Archiving
One of the biggest differences between film and digital photography is that you will start collecting a lot of film negatives. While the digital files from the scanned negatives often suffice for basic use, you will need the film negatives to print your images in the darkroom.
This is in tangent to why I started printing in the darkroom. For the painstaking analogue process to just end up as a digital file in a folder on my computer makes the whole process rather trivial to me.
So, not only is it important to keep your film negatives, but the careful and proper way of storing them is important as well.
Make sure that you get good ‘archival quality’ sleeves and keep them away from the sun. As much as possible, try to store them below 20℃ between 30% - 40% humidity.
“…the ideal temperature for storing modern, polyester, black and white films is 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Black and white acetate-base film (generally pre-1970) should be kept at 35 degrees Fahrenheit. To slow fading, all color films can be stored at 35 degrees Fahrenheit, although it is common practice to store color film at 25 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. All films are best stored in a 35% +/- 5% relative humidity environment.”
Source
Organising
A way that is helpful for sorting out your film negative is by having contact prints. Filing these with your negatives will help you browse or find your photographs easier.
Some photo labs provide these when you develop and scan your images with them.
Alternatively, you can print your own.
Sometimes, these contact prints can make a beautiful display piece.
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Up Next
Preparing the film.
I will be sharing how I set up the film to be ready for printing.
Thanks for reading.
