Film-trimming expertise

[david o'connor]

I have sluethed up as much as possible on older posts regarding cutting down fil m to get 2 5x7's from an 8x10. I can understand the roto-trim theory, and the 5x 7 block-template-to-trim-around theory. The physical trimming of the film is not ponderous. My concern is, should some s ort of liner paper be used below the film as a protective measure. Or even a fil m-sandwich between 2 sheets of something? As nice as sheet film comes from the b ox, I would like to keep it that way. Of course I would give a dust-off w/anti-s tatic brush between trimming & loading. Thanks in advance for your input. your

[david o'connor]

....expertise is appreciated

[david o'connor]

....expertise is appreciated.

[QT Luong]

I've cut down close to two thousand sheets of 8x10. I don't use any of those. The only concern is getting dust on the emulsion surface, and I am not sure this would help. It was suggested to me by a Fuji rep that cut sheets should be interleafed with a sheet of paper, but I didn't really see why since they don't come that way in film boxes.

[david clark]

Hi David, chose your paper carefully, a lot of paper is very dirty. Ilford Ortho Plus has a soft emulsion and it comes interleafed, but I don't know what kind of paper it is, feels different though. Good luck, David

[Duane]

Three suggestions: - wear gloves to prevent depositing skin oils & other stuff on the emulsion. Wash them a few times to remove any lint. - find a place as dust free as possible. If you don't have a clean darkroom, a bathroom in which the shower has run on hot for a minute or two to clear out the dust is a good compromise. Use a damp cloth to wipe down the cutter and all nearby surfaces. - dust free paper is hard to find & I doubt it matters as scratches on the back of the film don't matter much unless they remove any antihalation layers.

Good luck,

[QT Luong]

Unless you sweat a lot, gloves are not useful and might create problems. Finger marks are washed away by the developper.

[Bruce Wehman]

David, An easy and clean way is to fold a 14" piece of paper in half and tape the bottom edge (opposite the fold) 1" from the cutting edge. Then simply register one side of the film up to the inside of the fold, fold the loose side of the paper down and press firmly on the paper to keep the film from sliding while making the cut. Make the 5" cut in a similar manner. If you have a sharp trimmer you can do 3 sheets per cut. And if you really want to get fancy you can put the folded paper for the 5" cut inside the one for the 8" cut and do one cut right after the other. Have a Ball. bw

[Bruce Wehman]

Trying to do this two minutes before leaving from work. That should be 7" cut instead of 8". And a 14" paper folded in half taped up to the cutting edge.....well, you get it.

[Doug Paramore]

I think the purpose of the paper interleaving on home-cut film is to protect the adjacent sheet from the rough edges left by the cutter. Not many of us have a really good cutter that leaves a smooth edges with no minute turned down sharp areas.

Regards,