Unlike 35mm film, where the film is rewound into the light tight film cassette, 120 film is not rewound, but wound off onto the take up spool and protected with the end leader of paper which is then stuck down with a sticky tag until the photographer is ready to process the film. The spool that the film had just been wound off from now becomes the next take up spool.

For processing, the film still has to loaded in darkness, and the point where the paper and the film are taped has to be found and the two separated, as only the film is loaded and the paper backing is discarded. Don't develop the paper and discard the film!

As with 35mm film it pays to cut a bevel on the leading edge of the film to allow it to follow the spiral more easily. 120 film is harder to load than 35mm film because of the extended width, but one concession is that the film is a lot shorter and once started it takes less time to load than the smaller 35mm film.

The developing process is similar to 35mm film with the following exceptions..

• Because the film area is larger it is more susceptible to Bromide Drag and therefore needs more regular agitation. Also because the film has no sprocket holes and the image area extends right out to the edge, more care has to be taken with the initial stage to make sure that there are no air bells trapped along the edge of the film. Some photographers prefer to pre-wet the film with water at the right temperature before the developer is poured in to help eliminate this problem.

• Some photographers prefer using stainless steel reels for 120 film as there is less chance of air bells clinging to the edge. While these do solve that problem, they have to be loaded from the inside out and the film is put in place around the spiral by creating a curve across it until it falls in the slot between the wire, which can prove to be trying to learn.

• There is one other thing that is very important, and that is because the film is wider, it requires more quantity of solutions or a tide mark could be left on film where the developer was left lapping up the film. This is 500ml per film instead of 300ml. Read the charts in the film processing room for accurate information