Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: A drum developer?

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jul 2000
    Posts
    11

    A drum developer?

    I would like some suggestions for a 4x5 developing drum. I had used trays and r acks in a tank in the past but I don't have access to that particular darkroom s pace anymore.

  2. #2

    A drum developer?

    I have switched back to tray development (by inspection), but in the past I used the "poor-man's JOBO", processing four 4 X 5's two 5 X 7's or one 8 X 10 in a Beseler or Unicolor daylight print drum with 125 ml's of solution using either a Beseler or Unicolor motor base. Since I have ceased doing this, if you are interested, you could have one of my bases and two or three drums for a nominal amount plus shipping.

    The system is cheap and effective but of course you can't process as many sheets at a time as you can with tray or tank processing and with 8 X 10 at least, you have to be cautious as you can get uneven development. I never had that problem with 5 X 7 or 4 X 5, don't ask me why. You can rinse, hypo-clear and wash the film in the tank, provided you use the plastic spacer thingies to keep the back side of the film off the tank sides.

    If you can't do it that way or it makes you uncomfortable for archival reasons, you can remove the film from the tank, but you must be careful to avoid scratching the emulsion.

    It uses very little chemistry and space but takes more time. It's also handy to have a hair dryer to hand to speed drying of the tanks.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Jan 1998
    Posts
    262

    A drum developer?

    Just to add to Sean's comment, I have never had uneven developing problems doing 2 8x10s at a time in the Beseler 11x14 drum with a liter of developer. I use Rodinal which lends itself to high volume/high dilution of developer. Perhaps that assists in preventing uneven development. I don't know. But it works for me.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Nov 1998
    Posts
    93

    A drum developer?

    Check out the BTZS Film Tubes here. I really like them. Have fun.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Nov 1998
    Posts
    339

    A drum developer?

    I use the Unicolor print drums for 4x5 and 8x10; they work fine.

    Note that if you want to develop more than two sheets in the 8x10 drum (for 4x 5) you must have the little rubber divider to keep the sheets from sliding toget her and overlapping.

    I take the film out of the drums and wash them in a tray.

    Although I haven't had any problem at all with unevenness, Fred Newman has not ed that D-76 1:3 was the best developer he found for good evenness and lack of s treaking for the mammoth formats.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Dec 1999
    Posts
    195

    A drum developer?

    Not the cheapest solution but one that works. I use a Jobo 2500 drum and the insert kit for 4x5 negs. I use the tank on a Uniroller. I can do a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 12 negs. I use for the latter TmaxRS A+B as my stock. That I dilute 1:9. I use a total of 900ml water + decveloper. I prewet the film for 5 minutes at correct temp and then [proceed. The negas are developed evenly. Note: I only do B/W. Ihave compared this method to using a Jobo processor and according to prints I've made, and neg density I have measured, I find no significant differences. Bob

Similar Threads

  1. Ideal film/developer-drum scanning B&W Landscapes
    By Jack Brady in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 38
    Last Post: 23-Mar-2010, 12:08
  2. Drum Scan 4X5 to 200 MB or 300 MB?
    By John Hollenberg in forum Digital Hardware
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 25-Dec-2004, 11:08
  3. Developer Drum Sources
    By John Z. in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 23-Dec-2004, 14:14
  4. Pyrocat HD or other developer for drum processing
    By jonathan smith in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 27-Sep-2004, 14:40
  5. Film/developer/paper/developer combination
    By Sal Santamaura in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 31-May-2004, 21:53

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •