahhh....this is good news. Thanks!

[Dan Dozer]

Hi Neal,

I've never had any problems with my holders and keeping the film flat. I'm guessing that it might have to do with the type film some people have used and not being as stiff as other types.

Here is one thing you might want to consider if you are going to develop your film in trays. If you go on line to the garden type supply store, they sell seed trays that I found that are the perfect size for 8 x 20 film, and they are very cheap as opposed to buying 16 x 20 photo developing trays.

[angusparker]

Hi Neal,

I've never had any problems with my holders and keeping the film flat. I'm guessing that it might have to do with the type film some people have used and not being as stiff as other types.

Here is one thing you might want to consider if you are going to develop your film in trays. If you go on line to the garden type supply store, they sell seed trays that I found that are the perfect size for 8 x 20 film, and they are very cheap as opposed to buying 16 x 20 photo developing trays.

I've found the Ektascan film which is on a blue poly base is very robust and flat. Better than regular Xray for when it's wet. The sheets have quite the heft to them.

[neil poulsen]

Hi Neal,

I've never had any problems with my holders and keeping the film flat. I'm guessing that it might have to do with the type film some people have used and not being as stiff as other types.

Here is one thing you might want to consider if you are going to develop your film in trays. If you go on line to the garden type supply store, they sell seed trays that I found that are the perfect size for 8 x 20 film, and they are very cheap as opposed to buying 16 x 20 photo developing trays.

Thanks for the heads-up on this. Given the quantity of developer that would be needed, I was skeptical about developing 8x10 in trays (16x20) that were twice the size needed.