A relative found a roll of b/w 35mm 36 exposure negative film (brand unknown) already developed but not cut. It was in a standard film can (aluminum) and is probably over forty years old. The film seems like new and very flexible without any cracks. I had always cut my negatives and kept them flat (works great now in a scanner) but long ago did run into a roll I had forgotten to cut and I need someone to confirm this will work before I proceed since my memory is not what it used to be.
My intention is to straighten out the roll of course.
Load the dry film into a developing tank and soak in room temperature distilled water with a few drops of Photoflo added for 20 minutes. Remove and hang dry with weighted clips.
Dean, your idea might work, but before you do it, might I suggest going to the Kodak website and see if they have an answer. It's been a while since I have been there ( Kodak website ), so I do not remember if they have a question and answer section.
You're giving me way to much credit. I've always shot K64 slide film that came back from the lab cut and mounted. And, my darkroom experience is very limited.
However, the 120 roll film I currently shoot does come back from the lab sleeved and rolled. I cut the roll into five frame lengths and put those in Clear File brand pages. After a few days in a 3-ring binder at room temperature they are flat. Perhaps storing your roll in this manner would do the trick.
Thats a good idea Don, I may try that instead. I searched around a bit and found that there is a possibility the emulsion could actually slip off or move on the backing if re-wetted. Also after washing and hanging to dry, the film could curl length-wise making it nearly impossible to get flat for scanning or making paper prints in an enlarger.
Wish I could figure out what type of film it is. Looks as though the tank had a light leak since one edge the length of the roll is randomly blackened in a sort of wavy pattern. Most likely it is from a bulk roll as my parents usually loaded their own film cans.
Dean, I have not had any problems unrolling rolls of color negative film that is over 30 years old. Now that I have most of the film in strips, I need a scanner that will rapidly do the strips or slides. My HP PhotoSmart scanner, one of the orginals, is nearing end of useful life.
Thanks for the info John. Perhaps color film has different properties that make it easier to flatten out. I've had the roll hanging in a closet with a weight on the end for a couple weeks and it still curls up. I'll probably end up cutting the roll up and storing them flat in a negative holder. Scanning them will be a problem but I think a piece of glass cut to the scanning area dimensions will do the trick to keep them flat.
I'm currently using a Microtek 48 bit scanner that can do up to 4x5 and although I haven't used it much, it works very well for all around scanning.
RE: 35mm roll
RE: 35mm roll
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