You really have to load and unload film in total darkness and you will need
plenty of practice to get it right, I personally prefer to buy 135 film in
36 exposure rolls. There may be a chance of scratching the emulsion with
bulk film loaders if it is not done carefully.
It is very important not to touch the emulsion with your fingers as there
may be smears on the film which come from the natural oils in your skin,
this can show up when enlargements are made.
Using a bulk film loader would be better once you become more familiar with
loading a film spiral for film processing.
Unless you are going to be shooting and processing a great deal of films, I
would shelve the bulk loader and buy film in 36 exposure or 24 exposure
rolls, despite the slightly higher cost the convenience far out weighs the
hassle of using a film loader.

"Liopleurodon" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I'm just starting out on the B&W develope and process road, and am slowly
gathering the gear to start a basic darkroom.

Everything I've read states that unexposed film (I'll be using B&W 35mm)
needs to be handled in complete darkness, you can't even use a safelight
with it. So I have to practice loading the bulk film loader and then the
developing tank in complete darkness.

My two questions a

Has anyone found a way of not doing this in complete darkness, eg.
night-vision, infra-red or special safelight filter?

When handling the film, how important is it to keep your fingers off the
actual film face? Obviously handling on the edges would be better, but in
complete darkness with my clumsy fingers, I can imagine when loading the
developing reel I'm gonna grab the film face at least once.Would this ruin
that patch, or is it ok as long as the touch is light?

With thanks.


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Richard "Productively wasting time"

If replying directly, remove "aqua".

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