I have heard old time photographers and newbies alike swear to the professional quality and unmatched superiority of both steel and plastic reels. This is just such a ridiculous argument that I will end NOW once and for all. Who is right you ask? Answer…(drum roll please) BOTH. Once again the choice (and choice is good) is yours based on your working style. Just let it be known that most mid-size labs run Jobos or similar processors for their 135 and 120 films and guess what those machines use: PLASTIC reels. Steel reels are great especially if you are willing to buy good ones like Hewes but plastic is hard to beat if you are on a budget. I personally find plastic easier to use as it does not bend and loads very quickly- cleanup is also a snap. I have both in our studio and use them interchangeably so there you have it…you pick which one you like and lets now have a discussion about something important like what your work is really about.