How to Load Film onto a Developing Reel

Loading a roll of film onto a processing reel can be frustrating and terrifying (if you are afraid of the dark, anyway.) It takes patience, but with a little practice and by following these seven easy steps, you will be spooling film like a pro in no time!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• A completely dark, dust free room
• A developing tank with an auto loading film reel.
• A bottle opener – “church-key” type
• Scissors

1. Set up a work table with your bottle opener, scissors, film, reels and processing tank in your light-tight dark room. It’s a good habit to place all your tools before you in the same place every time. This will reduce stumbling around in the dark looking for something.
2. Turn out the lights. It is very important that this be done in COMPLETE darkness; no red lights and no “light leaks,” meaning cracks in the door where light can come in.
3. Use the bottle opener to pop off the bottom of the film canister, and pull the film out of the canister. Make sure you only handle the film at its edges. The grease on your fingers can leave fingerprints that will show up on the developed roll.
4. The film will be taped to the center film spool. Use your scissors to cut the spool off as close to the base of the spool as possible. On the other end of the strip of film is the shaped edge that you use to load film into a camera. Cut that edge off so it is squared. You will only need to snip about 1 inch.
5. Slide one end of the negative into the opening of the reel (approximately 4 inches) while not touching the surface of the negative. Note the “natural” curl of the film should follow the shape of the reel. Do not attempt to load it upside down.
6. Walk the film onto the reel by twisting one side of the reel back and forth. Keep one hand steady, and use your other hand to twist the other side of the reel forward and back. If it seems to not be spooling in smoothly, or you can feel the film sticking out beyond the edge of the reel, you will need to stop and start over. Not loading the negative on straight can ruin the film strip. Go slow, and continue until all the film is loaded onto the reel.
7. Place the reel inside the developing tank, and completely secure the lid. The tank is now light-tight, and you can turn on the lights.

Tips & Warnings

• You can practice loading film on reels with a “dummy roll” in the light. It is hard to get a hang of it in the dark and takes some practice initially.
• Make sure your reels are completely dry before spooling film on to them. If there is any moisture the negative can stick and could be ruined.