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Wsufans
3-Jun-2015, 12:54
I am just starting to go down the large format wormhole. So far I have made only 14 exposures, 6 Ektar 100 and 8 HP5+ so I haven't yet generated any empty boxes. I have to take the whole film holder to the lab. Searching this forum as well as others and talking to the guy at the lab empty film boxes appear to be a scarce and horded commodity.

I guess I will have to expose more film and generate my own empty boxes. Something I would have never guessed would be the case but then again I am new to this format.

Thanks for providing a shoulder to lean on for a bit until I really get on my feet.

**PRO**

NoBob
3-Jun-2015, 12:58
I suggest getting some black bags (B&H sells them) to put your used film in till you get some boxes. It's what I do. I just double bag (one black bag inside the other) the exposed sheets.

ShannonG
3-Jun-2015, 13:18
Or process them yourself,,,you are right on the hoarder thing i cant seem to throw mine away ,i have well over 200 boxes...just shoot more film..

Wsufans
3-Jun-2015, 13:27
OK Interesting approach thanks. But I guess this is a hoarder crowd which is OK. Yes I will be shooting more film as I need to learn the finer points of my Linhof Teckina but have to take it a step at a time. Shoot a few sheets process analyze the result add to my knowledge base adjust my technique and shoot again.

I also don't have the set up to process myself, (yet). If I do process it would be only B&W.

Right now I only have the 150mm convertible lens. Saving up for a 90mm next.

StoneNYC
3-Jun-2015, 13:57
I don't have any 8x10 extras just yet, I've not shot 125 or so sheets of 8x10... Lol!

But it's a lot of color so that's sectioned off so I can stay organized between the E-6, C-41, and Acros100/HP5+/TMY-2/EFKE IR820

you can also store the used sheets "on the outside" of the cardboard insert, while shooting the unused film in between the cardboard. I've done that, just face the emulsion toward the cardboard so it doesn't scratch.

Wayne
3-Jun-2015, 20:02
So you are only 4 exposures away from having an empty box.

nonuniform
4-Jun-2015, 02:06
Shoot more film. I've got 20 or 30 boxes sitting here. I need to toss them in the recycle bin.

Liquid Artist
4-Jun-2015, 05:46
All you need to develop B&W film is a film change tent. A Paterson 3 roll daylight tank the chemistry and a few 2 cup measuring cups.

I'm an the road constantly and am able to develop mine in motel rooms with that little bit of equipment.

Wsufans
4-Jun-2015, 06:38
Shoot more film. I've got 20 or 30 boxes sitting here. I need to toss them in the recycle bin.

Could you send me a couple? I loaded the last 4 color sheets I have and no have a single empty box but.......

Jim Becia
4-Jun-2015, 06:48
If anyone needs any empty 8x10 film boxes, please pm me. I have plenty.

Wsufans
4-Jun-2015, 07:07
Boy I haven't processed my own film for many many years. No longer have the equipment but maybe it is time to try it again. However, I live on a septic tank and worry about putting bad stuff in it. I could store it up and dump it ????? Yes the amounts may be small compared to but replacing the system is not cheap especially high in the Rocky Mountains.

But then again processing my own B&W would save me two trips down the hill to town.

Old-N-Feeble
4-Jun-2015, 07:17
If anyone needs any empty 8x10 film boxes, please pm me. I have plenty.

Jim, I'm tempted but I may end up selling my 8x10 so they might be wasted on me. OTOH, I could just pass them forward if I don't use them. Could you spare a couple of empty 8x10 boxes? Do any of them have black bags?

Old-N-Feeble
4-Jun-2015, 07:21
Boy I haven't processed my own film for many many years. No longer have the equipment but maybe it is time to try it again. However, I live on a septic tank and worry about putting bad stuff in it. I could store it up and dump it ????? Yes the amounts may be small compared to but replacing the system is not cheap especially high in the Rocky Mountains.

But then again processing my own B&W would save me two trips down the hill to town.

When I moved to a rural area I did some research on photo chemistry and septic systems. Most B&W processes have very safe alternatives for your septic system and the soil in your leach field. There are some to avoid but not many. I won't be dumping spent fixer or selenium toner down my drain but that's all. Those two I'll save up and deliver to a disposal facility.

Drew Wiley
4-Jun-2015, 13:04
Only use three-part boxes from people like Kodak for storing or transporting exposed film. Some EU film boxes leak light at the corners, and some sheet films are sold only in two-part clamshells, which might get light intrusion once the film is taken from the inner bag.

Jac@stafford.net
4-Jun-2015, 15:12
I won't be dumping spent fixer or selenium toner down my drain but that's all. Those two I'll save up and deliver to a disposal facility.

A professional I know has an big old stainless tray in his garage. He pours that stuff into it and lets evaporation do its thing, then bottles the residue. I dunno what he plans to do with the residue.

Wayne
4-Jun-2015, 18:55
I'll put small quantities down my septic now and then (not fix) but if I have a lot I'll collect it in 5 gallon buckets and take it to town to be safe. This is a dangerous topic because there are few things that people know less about yet think they know more about than septics. Back to film boxes: I don't think I've ever thrown one out. I have most of my old trannies stored in them.

Liquid Artist
5-Jun-2015, 00:24
Caffenol-C is an all natural developer you can make yourself.

When I made it I made some Instant coffee, and ground up some Borax laundry soap, and a few Vitamin C tablets up in a food processor.
Mixed the ingredients, and was amazed with the results.
When I return to a more normal life I plan on experimenting with it some more.
It should be completely Septic Safe.

Rayt
5-Jun-2015, 03:17
I just got into 8x10 and realized Kodak films only have 10 sheets per box. I load 5 holders and get an empty box. Why 10 sheets though? Since it takes work to package and inventory each box so wouldn't be cheaper per sheet to sell 20 or 25 sheet boxes?

Liquid Artist
5-Jun-2015, 07:24
When I bought Kodak Portra 160 in 4x5 it was the same. 10 sheets.
It seems like a waste to me too, however at $8.00 per sheet I don't know if I would have wanted to buy any more at that time.
It would be nice if they offered us a choice.

tgtaylor
5-Jun-2015, 08:34
You might want to consider Xtol. From the MDAsheet:

The following properties are ESTIMATED from the components of the preparations.
Potential Toxicity:
Toxicity to fish (LC50):
> 100 mg/l
Toxicity to daphnia (EC50):
Daphnia: > 100 mg/l
Persistence and degradability:
Readily biodegradable.
Bioaccumulative potential
No data available
Mobility in soil
No information available.

Thomas

StoneNYC
5-Jun-2015, 09:15
I just got into 8x10 and realized Kodak films only have 10 sheets per box. I load 5 holders and get an empty box. Why 10 sheets though? Since it takes work to package and inventory each box so wouldn't be cheaper per sheet to sell 20 or 25 sheet boxes?


When I bought Kodak Portra 160 in 4x5 it was the same. 10 sheets.
It seems like a waste to me too, however at $8.00 per sheet I don't know if I would have wanted to buy any more at that time.
It would be nice if they offered us a choice.

The reason is simple.

Not everyone can afford 20 sheet boxes, so offering 10 sheets at a lower price allows others to afford to buy a box.

At the same time only offering one box type allows manufacturing to streamline and not have multiple products.

Remember the need for film has dropped so their massive machines can only do a large run, not a small one, so packaging 10 sheets in a box doubles the amount of product the machine packages in a given run, which they probably need to spread out or they would make more than they could sell. I'm sure there's a minimum production run.

So those factors make the 10 sheet boxes the best option, offering other options might be too much, remember for example the kodak machine can run an entire YEARS worth of film in one day (current sales being so small that a years worth now is a lot less than it was at the peak when the machine was built) and there's not enough money to "downsize" at this point unless they outsource production entirely and destroy the current machines, but then the QC and propriety tech would have to be revealed and probably no other machine could do what theirs can since it was made to their specs.

So those are the main reasons.

Drew Wiley
5-Jun-2015, 12:55
Packaging is a part of the cost too, so the few the sheets in a box, the more the packaging penalizes you. Yeah, cutting down on the number of sku's they offer was one method of reining in overhead. BUT was there is also a price ploy involved too. If they knew they were going to jack prices thru the roof, trying to keep the price per box psychology into play by smaller film quantities, is exactly the type of trick I'd expect. I doubt large format photographers are as stupid as the average consumer, however. It's kinda like a big box of cereal or crackers that is half air and has a fine-print label stating, this product sold by weight, not by
volume. Or like when the price of canned salmon went up and they started using tapered cans, so the price you thought you were paying for 16 oz now only
contains 14oz. Or how they're now making deeply-dimpled bottles for juices etc, so the internal volume is less than the perceived volume of the jug. In this case, it seems to have backfired and just caused resentment, because we LF types tend to think in terms of cost per shot or per sheet.

BrianShaw
5-Jun-2015, 14:04
Ya, and the 12 ounce "pound" of coffee.

kabbott
9-Jun-2015, 17:38
I use the "Envelope and Black Bag" set that you can buy at Freestyle. I use the 5x7 bags for 4x5 and it works fine. At 79 cents, these are a pretty good bargain. I've taken them all over the place and can vouch for their light tightness.

They were especially useful during that period where I was just starting out and didn't have empty boxes. They've actually worked so well that I've just continued using them as opposed to switching to the boxes.

Karl