Tipster of the Week: Custom Film Roll Labels for X-PRO

Do you go to your local photo lab and ask politely for x-pro? Do you convince the supermarket staff to process the film using the wrong chemicals? Do you scratch the film canister so heavily that no one could possibly read “E-6”? My favorite way to get cross processed photos is sticking a self-made label onto the film roll.

How do you X-PRO?
Do you go to your local photo lab and ask politely for x-pro? Do you convince the supermarket staff to process the film using the wrong chemicals? Do you scratch the film canister so heavily that no one could possibly read “E-6”? My favorite way to get cross processed photos is sticking a self-made label onto the film roll.

Idea of creating custom labels
There are some photo labs that offer cross process but for a very unreasonable price or only after long minutes of begging. Since a super market usually offers good prints for an unbeatable price, I wanted them to process my films. First, I tried to convince the staff to cross process my slide film, but they just told me, it would spoil the chemicals and would never work at all.
Writing “C-41” in the notes filed of a film roll didn’t work either.

Then, I thought about winding the film into a negative spool and then… Well, why should I wind the film into another spool, when I can simply exchange the spool’s label?
I started InDesign and created my own labels. (I have to admit that the design is not brilliant.) Until now, there were no complaints and every super market and every lab accepted the film (some regarded the spool curiously but it was fine).

“HIGH SATURATION” is a label made for films like Kodak’s Elite Chrome 100 that doesn’t shift colors that much.
“JUST RED” was created for films like Fuji’s Sensia 100
“MOODY BLUE” is for films that you expect to turn out blue, like Fuji’s Sensia 200 (Don’t worry about the label’s ISO.)

Affixing the labels
The trickiest part by far is the correct printing and affixing of the labels. That’s why you will have to be creative at this point and I can only describe you my way of doing this. I use white address labels by avery and then I have to hope that the printer works correctly. The shorter side of the film roll label should be 36mm (and the longer about 75mm). After cutting off the white stripes, you can take a black permanent marker and color the film roll’s edges. Since I am a bit superstitious, I always color the entire roll. Then you can carefully stick the label onto the roll.

If you want to download my labels in a higher resolution, here you go:
HIGH SATURATION, 24 Exp.
HIGH SATURATION, 36 Exp.
JUST RED, 24 Exp.
JUST RED, 36 Exp.
MOODY BLUE, 24 Exp.
MOODY BLUE, 36 Exp.

Print out as many as you like, give them away, do whatever you want with them!

written by floriansimon on 2010-06-27 #gear #tutorials #film #diy #slide #35mm #slide-film #cross #sticker #tipster #135 #x-pro #cross-process #labels #psuedo-c41