Loading Film Onto Stainless Steel Developing Reels
All photos and text © 2000 Glenn E. Stewart. All rights reserved.

This page last updated: 01/23/2000

Many people find the transition from plastic to stainless developing reels a very painful experience. It is my hope that the following photos and descriptions will help smooth the transition and ease the pain.

You may want to sacrifice an unexposed roll of film and practice this technique in room light before committing an important roll.

After setting up your darkroom for work and turning off the lights, feel the roll of film and locate the end flap.

Use a fingernail to cut through the tape and free the end flap.

Begin unrolling the backing paper.

Catch the end of the film as you unroll the paper from the spool. Allow the film to rollup in one hand, while taking up the backing paper in the other.

When you reach the start of the film, you'll feel the place where it is taped to the backing paper.

Some folks simply tear the tape. I prefer to untape the film from the paper. This makes it easier for me to work with and eliminates the need to remove it later after the film has dried.

At the center of a stainless steel reel is a spring clip. These vary in design, but all serve the same purpose. Their job is to hold the end of the film at the center of the reel as you wind the film onto it.

Using your thumb and fingers, put a slight curl into the end of the film and place the end between the spiral flanges of the reel.

Depress the clip and slide the end of the film under it. Release the clip and allow it to hold the film.

This step is VERY important! Using a finger and thumb, feel both ends of the reel and check to be sure the film is centered in the reel. If it is not centered, it will come out of the spirals and rest with the emulsion side against the base side, resulting in some spots that don't get developed. The film must remain separated by the spirals to develop evenly.

Once the film is centered and straight, you can start turning the reel and allowing the film to be pulled from your hand onto the reel. Note that my thumb and finger are applying a slight curl to the film to help it slide between the spiraled ends of the reel.

Here, I've wound almost all the film onto the reel. As I turn the reel I constantly feel and check to be sure that the film is getting closer to the outside of the reel. This ensures me that I'm not winding it crookedly or accidentally getting all the film wound tight against the inner part of the reel.

Finished! I can feel that the end of the film is near the ends of the spiral wires at the ends of the reel. This roll's ready for the tank!

I had thought that there was an alternate technique where the film was pushed from the outside to the inside of the reel along the spirals as is the method for loading plastic reels, but I couldn't get the film to start that way, even in the light. You might be able to do it with 35mm film, but I wasn't able to do it with medium format film. Loading from the center out, as shown here, is the best method I've found.

The same techniques apply to 35mm film, but you won't have to deal with the paper backing.