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How Do I Uncurl Film Negatives?
6 Answers
I have several very old - 50+ years - black and white film negatives 6 cm X 9 cm.
They are curled up very tightly into cylinders 2 cm in diameter. Any ideas on how I might get them flat so I could scan them?
They are curled up very tightly into cylinders 2 cm in diameter. Any ideas on how I might get them flat so I could scan them?
Answers
Best Answer
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.If they are literally stuck together, then unrolling the film may be a tricky process. If however the film will unroll but then springs back into the coiled position then the most likely method to get them into a more pliant condition is to wet them.
I suggest you take one film which you are least worried about and put it into clean tapwater at 20-25 degrees, say in a clean basin, and soak it for up to ten minutes. Then take the film out and clip it to anything whereby it can hang free - clip something onto the bottom end as a slight weight. Then allow the film to dry out in dust free conditions and you should have a fairly flat strip at the end.
I suggest you take one film which you are least worried about and put it into clean tapwater at 20-25 degrees, say in a clean basin, and soak it for up to ten minutes. Then take the film out and clip it to anything whereby it can hang free - clip something onto the bottom end as a slight weight. Then allow the film to dry out in dust free conditions and you should have a fairly flat strip at the end.
In theory they should unroll easily but if they have not been kept in a suitable environment it is possible that the gelatin may have adhered to the adjacent film. If they don't unroll easily use Karl's method.
Laying the unrolled (dry) film on the scanner with a white backing and held flat by a suitable bookj should do the trick.
Laying the unrolled (dry) film on the scanner with a white backing and held flat by a suitable bookj should do the trick.
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