Efke film notches

[Jeff Genung]

This is my first box of Efke, and in the dark I couldn't find the notches as I held the brick of film in one hand and felt back and forth with my fingers. The 50 pack of 4x5 Efke BW asa25 I had was in three boxes then a thick plastic bag then cardboard top and bottom, and thin tissue seperators between each sheet--sometimes more than one slip of tissue paper. The notches are rounded and VERY shallow. Not until I lifted the first sheet of film (with a large thumbprint dead center now) was I able to find the "notch." Worth burning a sheet just to see it in the light.

I havent seen anyone else mention this so having experience loading only kodak, I wanted to put in a heads up about loading Efke film. Sometimes the notch is noticeable only after lifting the sheet of film. They are there, but very shallow yet obvious when holding a single sheet.

[chris_4622]

I always make sure to orient the notches in the film with the ones on the end of the boxes.

[Joseph O'Neil]

Fortepan 400 in 4x5 is a bit like that too. One, smallish "V" notch only. Some Ilford films almost feel like morse code by comparison.

:)

joe

[John_4185]

Some of us who have used certain tools or even typed for thirty years have issues with finger senstivity. This might seem crazy, but if I need to feel notches I sand my tip of my righthand middle finger. It works.

[Colin Graham]

The efke 100 has the same small notch as the 25, which has always struck me as weird. Cuts costs I guess. JJ that's a good idea about filing the calluses down. I'm a carpenter and in the dark my hand's feel like somebody else's

[David Flockhart]

I've noticed with many boxes of Efke film in ULF sizes that the notches are not cut evenly. Sometimes you can barely find the notch because it is so slight in size while most other times the notch is its normal size. I haven't found this problem with other films.

[j.e.simmons]

I've found the same thing with PL100 in 8x10. The one notch can be very slight on some sheets within a box and deeper on other sheets within the same box. It was surprising at first, but I've gotten used to it.

As for the notch itself, I think it's supposed to be only for identification of the emulsion side - it's not a notch code to identify the type of film.

juan

[Jeff Genung]

yes--just to know where the emulsion side is.

My mantra is--tissue off--film notch upper right--big thumbprint dead center, and slide into the holder--darkslide in--lights on