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R-C-G
25-Jan-2010, 18:13
I'm new to LF and picked up a box of Aristra EDU Ultra 100iso 4x5 sheet film. After developing a few sheets I'm questioning which side the emulsion is on.
I believe I've loaded the film into the holder properly, notch in the top right, yet when going to print the the matte side of the film faces away from the paper and the shinny side towards the paper. My experience with 35mm and 120 tells me that the matte side should be facing the paper.
I sacrificed a sheet of film to discover that with the film loaded as previously described, the green side of the film faces the holder and the gray side faces out.
Can anyone confirm which side the emulsion is on? Thanks.

Filmnut
25-Jan-2010, 19:52
How do your negs look? If you exposed them through the base, I expect that you would have a rather underexposed look to them. It sounds like you did it right.
This may sound a bit brutal, but it works. Carefully scratch (that is if you want to keep your shot!) an area on, or near the rebate (the edge of the film), especially if it is an area with density, using an exacto knife, or a similar fine bladed knife. The emulsion will come off, but if it's on the base, you will just leave a scratch.
Keith

R-C-G
25-Jan-2010, 20:03
Hi Keith, thanks for the suggestion, fortunately I did shoot doubles so I had extra negatives. Turns out I had properly loaded the film and the developed emulsion side is actually shinier than the base side. Thanks again for your help.

Shen45
25-Jan-2010, 20:07
This may be less 'brutal" :)

Place your neg carrier on the bench and open with the 5" side facing you. Place the neg in the carrier so the notch is in the bottom left hand position. Emulsion is facing down toward the emulsion of the paper facing up.

Mark Sawyer
26-Jan-2010, 15:55
Some older style film bases have a "matte" finish, as the texture allows for pencil retouching, (à la William Mortensen), on portraits. Such retouching is seldom done anymore, so many modern film manufacturers don't allow for such an option.

The green coating on the back of the film is the anti-halation backing that dissolves away during processing. It prevents the origional exposure light from passing through the film, reflecting off the inside of the filmholder, and making a second pass back through the film.

The sure-fire way to be sure of the film's orientation is to go by the notch!

Steve Hamley
26-Jan-2010, 17:16
The notch should be in the upper right, top edge of the film with the long film axis vertical - the emulsion faces you.

Cheers, Steve

Vlad Soare
27-Jan-2010, 06:18
I sacrificed a sheet of film to discover that with the film loaded as previously described, the green side of the film faces the holder and the gray side faces out.
Can anyone confirm which side the emulsion is on?
The emulsion side is matte gray. The back is shiny green. You have loaded your holders correctly.
When enlarging, the shiny side should point upwards, and the matte side towards the paper (when seen from above, in portrait format, the notch should be in the upper left corner).