How to load film into the reel for development?

[mingaun]

Hello,

I am learning for the first time how to load a film to my single 35mm Paterson plastic reel.

Are we suppose to load it as such that the emulsion side faces the inside of the reel?

I have been practicing loading and I find towards the end it gets very tight and not smooth. Is this normal?

Thirdly I find it takes a lot of strength to open up the reel after loading it and occasionally it will damage the film? Is this normal? Am I suppose to reel the film until all the film passes the ball bearing?

Thanks
Mark

[hpulley]

I don't like the ball bearings. I pop them out of all my Paterson Super System 4 reels.

Yes, the emulsion side should face inside.

It can get tight at times. I find if you tap the sides of the reels it will come free.

Open up the reel after loading? I don't quite understand. I never open up the reels. I simply pull the film out to remove it though I must say I do it only with wet film which just slides right out after the final rinse.

[Mike Pieper]

I never open up the reel to remove the film. Just squeeze the edges of the film together slightly and the film will pull out very easily. I remove the film that way after it's developed and when I have trouble loading a reel (usually a 50 year old spool of 120 film that has a very strong curl) and want to start over. Anyway, you load the film on the reel the way the film naturally curls. Normally if the reel is dry, you shouldn't have much of a problem getting the film on the reel, so I'm not sure why yours is not going smoothly at the end. And yes, you load the film until it passes the ball bearings.

[Jon Shiu]

one tip when loading is to keep your thumbs over the little triangle/notches where the film goes in. Then you can tell that the film is going in smoothly and not jumping out of the track.

[hpulley]

one tip when loading is to keep your thumbs over the little triangle/notches where the film goes in. Then you can tell that the film is going in smoothly and not jumping out of the track.

I find since you have to do this anyways the ball bearings are no help and only cause difficulty.

[pbromaghin]

Youtube is your friend. I only recently started developing my own film and the instructional videos on Youtube were worth a hundred explanations.

[mingaun]

What i meant was after developing, how do you remove the film from the reel? I find that i need to dismantle the reel and that is when i find the negative can be damaged. I cant pull the film out because it is suppose to prevent backward movement. Now sure if i am being clear. Sorry for this as i am a total beginner. I have looked at many youtube videos and in fact that is what i am using as a basis.

Mark

[Wade D]

I open up my Paterson reels to remove the film and have never damaged the film. Been doing it that way for many years. Hold the reel horizontally and gently separate the halves. The film is left in the bottom half and is easily removed for treatment in a wetting agent (like Photoflo) before hanging to dry.

[mingaun]

Thanks for the assurance Wade. Maybe it is because i am practising with an undeveloped film. Perhaps the developed one will be different.

[Mike Pieper]

As I mentioned before, you squeeze the edges of the film together slightly. This takes the film out of the track and then you can rotate the reel the opposite way and the film comes off the reel. Squeezing the film together lets you get by the film guides/ball bearings as you rotate the reel. You can do this when you want to take the film off the reel when you're having trouble loading it and want to start over. After the film has been developed, this is usually not necessary as the film will easily slip out. Photo-Flo is a pretty good lubricant.