Archiving 6x9 roll films negatives

Gast · 2009-04-11T15:29:06+00:00

Ich suche nach einer Möglichkeit, 6x9 Einzel-Negative zu archivieren. Ideal wäre ein Medium, das DINA4 groß ist, zum abheften. Hab schon mal Visitenkartenhü...

Gast

I’m looking for a way to archive 6x9 individual negatives. Ideally, I’d like a medium that’s A4 size, so I can file them away. I’ve already tried business card sleeves – specifically the Esselte 78930 model. The advantage of these is that they have 8 compartments, which is the same number of photos as on a roll of film. The problem, however, is that the negatives have a relatively strong curl and the plastic sleeves bulge out accordingly.... Besides, I only had a few sleeves and I’ve now run out of them. The material would need to be quite strong to withstand the curl of the negatives to some extent... And as clear as possible, so that contact prints can be made on A4 if necessary... Does anyone know of a suitable archiving system? I’ve already googled it, but haven’t found anything. Many thanks for your help, Wolfgang

hansschneider

I’m looking for a way to archive 6x9 single negatives. Ideally, I’d like a format that’s A4 size, so I can file them away.

Wolfgang, I assume that by ‘archiving’ you mean, colloquially speaking, what is actually called ‘filing’. (Archiving is something else entirely and works roughly according to the principle of ‘evaluate, discard, back up, preserve’, whereby discarding is the best part: throwing away). Ok, enough of the smart-alecky comments. You’re looking for a storage solution for negatives or slides on 120 or 220 film, right? It doesn’t matter whether the negatives are 6 x 6 cm or 6 x 9 cm. Why not use negative storage sheets? They’re available for all film sizes, including here at the shop. It doesn’t matter whether you’re putting in two 6 x 9 negatives (= in one piece) or just one (are yours cut into individual frames?). Or do you want to fit as many as possible onto one sheet? Then just stick two individual frames together.... Unfortunately, I still don’t quite understand what you’re after. Could you explain exactly what you want, for the benefit of us dimwits? Best regards Hans

Gast

Hans, Of course I mean ‘storage’. I wasn’t familiar with the term ‘negative storage sheets’ either; I was looking for ‘archival sleeves’ or something similar. Specifically for 6x9 single negatives, ideally with 8 fitting on each page (that’s how many are on a 120 film). I already have negative storage sheets for 35mm film (HAMA 9055 clear). But they’re of such poor quality that film strips are almost impossible to thread through, even with a slight twist. What’s more, the streaks get caught on the filing holes. Yes, I may have forgotten to mention that; unfortunately, the films have been cut into individual negatives. These are films that are nearly 50 years old. I don’t know why they were cut up, but that’s how it is now. The negative storage sheets (35mm) I currently have only allow for the insertion of whole film strips. That means, if I’ve slipped a single negative into the sleeve (which is almost impossible) and then another one after it, I have to thread the last one out again to get to the other one. And the sleeve often gets damaged in the process. If the ‘negative storage sheets’ are like that, I can’t use them. It’s better with the business card sleeves (the compartments are approx. 7x10 cm), as I can insert and remove the negatives individually there. It’s also important that the material is sturdy, so that it doesn’t curl up on its own like that.... The landlord’s negative storage sheets (ADOFILE) are currently out of stock in the required size. Perhaps I’ll enquire about a sample so I can see for myself whether it’s suitable or not.... Regards Wolfgang

mdeutgen

Wolfgang, I’ve given something similar some thought and came across glassine sleeves. I used to need these for 35mm slides and found what I was looking for at Nordfoto back then. As far as I can remember, they’re also available for standard print sizes, and worst-case scenario, you’d have to go for 7 x 10 if, contrary to expectations, 6 x 9 isn’t available. BTW, I’m facing a similar situation with an archive of 6 x 6 negatives, which are also loose... Martin

Gast

Martin and Hans, I’ve just found something online that might be suitable. PrintFile? negative storage sheets They’re also available for 6x6, though only for streaks. That said, you could also use the 6x9 sleeves for individual 6x6 negatives... Best regards, Wolfgang

CPD

Hello Wolfgang! You can get developed transparency back from the lab in those little strips (for want of a more fitting term). Why not use something like that and cut it to the right length? It wouldn’t be an A4 sheet anymore, but the streaks could be stored quite easily in a box or a card index box. Regards CP

Gast

I don’t think that’s suitable at all. Firstly, it’s probably acetate material (or acetate glassine), which is nice and transparent, but is only suitable for flat strips of film… It’s completely unsuitable for scraps of negative film (see also above), especially if they’re badly curled (“twist”). Even if the ‘tubes’ are cut up, that doesn’t make things any better; on the contrary... And as for whether such ‘tubes for 6 cm films’ exist... probably. But keeping them in a box is out of the question; at the moment I’ve got the film snippets in old margarine tubs... And it’s so difficult to view the negatives that way. The more that fit into a storage sheet, the better, and you have a clear overview of all the negatives on the film. At the moment, the PrintFile® negative storage sheets (9 negatives individually) or similar business card sleeves (e.g. Esselte 78930 or similar) seem to be the best option to me... Or maybe I haven’t understood what you mean.... Wolfgang

Urnes

Hi Wolfgang, My Printfile sleeves for medium format strips are open at both ends, so you can insert them from either the left or the right. With two negatives per slot, you can fit the whole roll of film in. It’s a bit fiddly, though. Best regards, Sven.

Gast

My PrintFile sleeves for medium format strips are open at both ends, so you can insert them from either the left or the right. With two negatives per slot, you can fit the whole roll in. It’s a bit fiddly, though.

I’m not sure which PrintFile type you mean... The one I’m referring to is No. 208-609. It’s specifically designed for single negatives. As the strips are inserted vertically, you can even fit nine of them onto a single A4 sheet. The vertical orientation also has the advantage of better controlling the ‘curl’... I’ve just written to the company asking them to send me a sample, then I’ll see if it’s suitable. Regards Wolfgang

Urnes

I’ve got the horizontal ones for streaks (no. 9912042); they’re open at both ends (at least mine, with the 3-hole perforation). If the films are rolled up tightly, the film will still curl, though. But if you can get hold of a sample, you can give it a go. Otherwise, they’re really good. Regards, Sven.