>>3250260The process is detailed here:
>>3248863 I’ll flesh it out a bit in a way that answers your questions specifically:
You use a guillotine cutter to cut the negative, emulsion side up, against the rubber gripping slat. I would always measure the dimensions, and then double check with a spent piece of factory cut film as a template. As the blade grips the paper and pulls it back out over the edge of the guillotine’s ur face very slightly while cutting, I would always undershoot my cut by tiny, tiny fractions of an inch.
The film is orthochromatic. As long as you don’t take fucking hours, you’re safe under a redlight. You need to check your redlight type, though. Not all redlights are safe with orthochromatic films, and not all x-ray films are so perfectly orthochromatic that you won’t get fogging. Again, check the spec sheets. Check your bulb’s specs.
Using EB/RA and a Junior brand (?) safelight, I had no significant fogging in under an hour of work. It’ll take you a few tries to get fast enough to pump out dozens in an hour.
Always load while you’re cutting, so you can double check your cuts. Sometimes you’ll be a little off, and that’s okay. Lastly, wear cotton gloves like you would when scanning negs, so that you avoid leaving evidence of your filthy corporeal form on the pristine halide-impregnated acetate.
