Mounting that first roll...

[P3D Dr. George A. Themelis <fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A bit of advice for those who are ready to mount their first Realist-
format roll of slides:   
 
Establish a routine that will allow you to mount the film quickly and 
accurately.  First, and EXTREMELY important, reverse-roll to remove 
any curl.  Naturally, film tends to curl with the emulsion side in the
inside.  Accurate mounting becomes impossible if the film has a
strong curl and problematic even with minor curl.  24 hours tight
reverse rolling should do it. 

I first cut the entire roll matching the pairs.  I repeat the same
cutting and stacking procedure every time and I never and I never0
end up with a reverse pair.  However, for the first roll make sure 
that you mount the right picture in the right slide of the mount and 
the left picture in the left side!  This sounds intuitive, but...

I have witnessed cases where the entire roll was mounted reversed!
For an experienced 3-d photographer a pseudoscopic-mounted pair jumps 
out immediately (even though I have seen experienced people submit 
pseudo-mounted pictures in mail slide circuits and from the comments I  
realize that for many people the incorrect orientation is not obvious).  
If the picture looks kind of strange, try reversing it.  To remove all 
doubt you can use the "witness marks" that most cameras leave in one of 
the two chips.  Open your camera and look for a notch around the film 
aperture.  The shape and location of the notch identifies the camera 
and the correct chip orientation.  Also, make sure that you mount the 
chips with the emulsion side in the back.  Reversing the chips front 
to back results in a pseudo-pair.
 
A large variety of mounts is available, cardboard slip-ins, cardboard 
heat or tape seal, alumininum, plastic (RBT), etc.  Try and get a 
sample of each type of mount and see what you like.  I personally use 
Albion mounts and here is how I do it:

First I wash a batch of 100 mounts at a time in water and soap to 
remove the oils from manufacturing.  To mount a slide you do *not* 
need to open the channels.  I slightly bend the mount and slide the 
chip in one side and then do the same for the other side.  I keep the 
channels in the back and wear gloves in my right hand only.  After 
both chips are in, I adjust their spacing by eyeballing the proper 
stereo window.  I push both chips down.  This assures vertical 
alignment.  I then view them in a viewer and adjust the window as 
needed by sliding the two mounts relative to each other (a pair of 
tweezers helps here).  I do not use a mounting gauge and I firmly 
believe that you can mount slides that come from a regular stereo 
camera with great accuracy without using a gauge.  Once I am happy 
with the location of the chips I use aluminum tape to tape the edges 
in front.  The aluminum tape will assure that there is no light leak 
in projection.   
 
I keep most of my slides mounted in bare Albion mounts.  These are 
stiffer than the EMDE mounts and I don't see the need for a stiffener.  
Slides that I distribute in the postal circuits (also expo) I protect 
by using a cardboard foldover.  I use black tape to tape the edges.  
If the slide means a lot to me then I use the thin plastic used by 
film processors sometimes to wrap uncut film.  I cut one piece in size 
and surround the aluminum mount before I put the foldover around it. 
 
For projection or extra protection I use glass.  I clean the glass and 
dust it off carefully.  In many cases it is hard to get rid of all the 
dust and some annoying specks can still be present, but those are not
seen in projection. 
 
It takes me about an hour to mount a 36 exp. roll in plain aluminun 
mounts. It takes longer to use additional foldovers or glass.

Now Jon Golden can give us tips on how to use RBT mounts and somebody
please give some tips on how to use the very popular cardboard heat-
seal mounts.  I have not "been sold" to RBT mounts yet because I am not 
very happy with the way they look through the viewer.  Once I start 
doing my own slide programs and especially if I ever buy an RBT proje$tor 
then I am sure I will use them in a regular basis for projection.  
 
George Themelis, happy owner of a Pentium 120 MHz computer.

Thanks to photo-3d members Tim Smith and Jim Motley, the installation 
was a breeze... A few details still need to be taken care of... like 
how do I keep the kids out of the computer so I can use it too... ;)


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