Gel Storage Upgrade

tdtastic

Active Member
it's 2017 for God's sake. I'm so over manila file folders. There has GOT to be a better way of storing get cuts that is easy to peruse but won't turn into a giant mess!!! Someone out there has surely come up with a clever way to do this better, and I want to know how!

Also taking ideas for full-sheet storage as well, although a flat file cabinet is probably still the best for that...
 
proxy.php


Accordian style binders are nice for small storage.

Large sheets flat cabinets are nice but take up a lot of space. I generally just roll my gels back up into the tube they were sent in and mark the tube with what's in there.
 
What problem are you trying to solve, and how much gel are you trying to store? Hanging file folders in a cabinet does everything I've ever wanted my gel storage to do, I'm unclear about what the issues you have with them might be?
 
Hanging file folders in a 2-drawer file cabinet bolted to a caster board. Rosco/Gam in top drawer, Lee/Apollo in bottom.

File folders sorted either numerically or in the same order as the swatch book. Dealer's choice. One color per folder.

Swatch book from each MFR tethered to the side of the cabinet.
 
Hanging file folders in a 2-drawer file cabinet bolted to a caster board. Rosco/Gam in top drawer, Lee/Apollo in bottom.

File folders sorted either numerically or in the same order as the swatch book. Dealer's choice. One color per folder.

Swatch book from each MFR tethered to the side of the cabinet.
Dealer's can choose whatever they want, but it's an undisputed fact that people who sort rosco numericly are the worst kind of people,
 
it's 2017 for God's sake. I'm so over manila file folders. There has GOT to be a better way of storing get cuts that is easy to peruse but won't turn into a giant mess!!! Someone out there has surely come up with a clever way to do this better, and I want to know how!

Also taking ideas for full-sheet storage as well, although a flat file cabinet is probably still the best for that...
@tdtastic Two comments, one for full sheets and the second for cuts.
For full sheets. First off, I was in what you'd call "a regional" at the time and decided to stock Roscolux in depth and little else. My plan was to keep two full sheets of every color of Roscolux plus Lee 201 and 202 due to demand. By keeping cuts organized, having two full sheets in stock was generally enough. To store the sheets, it took less floor space to store them rolled in approximately 4" internal diameter tubes and still kept them all instantly accessible and easy to quickly scan for restocking. I made friends with a local carpeting store and was able to get their used cardboard cores when they were finished with them. They saved their empty cores to roll up carpet cuts for installations but eventually cores, normally 12' long, would get broken and then they'd come my way where I was cutting them into lengths only slightly longer than the width of a sheet of Roscolux. Using 1" x 3" pine assembled with pneumatic nails and glue, I built open racks to support the cardboard tubes. I stored the tubes 10 wide by 12 high occupying a good hunk of wall in our dimmer room but comparatively little floor. I labelled the inside of one end of every tube with Brady high contrast black on yellow adhesive backed labels. This gave me 110 tubes for Roscolux and 10 across the bottom shelf for a few Lee colors and the odd GAM color that some "designer" just couldn't live without. I'm sure you've never met the type: Designers where the entire success of their design hinged upon having a color only available from GAM or Furse, or Rosco's Roscolar range.
When it came to storing cuts, I waited until local election time and then made it known I wanted every election poster I could collect if they were in re-usable condition. I lucked out. One candidate had ordered two skids of lawn-sized blanks cut from 1/8" thick Masonite pre-finished with matte white on one side AND THEN opted to pull out of the election BEFORE having his blank signs painted and used. A couple of hours at the table saw and radial arm saw got me more rigid separators than I needed. Next came a three drawer high by one drawer wide deep file cabinet bolted to a 1-1/2" plywood base with very good Darnell casters and I had three drawers of convenient gel files which occupied little floor space, fit in either of the handi-capped elevators and took up little wing space on production weeks between productions. The white pre-painted 1/8" Masonite was heavy and occupied file space but it was rigid and didn't collapse and roll under like the old, non-hanging, Manilla folders did. White side forward + black Sharpies equaled instant labelling. Unlabelled dividers at the rear, label up a fresh divider every time a designer called up a color we hadn't used before. Top two drawers were Roscolux with oddities in the bottom drawer. Worked well for me while I was there.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 
It's 2017 for God's sake. I'm so over manila file folders. There has GOT to be a better way of storing get cuts that is easy to peruse but won't turn into a giant mess!!!...
There is a better way...

Someone out there has surely come up with a clever way to do this better, and I want to know how!...
...switch to LED.

Yes it's 2017, and I never would have said the above ten, or even five, years ago. The nostalgic part of me even regrets saying it now.
See also https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/schemes-for-itinerant-gel-storage.17730/ .
 
There is a better way...
...switch to LED.
Yes it's 2017, and I never would have said the above ten, or even five, years ago. The nostalgic part of me even regrets saying it now.
See also https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/schemes-for-itinerant-gel-storage.17730/ .

I never thought I'd agree. We have a ton of s4's sitting in our shop and sure they go out on rentals every now and then, but its one or two here and there for something. All of the rest of our LED gear is out of the shop on gigs 90% of the time and its our first choice for any job we do. We still have gel but it only ever gets touched once a month or so, and I don't think we've sold any. We're finally getting to that tipping point.
 
For cut gel I prefer a lateral filing cabinet like this: https://www.costco.com/HON-700-Series-36"W-4-Drawer-Lateral-File-Charcoal-.product.11129212.html Check your local government auctions and craigslist.

For sheets I'm going to echo Ron and say that tube based storage is the way to go. Flat files are the worst. I've made several over the years and am in the process of designing my latest that will have 200 slots. I use vinyl downspout tubing like this one made only from tubes and gaff tape.
 

Attachments

  • 1264019_10100739979407520_190439462_o.jpg
    1264019_10100739979407520_190439462_o.jpg
    75.4 KB · Views: 328
For cut gel I prefer a lateral filing cabinet like this: https://www.costco.com/HON-700-Series-36"W-4-Drawer-Lateral-File-Charcoal-.product.11129212.html Check your local government auctions and craigslist.

For sheets I'm going to echo Ron and say that tube based storage is the way to go. Flat files are the worst. I've made several over the years and am in the process of designing my latest that will have 200 slots. I use vinyl downspout tubing like this one made only from tubes and gaff tape.
@LWTelectrics In the fifties / sixties era when gel was Cinemoid, more rigid and prone to cracking and breaking, storing sheets flat made far more sense but once color media became thinner and far more flexible / plyable / resilient, storing it loosely rolled into tubes became more feasible and occupied far less floor space. I cut my tubes to be a little longer than the width of sheets so the sheets could remain totally protected within the tubes rather than suffering edge damage from having their nether ends slammed against the wall.
New England, not to be confused with England, I guess that means I still ought to spell color without a 'U' in it.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 
Why worry about cuts--just store full sheets. The cuts are probably either faded out or burned out after a show anyway - scrap 'em. (C.O.D.B.)* As to full sheets, if you're the LD, you probably have 15-20 colors you use for 98% of your work, so designate a drawer in your drawing cabinet, right under all you plans (you do have a drawing cabinet, right?), and put a few sheets of each of your favorites in paper folders, marked w/#s, in it.

If you're one of those houses which thinks you have to have 3 of everything available for everybody who comes in the door, DON'T. Either tell 'em to bring their own or you'll be happy to order what they need--for (say) $$/sheet. (What's a going price/sheet nowadays? When I was doing this, gel was $0.30 and Cinabex was $1.25.)

* Cost Of Doing Business
 
I think I have cuts of Rosco from 25 years ago. When you do one-off’s a cut of R34 doesn’t burn out. So I guess my Gel is older then some of the crew, yuk, yuk.

As to storage, filing cabinets with Manila file folders has worked just fine for a few years. Easy to add color when needed.
 
I think I have cuts of Rosco from 25 years ago. When you do one-off’s a cut of R34 doesn’t burn out. So I guess my Gel is older then some of the crew, yuk, yuk.

As to storage, filing cabinets with Manila file folders has worked just fine for a few years. Easy to add color when needed.
@SteveB How many cuts of Roscolene 827 are you still holding onto? As to your Manila folders, I always preferred the hanging variety as they didn't fold down and under.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 
@SteveB How many cuts of Roscolene 827 are you still holding onto? As to your Manila folders, I always preferred the hanging variety as they didn't fold down and under.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

I like your hanging folder idea, but don’t think I’ll switch now. Hopefully about 160+ ETC LED fixtures, plus another 30 or so Elations in our facility by next year.
 
Just wondering, has anyone tried split gel tricks with gobos in color mixing LED ERS.
 
@SteveB How many cuts of Roscolene 827 are you still holding onto? As to your Manila folders, I always preferred the hanging variety as they didn't fold down and under.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

I like your hanging folder idea, but don’t think I’ll switch now. Hopefully about 160+ ETC LED fixtures, plus another 30 or so Elations in our facility by next year.

We do both, each color gets a hanging folder, and then inside that are 4 manila folders, one for 6.25", 7.5", 10", and spots.
 
We do both, each color gets a hanging folder, and then inside that are 4 manila folders, one for 6.25", 7.5", 10", and spots.
@techieman33 I'll admit to being SO ANAL as to be able to keep the various sizes stacked in order from smallest at the front to largest at the rear without any additional folders within the hangers. I'd even take large cuts with severe burns and save them for smaller sized 1/2 and 1/4 splits. Pesonally, I'm loving @JohnD 's query Re: the use of splits with gobos in LED ellipsoidals. I can hardly wait, this oughta be fun.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back