How Do I Uncurl Film Negatives?

[Bert]

I have several very old - 50+ years - black and white film negatives 6 cm X 9 cm.
They are curled up very tightly into cylinders 2 cm in diameter. Any ideas on how I might get them flat so I could scan them?

[Old_Geezer]

Carefully ?

If they are brittle they may need specialist treatment, but if still flexible I think I'd put them under a heavy weight like a large book or two, and hope that'd encourage them to return to flat.

[KARL]

If they are literally stuck together, then unrolling the film may be a tricky process. If however the film will unroll but then springs back into the coiled position then the most likely method to get them into a more pliant condition is to wet them.

I suggest you take one film which you are least worried about and put it into clean tapwater at 20-25 degrees, say in a clean basin, and soak it for up to ten minutes. Then take the film out and clip it to anything whereby it can hang free - clip something onto the bottom end as a slight weight. Then allow the film to dry out in dust free conditions and you should have a fairly flat strip at the end.

[jomifl]

In theory they should unroll easily but if they have not been kept in a suitable environment it is possible that the gelatin may have adhered to the adjacent film. If they don't unroll easily use Karl's method.
Laying the unrolled (dry) film on the scanner with a white backing and held flat by a suitable bookj should do the trick.

[Wak]

I agree with Karl as films were always rinsed with clean water after being developed.
They are then hung up to dry naturally.

[Bert]

Thanks, all. The negatives are not stuck - they will unroll, but they are so springly I am unable to get them into the scanner. I'll try the warm water immersion, and let you know how I get on.

[jno]

they often came back from the chemist with a rubber band around them, which is probably why they're still rolled up.