[LargeFormat] sheet film developing

[Curt Miller]

Rei wrote:

> on "hairy"'s suggestion, i tried out the combi tank.
>
> my first results were good, except that i was overzealous
> during agitation and the films slid out of their tracks.
> (fortunately i only did one on each side, so outside
> of a little scratching, the films were OK)
>
> you need to be a bit gentle when inverting these guys.

Have you tried the "low tech" tray method?  It really works better than
anything once you get the hang of it.

When I was five or six I wanted to learn how to develop film, so my dad gave
me a lightstruck roll of 120 and a Nikor reel and sent me into a dark closet
and told me I could develop the film once I learned how to put it on the
reel.  It took a long time and a lot of failed, frustrated attempts to get
the hang of it.  Forty-five years later, I won't use anything else.  I tried
to load a Patterson reel about three years ago for a friend.  I couldn't do
it.  After 1/2 hour I gave up.  Nikor is still better for rolls.  Tray is
still better for sheets (and doesn't take as long to learn as Nikor reels).
No matter what the contrarians will say about tray development ans scratches
or uneven development (maladies that only seem to affect the impatient),
tray development offers the most flexibility and least hassle.

Just my 2 cents,

Curt