Hello and 126 Film Resurrection Project

Hello all,

This is my first post here on Photrio, however I have been lurking here for a few years. I'm a senior year industrial design student and have been shooting, developing, and experimenting with film for a little over 2 years. I'm always looking for new photography projects so I've researched and played around with a bunch of different processes and formats, from traditional 35mm to tintypes, pinhole photography, direct positives, camera/lens building and more!

One of my recent ongoing projects involves reviving 126 film for a sort of ultra-small scale production run. I have reloaded old 126 cartridges with 35mm film and am familiar with the Fakmatic but I've never been satisfied with the results or experience of using either. To me, something identical to the original experience of using 126 film is ideal.

My original intention was to have the cartridge be manufactured from molded paper or laser-cut thin cardboard and I ideated in that direction for a while, however the cartridges were never satisfactory in terms of durability, light-tightedness, or ease of manufacture/loading so my current approach is to use a 3D-printed cartridge (this is the same way the Fakmatic is made). I designed the cartridge based on measurements from an original Kodak 126 cartridge with some alterations made to make it easier to 3D print as well as work better with my film/backing paper system.

Which brings me to the film and backing paper! In order to not waste film, my process involves slitting 120 film in half, creating two ~31mm strips of unperforated film. This gives just enough room for the ~28mm tall image created by 126 cameras. Frame registration is done completely with the backing paper. The system works very well, the only issue being the skill/time required to load the cartridge however I'm hoping to automate/semi-automate it soon.

My goal is to provide essentially completely new 126 cartridges, loaded with film, on a small scale for a price that is reasonable. I think it would be cool to offer the original 100 speed color negative film along with other film speeds and black & white. The film will be able to be developed at home on altered Patterson reels or by a company that does dip-and-dunk processing, such as TheDarkroom.

I'm very near the point where I would like to begin testing the cartridges on a larger scale, with as wide a variety of 126 cameras as possible. I'm posting this to gauge interest and see if a few 126 film enthusiasts would like to help me "field test" these 126 cartridges I've developed.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I would appreciate any advice you can give. I can post pictures/progress if enough people show interest! Apologies if this is not posted in the correct place!

There is no need to waste already packed 120 films by cutting it. You can order big (several hundred meters) roll of film in almost any width (e.g. from Foma Bohemia). There are guys who bulk load 120/220 films from such custom cut roll. This would lower the price of the basic material. As far as I know the price is approx.1/2 when comparing it with final packed 120 film then.

Don't the 126 cameras use a notch/sprocket hole in the film to engage the film stop?

Stanislav Boščík said:

There is no need to waste already packed 120 films by cutting it. You can order big (several hundred meters) roll of film in almost any width (e.g. from Foma Bohemia). There are guys who bulk load 120/220 films from such custom cut roll. This would lower the price of the basic material. As far as I know the price is approx.1/2 when comparing it with final packed 120 film then.

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This is great information, thank you! Do you know if this is available in color negative format?

John Koehrer said:

Don't the 126 cameras use a notch/sprocket hole in the film to engage the film stop?

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Absolutely correct! I should have been more clear when I talked about frame registration. Traditionally with 126, there is a sprocket hole for every frame in the actual film base and then a slot through the backing paper. I've found that even though my 31mm film doesn't make it all the way to where the registration pin would be, the slot in the backing paper works just as well to engage the film stop. I will definitely have to test how reliable it is but it has been surprisingly effective so far!

Edit: Here are some pictures to give some context--



Original Kodak cartridge on the left, mine on the right, the white color is only for this prototype.


The cartridge in the camera with the back piece removed and custom backing paper in place. You can see the registration holes near the upper edge, they are about twice the size the should be at the moment as that is the only hole punch I have.


The backing paper advanced to the point that it has activated the film stop for frame "8".

Additional images of the cartridge in the camera:


And here is what the negatives look like:

Interesting, and your indexing is better than mine was. It looks nice and like you put a lot of work into it.
There are a few threads on this forum where we discuss reloading our own.

I think some people might prefer to be able to use 35mm reels as that would leave more options for development. Someone wanting a 126 cassette made for them may not be willing to take on modification of a reel, so they would be limited on what services could be accommodating.

My next experiment will be to use backing paper that isn't quite as high as the film, and only perforating the film. I'm not sure how much that risks light leaks. I found it too difficult to keep the paper and film indexing holes lined up, but I'm an amateur at this.

Fun project. I had a wind up motor winder Instamatic as a kid, pretty sure it would shred paper.

I visited Kodak Park in Rochester when I was 12 years old. I remember seeing a huge number of injection molding machines making cartridges, camera parts etc.

Truzi said:

Interesting, and your indexing is better than mine was. It looks nice and like you put a lot of work into it.
There are a few threads on this forum where we discuss reloading our own.

I think some people might prefer to be able to use 35mm reels as that would leave more options for development. Someone wanting a 126 cassette made for them may not be willing to take on modification of a reel, so they would be limited on what services could be accommodating.

My next experiment will be to use backing paper that isn't quite as high as the film, and only perforating the film. I'm not sure how much that risks light leaks. I found it too difficult to keep the paper and film indexing holes lined up, but I'm an amateur at this.

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Glad to see more people trying it! I agree about the reels however I know a large amount use services like TheDarkroom to develop which I believe would have no problem developing it. Perhaps some sort of low cost adapter for existing reels would be a good solution, I'll have to think on it!

And I believe you shouldn't have a problem with light leaks as long as its not too short, I think the cartridge does a pretty good job of keeping a lot of light out. Good luck!

mshchem said:

Fun project. I had a wind up motor winder Instamatic as a kid, pretty sure it would shred paper.

I visited Kodak Park in Rochester when I was 12 years old. I remember seeing a huge number of injection molding machines making cartridges, camera parts etc.

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I've actually seen a wind up instamatic just like that at my local camera shop! I have a pretty good relationship with the owner so I'll have to ask if I could test my prototypes on it!

And that's an awesome story! Must have been super inspiring as a kid!

You might be able to 3D print an adjustable half for a Paterson-style reel. Personally I would develop myself, and have standardized on stainless, but a lot of people like the plastic reels.

I have my fathers Kodak Instamatic 414 & Grandmother's Minolta Autopak (500 I think). The 414 has the wind-up advance, but there is something shutter-related I need to fix (a molded plastic retaining "pin" for a spring broke). They are fun cameras.

I have to echo some of the above comments. I think if you are planning on going into commercial production (even small scale) 35mm wide film would be greatly advantageous. I would think that 31mm wide film would turn off some potential clients as it is not something that all commercial labs would be willing to develop, nor would those who home develop be willing to modify reels. Unperforated 35mm film is available, and if demand is high enough can be custom ordered or non-perforated 70mm film could be slit.

Could you elaborate on your backing paper situation? Is it also custom made or are you re-using old backing paper? Some backing papers did not have holes and instead had much longer slots which could create frame spacing issues if you are re-using.

Brockley said:

This is great information, thank you! Do you know if this is available in color negative format?

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No color film from Foma I am afraid. I have heard that Ilford was open to selling custom cut rolls but it required personal contact in the UK and those guys passed. But this is not helping with color either...

Truzi said:

You might be able to 3D print an adjustable half for a Paterson-style reel. Personally I would develop myself, and have standardized on stainless, but a lot of people like the plastic reels.

I have my fathers Kodak Instamatic 414 & Grandmother's Minolta Autopak (500 I think). The 414 has the wind-up advance, but there is something shutter-related I need to fix (a molded plastic retaining "pin" for a spring broke). They are fun cameras.

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Hunter_Compton said:

I have to echo some of the above comments. I think if you are planning on going into commercial production (even small scale) 35mm wide film would be greatly advantageous. I would think that 31mm wide film would turn off some potential clients as it is not something that all commercial labs would be willing to develop, nor would those who home develop be willing to modify reels. Unperforated 35mm film is available, and if demand is high enough can be custom ordered or non-perforated 70mm film could be slit.

Could you elaborate on your backing paper situation? Is it also custom made or are you re-using old backing paper? Some backing papers did not have holes and instead had much longer slots which could create frame spacing issues if you are re-using.

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Just wanted to say I really appreciate all of this feedback, its very helpful! Any good resources for unperforated 35mm film? I have only ever seen it as ultra-low ISO B&W film personally. And yes I can expand on the backing paper! At the moment I have both reused old backing paper and (albeit limitedly) used a custom made backing paper, which is the one shown in the previous pictures! The old backing paper I used was just as you described, with longer slots, and it had no problem with spacing of frames, surprisingly!

Stanislav Boščík said:

No color film from Foma I am afraid. I have heard that Ilford was open to selling custom cut rolls but it required personal contact in the UK and those guys passed. But this is not helping with color either...

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Ah darn! I definitely am interested in black and white as an option, however C41 color is my main focus as that was the original most popular format for 126.

Another update!

First I thought I would post some of my earlier cardboard prototypes as I think you all will find them interesting even though they are not relevant at the moment.



Now onto the current prototype - hot off the printer!



Below are an original cassette on the left, first print in the middle, and current print (now with printed spool as well) on the right. The next one will be printed with black filament, I promise!


Here it is loaded with the 31mm film and custom backing paper:


And here it is in a Kodak Instamatic 104:


It advances nicely and the film stop seems to always work, however winding is a bit tight at times, will have to work on tolerances a bit but its going well!

126 film is 35mm wide (as is 828). Any unperforated 35mm would work, sadly the only common 35mm unperforated still available is microfilm but it can be made to work. Now just dream up a punch that will do all 12-20 frames at a time and you are good to go.

One thing I did, which I don't think consumers would like, is not use backing paper. I glued a piece where it would be when the frame was exposed, just to keep the spacing and block the window, and simply kept track of my exposures with a sticky note.

darkroommike said:

126 film is 35mm wide (as is 828). Any unperforated 35mm would work, sadly the only common 35mm unperforated still available is microfilm but it can be made to work. Now just dream up a punch that will do all 12-20 frames at a time and you are good to go.

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It seems like sticking with the standard 35mm will be the way to go moving forward, however sourcing unperforated 35mm, especially in color negative, and for a viable price, will be the big challenge. A first batch could be done with B&W if it seems like there is interest. The only micro film I have seen is incredibly low ISO, so low to make it impractical in an Instamatic camera. If there was an ~100 ISO microfilm that would be ideal but it might just make more sense at that point to cut down wide rolls of uncut film stock.

Another option is Kodak Portra 160NC 70mm unperforated which is available cold stored in 100 ft rolls. I could slice it in half, but I can only find it in one place and with, it looks like, only one roll left.

Truzi said:

One thing I did, which I don't think consumers would like, is not use backing paper. I glued a piece where it would be when the frame was exposed, just to keep the spacing and block the window, and simply kept track of my exposures with a sticky note.

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I had considered that, however I feel like the number appearing in the window on the back of the cartridge is a large part of the experience that I wouldn't want to remove. But perhaps there's another system I could integrate into the cassette to make a number appear for every exposure.

Stanislav Boščík said:

There is no need to waste already packed 120 films by cutting it. You can order big (several hundred meters) roll of film in almost any width (e.g. from Foma Bohemia). There are guys who bulk load 120/220 films from such custom cut roll. This would lower the price of the basic material. As far as I know the price is approx.1/2 when comparing it with final packed 120 film then.

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I'd love to find a source for bulk 120 film. Their website is not so helpful...know anyone that's done this?

Cholentpot said:

I'd love to find a source for bulk 120 film. Their website is not so helpful...know anyone that's done this?

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There was personal contact of one guy in Czech darkroom forum. He also advertised this option on FB but I couldn't find it now. I have sent him a message... Hope he answers soon.

Stanislav Boščík said:

There was personal contact of one guy in Czech darkroom forum. He also advertised this option on FB but I couldn't find it now. I have sent him a message... Hope he answers soon.

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Is it the Svema guy in Ukraine? I wonder if he gets his film from Foma...

Stanislav Boščík said:

There was personal contact of one guy in Czech darkroom forum. He also advertised this option on FB but I couldn't find it now. I have sent him a message... Hope he answers soon.

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This is very helpful, thank you! Even a run of BW 126 film would be exciting. It would also be interesting to bring back even older roll film formats that I know are only available from FilmForClassics.

As a small update, unfortunately as I'm sure you all know many US universities, including mine, are operating at significantly reduced capacity due to the virus. I still have access to our design studio however everything is up in the air at the moment so I'm not sure how much progress I will be able to make in the coming weeks. I will be working with the prototypes I have to test backing papers and frame registration with a 35mm width.

I have also found on eBay a larger source of cold stored 70mm Portra 160NC which when cut into the lengths required for a 24 exposure roll of 126 would work out to less than $3 per roll. About 85 126 cartridges could be made from 1 100 ft roll. This may be the best path for the color film option.

Brockley said:

The only micro film I have seen is incredibly low ISO, so low to make it impractical in an Instamatic camera. If there was an ~100 ISO microfilm that would be ideal but it might just make more sense at that point to cut down wide rolls of uncut film stock.

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I've shot Agfa Copex Rapid at EI 80 with good results, but to get that high you need a developer like H&W Control -- phenidone based, speed increasing, but low contrast. A formula that would have gotten Tech Pan to EI 50 should work, as Copex Rapid is EI 32 even with Rodinal 1:100 stand developed. EI 80 will work in an Instamatic -- that's the same speed as the Kodacolor that was available when 126 was the big consumer format (before 110, and then auto-loading 135).

Pretty sure either Kodak or Fuji would be all too happy to cut you master roll quantities of unperfed 35 mm -- perhaps even pre-perf it with 28 mm spacing -- if you're willing to buy a whole master roll. Shouldn't cost any more than your house...

Donald Qualls said:

Pretty sure either Kodak or Fuji would be all too happy to cut you master roll quantities of unperfed 35 mm -- perhaps even pre-perf it with 28 mm spacing -- if you're willing to buy a whole master roll. Shouldn't cost any more than your house...

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Not necessarily, Ilford normally does their ULF order in spring for large format roll and custom work. As long as you, or you and enough other people are willing to take a full cut off a master roll, they will cut that width for you. Last year they had weird sizes of HP5 available, may be too fast for this application?

Here's the info for last year:
https://www.ilfordphoto.com/ulf-custom-specialist-film-manufacture-2019/

Doing some math off their price sheet it seems like a minimum order for them to cut a custom size off the master roll is 1150ft, 50ft roll x 23 roll order minimum.

Brockley said:

This is very helpful, thank you! Even a run of BW 126 film would be exciting. It would also be interesting to bring back even older roll film formats that I know are only available from FilmForClassics.

As a small update, unfortunately as I'm sure you all know many US universities, including mine, are operating at significantly reduced capacity due to the virus. I still have access to our design studio however everything is up in the air at the moment so I'm not sure how much progress I will be able to make in the coming weeks. I will be working with the prototypes I have to test backing papers and frame registration with a 35mm width.

I have also found on eBay a larger source of cold stored 70mm Portra 160NC which when cut into the lengths required for a 24 exposure roll of 126 would work out to less than $3 per roll. About 85 126 cartridges could be made from 1 100 ft roll. This may be the best path for the color film option.

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You can contact this guy via email oteccasu at seznam dot cz. He is eager to distribute more rolls!

Cholentpot said:

Is it the Svema guy in Ukraine? I wonder if he gets his film from Foma...

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No connections here I am quite sure.

Stanislav Boščík said:

No connections here I am quite sure.

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I just emailed him. Lets see what happens.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, is is not possible to simply make a set of molds from an existing Kodak cassette and just do it the way they did it? Redoing 126 on a practical small scale operation IS possible, A machine could be made to punch the registration sprockets properly and meter the right length of film. Cost is a huge factor. Remember very few decent cameras were ever made for 126, most were cheap instamatics. Don’t get me wrong, my second camera was an X15 and I absolutely loved it. I still have it and IF 126 was cheap and easy would use it on occasion. But, overall, there will never be anyone consuming this individually to any great degree. You sell a roll here, a roll there. On the other hand.....get GOOD at it and gear up with the right bulk film, slitter and puncher. Source backing paper in bulk. Have the cassettes made overseas somewhere dirt cheap. Put it all together and wholesale it to BH for $5 a roll. If you can cut your costs to $1 per roll to make, you’re going to do well. Do it all at home in a converted garage/darkwork shop, with Mozart playing (not too loud). Good Luck with the Project!!