I use a second-generation Kodak Readyload holder, expressly designed for the single-sided Readyloads and with the black backing plate. All too often my T-max negatives are afflicted with the same condition: a stripe of overexposure, running fully across the short side of the film, about 1/4 inch from the bottom of the image, i.e., the top of the camera. Sometimes this stripe is little more than two stops brighter than the surrounding film area; sometimes it is blown out. I use a Canham DLC45. I initially suspected that light was leaking in through the Readyload envelopes, but this didn't explain the neat strip of over-exposure. Burning this stripe in can be a real pain, and is often impossible. It's to the point where I am now gun-shy of composing to the edges of the frame.

My current suspicion is this: that light reflects off of the ridge on the handle-side inside of the Readyload holder, the ridge that helps position and seat the holder into the back. That reflection is then projected onto the film. But then again, in half or more of my negatives, the stripe does not appear at all. Maddening. Has anyone else had this affliction, and if so, how have you remedied it? Thanks.