How do you store / organize your negs?

[andreios]

I am trying nowadays to put the darkroom back into some sort of order, after being so bogged up with work for over a year that I almost never went into, and after clearing a huge backlog of undeveloped negatives the dilemma struck once again. How to store them - by which I don't mean the brand of properties of neg. sleeves, I've got those sorted out, but more about, how to you store those "sleeved" negatives? Folders? Organizers? Boxes?

My MF negs are in printfile sleeves and binders, but I mostly shoot half plate nowadays, put those negs in single 5x7 sleeves and they have the tendency to make a mess... Tried envelopes and used boxes but not much success... What are you doing to keep your negs protected, tidy and yet "find-able"? :)

Thank you

[mpirie]

Mine go into glassine sheets (four 5x4's per page, one 120/35mm roll per sheet) and then into stackable storage drawers.

Mike

[koraks]

Sheet film goes in envelopes in a box, sorted by date. Kind of crappy, but I'm too lazy to do it properly. One envelope per shoot/session. If it gets wet, I loose my stuff. Most of it is junk anyway!

[Greg]

Up to 8x10 negatives stored in printfile or similar pages in 3 ring binders in my basement darkroom. 11x14 negatives in archival paper envelopes in archival boxes. Glass plates in archival paper envelopes stacked on a shelf. Fortunately humidity runs 35-40% for most of the year. In summer I run a dehumidifier which keeps the humidity at around 45%. Am very, very fortunate to have a relatively dry basement here in the woods on the side of a hill in southern New England. Less than a 1/4 of a mile away on the side of the same hill, the basements actually have a little bit of running water running through their basements for most of the year. Passed up on one of those houses when we bought our for that one reason.

[Tin Can]

I cull a lot of film, keepers go in envelopes marked with date, 2x3 goes in glassine

DSLR I give them a link and ask for 7 of their picks

Why 7, it's less than 13

13 is my lucky number

and I tell them I will delete it all in 30 days and it's their responsibility to keep track of digital files...

[jp]

I use 3-ring binders with the date range sharpied on the spine.

Inside alternates proof contact sheets with the printfile pages. I write on the printfile pages... Such things as lens choice, date, location. I don't think it's too important to keep a ton of data. Same process for medium format.


After a year or so in my darkroom the binders go to a shelf in my garage where it is dehumidified for safer keeping.

198463

[Vaughn]

The 5x7 film goes into these:

http://www.conservationresources.com/Main/section_5/section5_05.htm

and those go into these:

http://www.conservationresources.com/Main/section_5/section5_12.htm

All the data for the negative gets written in pencil on the flap of the 4-fold envelopes. If I have several negatives of the same scene, I will put up to four negatives in one 4-fold envelope, with a tissue paper between each neg. Boxes are loaded based on place and year.

My annual volume of LF negatives is not very high -- I use this system for 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10 -- I need to work out something for 11x14.

[Jeroen]

I'm using stackable, fully enclosed Leitz letter tray: https://www.leitz.com/nl-nl/products/leitz-plus-brievenbak-met-lade_52100085/. They're wide enough for 120/135 pergamin sheets and the drawer slides out completely.

[esearing]

3 ring binder with Print file sleeves chronologically. each negative or roll gets a number in the margins - and I keep a running database so I can print a table of contents for the notebook. I sometimes write on the Printfile sleeve things like VC Grade, density, or a start if a negative I wish to return to. My exposure and development notes are on 3x5 cards filed chronologically in a file box. I can generally put my hands on any negative or info easily.

[ic-racer]

In the 1980s I kept the film in plastic sheets in ring binders. I don't make 'proof prints,' I use a loupe on a light table to view the negatives.
In the 1990s I started putting the film in the plastic sheets that accept a rod to hang. I think hanging the film is better than the ring binders. I hang the film in this type of storage bin.
198475
198476

[Ben Calwell]

Ic-racer, I like your darkroom!

[andreios]

Thank you for all these suggestions and tips... Probably I should abandon the single image sleeves and go printfile for all formats, would make most sense perhaps.. Or try to source those pergamin folding things that Vaughn uses.

[Mark Sawyer]

"How do you store / organize your negs? "

Barely...

[Peter Lewin]

My physical storage of negatives is similar to what many have already posted: negatives in PrintFile sheets, kept in 3-ring binders, with a contact sheet in a transparent 8.5x11 sheet holder interleaved for each. The binders are labeled chronologically. My prints (I only print the best images) are kept, dry mounted on 2-ply, in archival boxes, again chronologically labeled. My difficulty is that I have recently started submitting work for exhibitions where the prospectuses specify subject matter. Since my storage is chronological, this requires a lot of searching through prints, occasionally for the negative when I feel that I can now re-print an image better than the print on file. So my question comes down to whether it makes more sense to re-file by subject matter rather than date, or somehow to cross reference the two methods. Any suggestions?

[Eric Woodbury]

I've been using "plastines" by Dot Line for 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10. I put those in a Hollinger box.

I need to replenish my 4x5 supply, but notice that BH, Freestyle, et al, no longer have the 4x5. Anybody know if discontinued and is the Pana-Vue version the same or close enough?

[jp]

My physical storage of negatives is similar to what many have already posted: negatives in PrintFile sheets, kept in 3-ring binders, with a contact sheet in a transparent 8.5x11 sheet holder interleaved for each. The binders are labeled chronologically. My prints (I only print the best images) are kept, dry mounted on 2-ply, in archival boxes, again chronologically labeled. My difficulty is that I have recently started submitting work for exhibitions where the prospectuses specify subject matter. Since my storage is chronological, this requires a lot of searching through prints, occasionally for the negative when I feel that I can now re-print an image better than the print on file. So my question comes down to whether it makes more sense to re-file by subject matter rather than date, or somehow to cross reference the two methods. Any suggestions?

A valid concern... More often than I print and less often than I make negatives, I post to flickr with location and subject information. If it's good enough to submit to something, it's probably a subset of what's scanned and uploaded. I can search for words easily on there. I keep negatives stored chronologically as well and find the photo I want based on albums, words, etcc on my flickr, see the date, and go find it in the three ring binder.

Lacking that, one could also add tags and organize them in adobe lightroom for sort of a private database. Most photo management software can do this sort of thing, but Adobe has been around for a while and isn't likely to go away.

[John Kasaian]

A mix of Printfile and glassines. I should really get more organized!

[A_Tabor]

My physical storage of negatives is similar to what many have already posted: negatives in PrintFile sheets, kept in 3-ring binders, with a contact sheet in a transparent 8.5x11 sheet holder interleaved for each. The binders are labeled chronologically. My prints (I only print the best images) are kept, dry mounted on 2-ply, in archival boxes, again chronologically labeled. My difficulty is that I have recently started submitting work for exhibitions where the prospectuses specify subject matter. Since my storage is chronological, this requires a lot of searching through prints, occasionally for the negative when I feel that I can now re-print an image better than the print on file. So my question comes down to whether it makes more sense to re-file by subject matter rather than date, or somehow to cross reference the two methods. Any suggestions?

This is why I like a digital reference catalogue for my stuff. [Which I'm woefully behind on...] Photograph/scan the stuff you want to actually catalogue, then keyword the images in something like Lightroom in a way that accurately covers all reasonable bases [What, where, etc. Bonus points if you remember to accurately date stuff if you're doing backlog work.] and come up with a reasonably simple scheme to call back to the physical negative.

Then the important and tricky part: Keeping your physical copies properly filed, and not letting yourself just "Stuff them in the drawer/binder/whatever" when you finish working with them.

[Tin Can]

I see we vary vastly in how we store negs and digital files

I know my problem well. I call it 'horizontal surface capacity'. I always fill every table, shelf, bed, closet, workbench, toolbox, cupboard etc with everything...vast clutter!

Then I reach a 'can't move moment' and put it all away. Not easy and I try to trick myself, by using folding tables, so i can clear a room and change location quickly...LOL

Right now 6 big folding tables are full and 3 will be cleared today to work on my winter selfie project. I would use a model, but none available...or affordable

I relate my problem to the messy desk syndrome (https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/a-messy-desk-is-a-sign-of-genius-according-to-scie.html) however I know I am not a genius. I have met and worked with a couple and was humbled

[Bill Kumpf]

I file by subject matter, My LF work falls into basic areas and is mostly personal projects. Negatives rated as keepers are printed on 8x10 with printing notes, filed in sleeves with the negative (in glassine envelopes). Any additional information is added to the sleeve. These are filed in 3-ring binders. Some projects span several years. Some negatives that span different projects have 8x10 prints with negative location in each project file. It has worked so far.

Digital file are filed using the same system on two hard drives. I shoot way too much digital.