Film holders: alternative to notches

[Bob Kerner]

I’ve read most if not all the threads about labeling film holders so you can identify individual sheets. I just want to make sure I haven’t missed an option before buying some files and notching the holders.

I want to be able to identify individual sheets. I label my holders with numbers then make notes about exposure and other camera settings. The exposed film then goes into a box (storage until I have enough to develop) or into a daylight tank to develop. Of course when the stuff comes out of the soup I have no idea what was in each holder Unless each holder had a unique image. Sometimes I shoot duplicates or change exposure or camera movements.

I think all roads lead to notching the holders or individual tray development which is not an option because I don’t have a darkroom….but thought I’d ask in case I missed something in my search.

[Dugan]

I seem to recall some film holders that had a wheel with numbers on it attached to the flap.
The numbers were exposed onto the film when photos were taken.
Also, there were some 'mini-dark slide things' from Japan that did pretty much the same thing, except at the other end of the holder...the name escapes me.
I have no personal experience with either.
Hope this helps.

[Doremus Scudder]

The options above all impinge a bit on the image area. That's fine if you can live with that. In that case, you could simply tape some transparent film to an appropriate part of the film holder and number it yourself with a fine-point permanent marker.

Another option that doesn't extend into the image is to drill very small holes in the rail that holds down the edges of the film. As with notches, whether these show up depends on how they get exposed during the image making. If a dark shadow is over the area of holes/notches, then there's not much to be recorded on the film.

Best,

Doremus

[B.S.Kumar]

https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?156854-FS-Bossy-Number-Checker-Slides

I don't have the photos any more, but I think I have a few of the slides somewhere.

Kumar

[r.e.]

Sometimes I shoot duplicates or change exposure or camera movements... individual tray development ... is not an option because I don’t have a darkroom

I can think of only two reasons for duplicates. The first is, you aren't confident that the first shot was exposed properly, to the point that you're re-doing the shot. In that case, you might as well discard the first shot. The second is that you shot two identical sheets of film with the intention of processing them differently. In that case, it's just as well, and in some cases necessary, to process them separately.

Differences in exposure or in camera movements should be evident in the negative. If you need to do a quick test print, see below.

I don't have a darkroom either. I have a bathroom, a kitchen and black fabric to cover a window and door cracks. They work fine, especially if there aren't a lot of sheets to process. It's also easy to make a quick contact print with two sheets of glass and a low watt bulb hanging from my bathroom's shower curtain rod.

I just number my holders sequentially, but some people like to put notches in them. I also use my phone to take a shot of the scene and record location.

[maltfalc]

you could make some little numbered plastic tabs that attach to the ends of the flap and cover the extra little bits of image area between the flap and the ends of the film slip. they get cropped out during printing anyway, so you might as well use them for something.

[Cor]

Would this help ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vth20KTG98o

Best,

Cor

[Jim Jones]

Using narrow and wide notches to indicate binary 0 and 1 would simplify the system and make it almost universally readable in this digital age.

[Tin Can]

Not a fan of notches or anything that ADDS DUST

[Keith Pitman]

I like and use the system Ralph Lambrecht put forth in his book, “Way Beyond Monochrome.”

[PatrickMarq]

https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?156854-FS-Bossy-Number-Checker-Slides

I don't have the photos any more, but I think I have a few of the slides somewhere.

Kumar

I have some off those works perfect

[ic-racer]

Just make the notches. They don't impinge no the image area. Make them with a knife, if worried about dust. I have a number of film holders with notches and some with the little number wheel. I don't use any of it, my negatives all get processed together at the same time. I spent a good deal of time and money developing a system to print with different grades to accommodate my subject matter.

[Mark Sampson]

I just keep a notebook of exposures. Date, subject, exposure, holder number. Each holder has number and A/B for each side. It's been my practice to make two exposures of each subject- I work in the field where dust on the film is your enemy- and sometimes more, if I want to change exposure or development. Then process the sheets from one side of each holder, review, and make changes to the duplicates if/as necessary. I learned that method the hard way a long time ago... far less comprehensive than the famous Ansel Adams notebook that takes 1/2 hour to fill out for each exposure, but it works for me. Thankfully I've had very few problems with leaky holders over the years, despite using some rather ancient ones in the past.

[Robert Opheim]

seems like a lot of work to notch holders. For black and white work, I just put the film into my Jobo tank sequentially and keep the holders in order sequentially in the darkroom. I write on the film holder what the image is and f/stop, shutter speed, recommended development. When developed I take the film out of the tank and put the sheets into the film washer in order. Probably if it were really important I would develop similar shots in separate batches. I do double shot everything and that way I am able to change the developing time to get more or less contrast. I have tray developed, Kodak tank and hanger, developed and Unicolor tank developed this same way. Then its up to using printing techniques to get the visual idea to its best for the image.

[Fred L]

what Mark Sampson does. I process in Expert tanks, which have numbered chambers. I note which chamber has which sheet and then use twin checks on the sleeve and photo log book (B&H sells a very useful one). I also expose two sheets and will adjust processing as/if needed.

I have a bunch of notched 4x5 holders but prefer the labeled holders instead as I don't really dig seeing numbers (Grafmatic or Riteway holders) or filed notches, in my image area.

[Tin Can]

I now seldom shoot more than 4 and I know what I shot.


I also seldom leave the cave

[Offhand35]

I made notches in my film holders using a dremel type tool and a thin cutting wheel. I marked for specific holder numbers so that there are no more than 2 notches that are close together, and no film holder has more than four notches total. The right side as you look at it is for I or II, the middle is I (for 5) , the left is for I (10) and II (20). So for 6 film holders I made markings for #'s 1, 2; 5,6; 10, 11; 15, 16; 20, 21; 25, 26.
The set I did as above were older Graflex holders made of wood. I did have to do some clean up on the edges of the cuts with an X-Acto knife and blow out the dust.
I bought a tiny dremel saw blade to try for my next set which are Lisco Regal holders made of plastic (Rhinolite!). I am hoping the plastic will cut with the saw blade and not melt like they probably would if I used the diamond cut-off wheel.

My notch marks do not intrude into the image area. I only make them as deep as the bottom of the slot for the dark slide so the edge that is normally covered allows exposure through the notches.

[Bob Kerner]

I feel like some people didn’t read the OP. I asked about alternatives to notches and got referred back to the notches!!!

[cowanw]

I will sometimes indicate, on the outside of a used holder, with post it notes with the info needed and an indication of clipping corners (clipping on the way into the developer tank). Generally I clip 1-4 corners but one could get fancy with which corners. After the film is dry I will write with a fountain pen on the rebate edge the pertinent info, checking the post it notes for which clip is which. Usually I record the lens and the f stop when I do this.

[Offhand35]

I feel like some people didn’t read the OP. I asked about alternatives to notches and got referred back to the notches!!!

Yeah, sorry. I thought of that as I hit "post reply"

[monochromeFan]

You could simply just control the process as you unload the exposed negatives.. a bit of masking tape with a number would work. A corner cut off would work..

Or just develope 1 film holder at a time.