I go through quite a bit of film these days, primarily black and white 35mm and 120. I became interested in loading bulk film onto reloadable 35mm film cassettes. There was an economical argument, but I also was intrigued by the control of the process of loading film onto the spool and learning that part of film photography.
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I'd like to share some of my experiences and perspective with loading bulk film. And to spoil the answer to the question: is it worth it? It depends. But for me, it has been worth it.
Since this is a somewhat dry topic, I thought I'd include some pictures shot with some of my bulk loaded film (Ultrafine Xtreme 400 and Ilford Delta 400), many shot with the Nikon FE I recently reviewed at 35mmc.com. I also include a brief process on how I bulk load film currently with a pictoral sequence below.
All film photographs shared here were developed in HC-110 Dilution B (1:31) except the last two (in Ilford DD-X); the negatives were scanned with a DSLR (Nikon D850, 105mm Macro lens), and converted in Lightroom using Negative Lab Pro 2 / 2.1). The bulk loading process photographs were shot with a Leica Q (28 mm lens) and converted in Lightroom to B&W.
35mm bulk film seems to be typically available in 30.5m / 100 foot rolls and requires the user to load the film onto (often) reloadable 35mm film cassettes. While there are many different ways of doing this process including doing this in the darkroom, I wanted to focus on using a daylight loader (in my case the Lloyd brand).
A roll of 30.5m / 100 ft bulk film can produce 18 rolls of 36 exp rolls. Per calculations below, across the board 18 rolls of 36 exp bulk film is cheaper than 18 rolls of commercial individually packed 36 exp film. The cost per roll for bulk film has been calculated as cost of bulk film divided by 18.
I included cost (and potential savings) in the table below for some of the more popular ASA 400 black and white films available in bulk in the US. The prices are based in US-$, and came from B&H's website as of December 4, . (There was just a news release that Kodak will increase all their prices in January , so it is likely that the Kodak will change in !)
As can ben seen below, the potential savings per either 18 rolls or individual roll or % vary quite a bit. I was actually surprised how little bulk TriX and Tmax 400 film in particular were discounted (18% and 9% respectively). This is something to keep in mind for those who plan to shoot primarily those film stocks. The table is not not comprehensive, and prices are subject to change and also likely different in different geographies across the globe.
Table 1: Cost of individual rolls and potential savings using bulk film
Note: savings calculations do not include amortization of expenses required for bulk loader, cassettes, and other supplies.
Note 2: The assumption was that a 30.5 m bulk roll will result in 18 film cassettes with 36 exposures each.
These calculations do not take into account the expenses needed for bulk loader itself which can range from $20 dollars (used) to $50 (Lloyd, new) around $100 dollars (Bobinquick, new). As well as the cost for the reloadable cassettes.
The cost of cassettes is also quite variable: $1-2 per cassette (ultrafineonline.com) to $20 and more per cassette for really high quality Leica (used) cassettes that likely last for a long time. Yes, one can also get free cassettes from a local photo lab although those have not been designed to be 'reloadable'. I believe that some of the Ilford films are easier to recap/reuse, but again, have not experimented with that, and prefer specifically designed reloadable cassettes.
These additional expenses can be amortized over time. So let's say, you plan to bulk load Tmax 400 film. And let's assume you spend $50 on a used bulk loader including some cassettes. (I am aware that I did not factor in costs for Scotch tape, masking tape, scissors, sharpie and dark bag. I assume you already have a dark bag or access to a dark room if you are venturing into bulk film loading!).
You would start saving money during the sixth 100 foot rolls (that's 6 x 18 rolls of 36 exp film or 108 rolls!). This is an extreme case as the Tmax 400 bulk roll is not much discounted by Kodak (this ratio might change in when the prices increase). With Ilford Delta 400 (linking recent 35mm article), you will start saving money on the 2nd bulk roll.
I decided to start my 'bulk film loading journey' with a Lloyd bulk loader (this daylight loader is said to waste less film than others, and is very easy to use), a 100 foot roll of Ultrafine Xtreme 400 B&W film and 10 reloadable cassettes, available as a kit from Photo Warehouse / ultrafineonline.com for a little under $100 US-$.
So, I think the answer to this question is: yes, it is worth it economically, if you are shooting enough to amortize the initial expenses of the additional gear needed (and if you are willing to deal with the potential short comings).
To discuss if it is worth it otherwise, it makes sense to discuss the potential shortcomings, and also advantages of bulk loading.
It takes a little time to load your film, but after a little practice, this process is actually very fast, and also very easy. So I consider this a minor disadvantage. I actually enjoy it, similar to developing my film.
There is a potential risk of light leaks and scratching of your film if using velvet-lip film cassettes (the most commonly used type of cassettes for bulk-loading and commercial 35 mm film). This risk is largely eliminated with commercial film cassettes and avoiding bulk loading altogether. But if you are bulk film loading, there are a few tips that might help mitigate that potential risk:
1) Use dedicated reloadable bulk film cansisters. I started using Kodak Snap Caps and heard very positive things about those (they can still be found on eBay as new old stock and possibly in local photo shops occasionally [National Camera Exchange, Minnesota]).
2) Put the loaded film cassettes in a capped plastic (or metal) canisters to avoid dirt/debris in the felt and subsequent scratching.
3) Consider cleaning your film canisters before loading with compressed air (again to minimize debris and scratching).
4) Minimize the reuse of canisters. I don't think there is a hard number on how many times those canisters can be reused. I read anywhere from 7-20 times.
5) Consider using the labyrinthine reloadable cassettes such as the ones from Leica or Shirley Wellard. Those cassettes are vintage, hard to find, expensive ($20 and up / cassette, used), and they do not work with all film cameras, so I can only indirectly recommend this as I haven't personally tried it.
6) Consider using one-time used film cassettes from a local lab that has a tongue of film sticking out. The idea is that such a cassette is unlikely to cause scratching or light leaks. They would then tape the end of the film from the bulk loader on to that and wind in from there. This approach may work well, but I heard that there can be issues not being able to rewind the film back into the cassette. Curious as to your thoughts on this methods, I haven't used it.
I had one issue of light leak in one of my first rolls (it was only 2 frames, see one of the pictures above), and it might have been user error (it happened in my 6th roll of bulk rolled film). The rest of the roll was perfectly fine. I have since then been phasing out the cassettes provided by ultrafineonline.com and replaced them with the Kodak Snap Caps reloadable cassettes. Those are also velvet-lip cassettes, and have been manufactured by Kodak specifically as reloadable cassettes.
Another potential risk of loading film from bulk is film pulling off the film spool. I have never had this issue and am using simple Scotch tape with zero problems thus far. The tape is also very easy to remove from the spool. Other options are to use film spools with a feed through mechanism, but this seems to take more time (more precise cutting of leader required and possibly more loss of film due to cutting); I have not personally explored that option.
Obviously these reloadable generic film cassettes do not have a DX code, unless you buy DX code stickers or buy DX coded reloadable cassettes (available for DX100 and 400 from ultrafineonline.com, again). This is not an issue for me as I tend to manually set my ISO/ASA and most of my film cameras do not have a DX reader.
The last shot(s) of a roll will likely be light exposed (ruined). Since you are loading the last shot(s) of the roll with your daylight loader (the taping onto the spool process), depending on technique and model, you will have that last shot or last shots exposed. This is something I noticed in my bulk loaded films. It is a well-known issue. A partial remedy for that is to tape your film to the cassette with minimal light exposure and then move everything into your dark bag and minimize the unexposed film advancement from the big spool until then. Thus you should be less likely to lose the last 1 to 2 frames.
This is perhaps not a shortcoming. But I think it may make more sense to bulk load your film if you tend to shoot with 1 or maybe 2 favorite films. If you like to use a broad range of different films, it may become less economical, i.e. it may take longer to amortize multiple bulk film loaders and films. A compromise for me has been to bulk load one film at a time (and use that film primarily), and then to purchase small lots of other regular individually packaged film.
As mentioned above, if you shoot a lot of film, there is, over time, an economical argument to be made in that bulk film may be cheaper. But this is not true for all films! For example, the savings for Kodak Tmax 400 are only $9 / 18 films (52 cents per 36 exp roll), so it would take you quite a while to amortize the cost of a bulk loader and cassettes. So, it may be worthwhile to look closely at your favorite film(s) and to calculate if bulk loading makes economical sense. And even if you are buying into the economical advantages, you would have to answer the question whether those advantages outweigh a potential failure such as major light leaks, scratches or film pulling off film spool for you.
A major advantage I love is that I can customize how many exposures I want per roll. I personally prefer 24 exposures (or less) much over 36. For example, I recently loaded several 10 exposure rolls for testing some different development methods under controlled conditions (bracketing a high contrast/multi-tonality scene, and using different developers for Ilford Delta 400 (HC-110 versus Ilford DD-X). For those types of experiments, those 10 exposure bulk loaded film rolls were ideal.
Bulk loading is fun! And it also helped me to learn more about film, including how to handle it. The same is true for developing film (which I do as well). So to me it is part of a full end-to-end control and understanding of the process.
As mentioned above, I started out my bulk loading venture with a 100 foot roll of Ultrafine Xtreme 400, a Lloyd bulk loader and velvet-lip reloadable cassettes, all from Photo Warehouse (aka UltraFineOnLine), a US company located in Oxnard, California.
I am briefly describing my process below, but thought I'd share a youtube video by Ed Verosky ' he is a great photographer with an under-appreciated but high quality youtube channel. I recommend checking out his other film related videos.
This process has to be done in complete darkness. In theory, this is relatively simple, but I recommend to watch some youtube videos on how to load the loader, and practice with a disposable film strip. Fortunately, Ed Verosky shows this process to us in daylight using the Lloyd bulk loader (see Ed's you tube video). Each one of those loaders are different, so you will have to review the instructions from each manufacturer and I suggest to practice this technique in day light before either going in the dark room or using the dark bag.
I use Kodak Snap Cap cassettes and simple Scotch Tape to attach the leader of the bulk film to the roll; I try to minimize the amount of exposure of the leader to reduce the amount of ruined final shots.
After attaching the film to the spool, I then push the cassette over the spool and make sure the end cap snaps on tight, while again trying to avoid to pull out too much film out to minimize light exposure of the film.
Then the leader is pushed back into the loader, the loader latch is closed, and in the case of Lloyds, the crank attached. The Lloyd loader does not have a counter, but the number of crank turns are indicated on the loader.
I turn the crank the desired number of times, then remove the crank and open the latch, and pull the film out about 3 inches or so and cut it as shown here.
Then I label the film cassette with masking tape and also label film canister and put the film roll into the canister and into either a drawer or my camera bag or it goes directly in one of my cameras. And voila, the film is ready.
Here a quick pictorial sequence of the film cassette loading process with a Lloyd bulk film loader
As mentioned above, there is no single right answer for this. For me personally, thus far, it has been well worth it and the benefits have outweighed the potential shortcomings thus far.
Yes, if you love shorter film lengths
I love the process of bulk film loading as a learning experience. The ability of rolling custom film lengths is a huge benefit in my opinion (by the way: I have not looked at economics of 24 exp film in bulk loading, but suspect that it coudl be even more pronounced). Custom film lengths makes experimenting with different developers, development methods, or other 35mm film camera experiments so much easier.
Yes, if you shoot enough to amortize the expenses of the bulk loader equipment and use film that is significantly discounted in bulk
The films I have been buying in bulk (Ultrafine Xtreme 400 and Ilford's Delta 400 Pro) are significantly discounted (although Ultrafine Xtreme is already very cheap). Economics can be intriguing once you factor in amortization of your bulk loading gear. It is worthwhile to do your own analysis for your favorite film as there are significant differences with regards to potential savings between different film stock as shown in the Table above. All this will of course vary depending on your geography's pricing. Again, I used US pricing from one of the major online retailers for this analysis (B&H Photo, Dec ).
Yes, if you are aware and mindful of the shortcomings, and take precautions
I do think that economical advantages have to be very carefully weighted against the potential shortcomings. These shortcomings may be, if careful, minimal, but we all know that light leaks and other processes ruining our negatives can be extremely frustrating, even for non 'mission critical' work. Having said that, I am aware of many photographers who used this technique for years successfully without any issues.
Many of those potential shortcomings can be addressed by using high quality reloadable film cassettes, careful film and cassette handling before, during and after the loading process, including the use of film canisters.
Because of the potential shortcomings above, and until I have probably gathered more confidence/experience, I would not use bulk-loaded film for mission critical work.
Bulk loading 120?
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I found some information online that it can be doable, although not necessarily easy: https://emulsive.org/articles/how-to-bulk-load-120-or-220-film-using-65mm-kodak-250d-
Did you ever try this?
Tell me your experiences with bulk loading
What are your experiences with bulk loading? Please share them in comments below, also curious to hear any of your tips and tricks!
You can see more of my work on Instagram as well as on my website. I always like to connect with other photographers, so please send me a note via Instagram or website and I'd be happy to respond and connect.
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Martha Bebinger/WBUR
Martha Bebinger/WBUR
Updated July 5, 11:05 a.m. ET
I didn't see the thin plastic thread running between one leaf on my pineapple and its tag when I put the pineapple in my shopping cart, when I checked out or when I unpacked groceries at home. It wasn't until I chopped off the top and tug on the tag that it hit me.
I'd broken the rules again.
That damn plastic tag tie joins the long list of mistakes I made in just one week of trying to eat plastic-free.
I had challenged myself to purchase a week's worth of food without bringing home any plastic in my grocery bag. That meant no jugs of juice, yogurt containers, plastic chip bags, plastic packages or even stickers on some produce.
Why did I do this? Because very few of the plastic packages and containers we use once get recycled. Because there's growing concern about the harmful health effects. Some research suggests that ingesting microplastics could disrupt hormone production or be associated with problems like asthma and learning disorders.
Though scientists have not confirmed the link, I just don't love the idea that I may consume a credit card's worth of plastic in a week.
I chose a budget of $115.00 (roughly half-way between the average weekly grocery bill for a family of two in Massachusetts and the food stamp allotment for that same household). On a Saturday afternoon, I pulled into the parking lot of my local chain grocery store feeling reasonably plastic-aware, not ready for the butt-kicking I was about to get.
I started in the produce section, where I typically grab a plastic bag of organic baby carrots. They're off limits, as is pretty much every vegetable in the organic section. I found some beautifully bunched carrots among the non-organic produce. Then I saw the plastic tags hanging off their rubber bands. I spotted a dozen loose ones down by the produce shelf drain and scooped them up, sans bag.
I rolled my cart past the cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, lettuces and grapes, all glinting inside their plastic. I weighed loose beets, apples, onions and sweet potatoes. My anxiety kicked in ' that feeling that I wouldn't have enough. So, I bought a head of cabbage.
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Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images
Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images
I tapped prices into the calculator on my . Leaving the produce section, I was in good shape, at $31.30. It was time to search for protein.
I don't eat meat. But I headed to the meat counter to shop for one of my sons. Everything prepackaged was in plastic, but the man behind the glass kindly agreed to wrap two hamburger patties and some chicken, separately, in butcher paper. Together they were $21.62.
Tofu, cheese, yogurt and pretty much everything in the dairy section was out. Even the bottled milk had a plastic cap. There were lots of eggs in those paper pulp cartons. Whew.
To avoid eating eggs every meal, I got some cans of beans and rice in a box. I wanted pasta, but the box had a cellophane window. (While cellophane is not technically plastic, as it's not derived from petroleum, I was still trying to avoid it because it's non-recyclable.) I chose a brand of spaghetti with the smallest window (1"x1"), telling myself that eating a lot of cabbage would earn me the right to this violation.
If I was going to consume a lot of cabbage, I'd need some oil or salad dressing. The search for plastic-free oil and vinegar took me into the "house of mirrors" stage of my plastic-free odyssey.
There were lots of options in glass bottles. After careful tapping, I found some with metal lids. But the bottles with metal lids all had a plastic seal, except for one brand of sesame oil and another of red wine vinegar. The vinegar label was peeling away at one corner. And that made me wonder: what are jar labels made of? You probably guessed: many are plastic. The sesame oil and rice wine vinegar went back on the shelf, as did jars of marinara, salsa and juice.
I can live without salsa and juice for a week. But I certainly did not volunteer to go a week without chocolate. I spent a lot of time in the candy aisle before finding some bars wrapped in foil, packaged in a box.
At checkout, I added the labels on paper-wrapped beef and chicken to my list of shame (I realized they are plastic). Then when the cashier scanned the barcode on bell peppers, I chalked up another defeat. They each had little plastic stickers with barcodes. I bought them anyway. I was hungry, discouraged and ready to move on.
I still had $21.96. Maybe I could find a bulk store ' with bins of nuts or vats of oil that I can pour into non-plastic containers ' to replace some of the items I had to put back.
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Martha Bebinger/WBUR
Martha Bebinger/WBUR
At home, I scanned some zero-waste sites and made a few calls. Several stores had bulk oil and vinegar, but I'd have to buy their bottle with a plastic lid and label, use up the contents and bring it back in for a refill. Pemberton Farms, in Cambridge, said I could bring in my own mason jars. They had bread wrapped in paper and bulk items like cereal and nuts in bins, the latter of which put me $1.23 over budget ' but was worth every almond.
While I'm out of money, I might want to do this again, so I had some questions for general manager Greg Saidnawey. Pemberton Farms is known as a zero-waste shopping destination, but there are still many things I couldn't buy here plastic-free. There was no dairy, juice, peanut butter or tahini options without plastic.
Saidnawey says he used to have more than 300 foods and spices in bulk. That shrank to about 100 items during the pandemic. And Saidnawey says he doesn't expect to add more bulk shopping options anytime soon.
"There was so much forward momentum in zero waste, especially in the Boston area, before COVID," Saidnawey says. But during the pandemic, "customers just wanted peace of mind. They didn't want a broken seal; they didn't want anything that had already been touched by anybody else, and I think we've just gone in reverse in a lot of ways."
The CDC says the risk of getting COVID-19 after touching a contaminated surface is low, but Saidnawey says his plastic suppliers report they've never been busier. There's another factor that may be ramping up use of plastic in food packaging. Plastics are made with fossil fuels. That industry is looking for new outlets in the shift to electric vehicles.
Saidnawey says he's interested in using more compostable containers, but they are 30-40% more expensive. It's hard to add that cost to the rising price of food. And compostable boxes for nuts, beans or snacks (a lot of what Pemberton Farms offers in bulk) aren't as attractive on shelves as plastic.
"I want to find a package that isn't going to wind up in the oceans or a landfill forever," Saidnawey says, but "customers shop with their eyes."
My week of plastic-free eating produced some pretty boring meals. I wasn't prepared. I didn't realize how many things would be off limits. There are some zero-waste cookbooks, but I didn't look at them before I went shopping. And I didn't budget for herbs or spices, things that might have made life a little more exciting.
To reduce my plastic use moving forward, I'm going to have to make more things from scratch, like hummus, marinara, salsa, maybe even yogurt. I'm switching brands of juice so I can buy OJ and lemonade in reusable glass bottles. I'll have to drive around a bit to explore more bulk food options, and I may need to spend a little more on things like cheese wrapped in paper. I've got to beef up my supply of refillable jars and maybe invest in some of those reusable food container bags and that beeswax cling wrap alternative.
I asked Star Market, where I shopped this week, what they're doing to reduce plastic food packaging. Star is owned by Albertsons, one of the largest food retailers in the U.S. They pointed me to a web page about the company's plans to reduce plastic waste, which might mean using less plastic packaging. And Costco, where I shop a few times a year, says it's currently reviewing packaging of all products to reduce plastic use.
Maybe we can slow some of the projected growth in plastic we use once and throw away, and major oil, gas and petrochemical corporations that make most of our plastic will shift to more renewable products. In the meantime, I aim to up my game. I avoided using 27 plastic containers and packages in one week; I can do better.
Need some tips on where to start? NPR's Life Kit pulled together some helpful tips for starting to audit the plastic in your life, even beyond your grocery list.
This story was produced by WBUR as part of their newsletter, "Cooked: the search for sustainable eats."
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