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Thread: Jobo ULF drums

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Oct 2001
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    Paris, France
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    273

    Jobo ULF drums

    Has anyone here ever seen or used the Jobo ULF film drums? If so could you talk about your experience with these? The Adorama website currently lists these as the Jobo 3027 (for 11x14), and the 3028 (for 16x20), but they don't seem to be available new any longer. Would you happen to know where I might find one or two ("the famous auction site" notwithstanding!)?

    Secondly, I sure would appreciate hearing comments from anyone who has done dip 'n' dunk processing of 11x14" film. What were some of your difficulties? What equipment did you use? Any hints or tips? If you developed several sheets at once, how did you wash them adequately without scratching them?

    Thanks for any input.


  2. #2

    Jobo ULF drums

    I was fortunate enough to have acquired a set of polycarbonate inserts for 11x14 and 12x20 that fit in JOBO print drums (3062 and 3063) before they became discontinued. They work great BUT you can only do one sheet at a time. Darkroom work takes on a whole dimension using this procedure as it redefines the word "commitment". Using multiples of ULF sheet film in print drums loose can be problematic and nothing pains a person trying to stretch a LF dollar more than throwing an expensive sheet in the garbage can when it gets rendered useless.

    The biggest dip and dunk system I have found to utilize has been 8x10 and that took 3.5 gallons of chemistry per tank. I cannot imagine what a 11x14 system would entail.

    If I were in your shoes I would seriously consider two options. 1) Stand development with highly dilute Pyrocat HD or Rodinal in PVC tubes. You can purchase the appropriate sized tubes and the caps at the hardware store and you are good to go. You must presoak in water for 5 minutes and development is a breeze. Development times can be over an hour and agitation is simply inverting the tube that stands on its end a couple of times every 15-20 minutes. 2) Tray development with a modern scratch resistant film like the T Max 400 that is being offered as a pre-sale at J&C's web site (hint hint). I have developed six sheets of ULF film in one shot in trays and it simply works.

    Cheers!

  3. #3
    Moderator
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
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    8,640

    Jobo ULF drums

    I have the 3062 and 3063 drums without the inserts, and have done some very preliminary experiments, developing 3 sheets of 7x17 in the 3063 and 2 sheets of 11x14 in the 3062, using the ribs in the walls of the drum to retain the sheets in place. Developer was straight D-76, 24 ounces for the 7x17s and 16 ounces for the 11x14s. Initial 11x14 results were fine. On the 7x17s the image development was fine, but there were a few small patches where the antihalation dye didn't fully clear, presumably because of pressure points between the film and the drum where the solution didn't circulate adequately. Not sure yet what I'll try next to fix that - wet loading has been suggested, but I'm reluctant to try that if I can avoid it, both because of the logistical complication and because the film I currently have in stock for 7x17 - Forte 400 - is reputed to be somewhat fragile in wet handling.

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