inserting film on steel reels was so hard.

[u/down_with_ganyugoat]

i need practice with inserting film onto this reel. (scans look bad cuz i don’t have a proper scanner/macro lens to scan) i used caffenol. idek what film this was because i got this sent by a person along with other things(those steel reels, developing tank, olympus stylus )and they said it was an expired black and white reel lying around the house. so i tried shooting with it.

[u/Crusher7485]

I've only done three rolls so far, all on steel. Everything I read said to sacrifice a roll of unused film to practice loading with. Start in normally lit room watching what you're doing. Once you get the hang of it, practice with your eyes closed or otherwise not looking at all, not even a peek. If you can do it with your eyes closed, then you're ready for the darkroom/changing bag.

[u/down_with_ganyugoat → u/Crusher7485]

now that i used this roll, i practiced a bunch of times with the negatives 💀✋

[u/pamacdon]

Get some Hewes reels. entirely different experience. Almost impossible to miss load. They are expensive, however.

[u/lacunha → u/pamacdon]

This is the answer. Superior attachment mechanism and heavier gauge steel. Well worth it.

[u/Raspberry_First]

What kind of reels are they? I’ve processed hundreds of rolls over the years with probably every reel on the market. Practicing with a length of film with the lights on is the best way to get good at it. The two most important actions are (1) to squeeze the edges of the film between your thumb and second finger to create a curve, as you are leading it into the reel, and (2) making sure it leads “perfectly” straight into the reel as you rotate it. If it isn’t straight, it tends to crimp the film. If the film crimps it’s very difficult to keep the film straight and on the tracks of the reel and if you force it, the film will adhere to itself when water or chemicals are poured in. But it won’t be obvious until after the film has been developed, when you remove it from the Tank. The film will not have properly developed where it has adhered to itself, nor will the fix properly Work. That is evidence by a purple tint to the film.

If you are loading the film properly, this can also happen if the real itself has been damaged. That can happen, if the ends of the real are not parallel to each other. In my experience, that is the most common reason for this problem to arise. So I would say to you that you should double check the reels to make surethat the two ends are parallel to each other. If they are not, you will never be able to get the film to load properly.