[LargeFormat] sheet film developing

[Richard Knoppow]

----- Original Message -----
From: "rstein" <rstein@bigpond.net.au>
To: <largeformat@f32.net>
Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2002 4:57 PM
Subject: Re: [LargeFormat] sheet film developing


> Dear Rei,
>
>      I have used the following at various times:
>
> 1.     Yankee-Doran bakelite tank
> 2.    HP Combiplan tank
> 3.    3 plastic Decor tubs from the grocery store
> 4.    A garbage bin
> 5.     BTZS tubes
>
>     The Yankee tank is well-built, historical, and holds
12 sheets of film.
> But I found it impossible by any practical means to get
adequate agitation
> to get even film development. And it is aessentailly an
unsealed ank - no
> inversion.
>
>     The HP Combiplan is slow to fill but if you have it
prepared with the
> developer in it and just plop the loaded rack into it and
snap on the top,
> you can continue on as if it were a standard ank. It takes
30 seconds to
> empty so leave that time in your calculations. It can leak
sometimes, so
> watch it with colour materials.
>
>     The 3 plastic tubs are 2 litre size and were selected
to fit the HP
> Combiplan rack. I have them suspended in a Jobo TBE2
tempering box. Using
> rubber gloves and a modicum of caution I can process C41
without involving
> my fingertips. 2 litres is a lot of chemistry out of a 5
litre kit, however,
> and the system is still open at the top. And it is all
dark in the darkroom.
>
>     The garbage bin was really just a desperate measure
when I was attacked
> by mylar-based aero film and had to defend myself. I still
have the scars
> but as I have gotten older I find it harder to attract the
attention of
> young ladies in bars with offers to show them. I blame
this on the apathy of
> youth.
>
>     The Btzs tubes are fun when I want to do 1 or 2 sheets
fast. Fill the
> cups, load the films, shake, roll,drop it into a jug of
fixer when the dev
> time is done, and then extract the sheet when it is fixed.
The fact that the
> anti-halation dye on the back of some films is hard to
remove when the fixer
> does not get round the back is a pain - you will end up
soaking the sheets
> in more fixer to clean things up. I think someone at Kodak
won a bet with
> that dye coating - who could keep the darkroom workers
after school longest.
>
>     Now - I HAVE ordered  Jobo sheet film reels and a
loader and will try
> that alternative for the colour work. A full report will
follow whenever it
> is trialed. I daresay it will work.
>
>      Uncle Dick
>
>
>
  wrastling aero film may be the next TV hit.
  Anti-halation dye is ususally decolorized by the
developer. While fixer will eventually do it a mild alkali
bath will generally decolorize it within a few seconds. If
nothing else is available some working strength Dektol will
do the trick.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@ix.netcom.com