4x5 single sheet developing... best method?

[thart2009]

Still a newbie in the larger formats. I want to experiment with different developers and wonder what might be the best method for developing single sheets (1 or 2) of 4x5 film... rather than filling the whole tank up with 1000ml of solution. Any suggestions are helpful. Thanks.. Tom

[Louie Powell]

If you are only doing one sheet, then a tray is the simplest answer. I have a number of 4x5 and 5x7 trays that work just fine. Put the film in emulsion side up, and agitate by rocking the tray - no scratching.

If you are doing two sheets, you can shuffle in an open tray - minimum 5x7 for 4x5 film. There is a risk of scratching, but with only two sheets, it's possible (not guaranteed) that you can avoid scratching by simply being careful. In my experience, however, as the number of sheets increases, so does the risk of scratching.

I have a two-sheet slosher that fits in an 8x10 tray. With sloshers, there is no risk of scratching at all, and development is very consistent. But with an 8x10 tray, you will need a bit more solution. That's not a big economic penalty, but it could be a consideration.

[Joanna Carter]

If you don't have a darkroom, then try to get yourself a Paterson Orbital processor.

[Eric Woodbury]

I'd use a tube. There is only ever one sheet in a tube so the development is always the same. Doing more sheets is just more tubes. With other techniques, you can get variation as more sheets changes agitation or loads the developer differently.

There are BZTS tubes, but I made my own from ABS pipe, caps, and couplings. 2.5 inch diameter and I can do 4x5 and 5x7. Get caps that are flat so the tubes can stand on their own.

[Bob Salomon]

Doing more sheets is just more tubes. With other techniques, you can get variation as more sheets changes agitation or loads the developer differently.

Strange, with the Combi-Plan using 1 sheet or 6 sheets or 12 sheets (of B&W back to back) uses the same amount of chemistry, uses the same agitation and the chemical exhaustion is the same since the developer oxidizes at the same rate for each of the above loads since the development times are the same so the exposure to air is the same.

[Jim Noel]

In a tray! It beats all the tank methods in every respect. Less chance of streaking, more even development, etc

[PenGun]

Strange, with the Combi-Plan using 1 sheet or 6 sheets or 12 sheets (of B&W back to back) uses the same amount of chemistry, uses the same agitation and the chemical exhaustion is the same since the developer oxidizes at the same rate for each of the above loads since the development times are the same so the exposure to air is the same.

But the tubes kill for one or two sheets. Each one has it's own tiny amount of developer and you have no minimum useful load.

[Bob Salomon]

In a tray! It beats all the tank methods in every respect. Less chance of streaking, more even development, etc

And an excellent chance for sheets to stick together, as one thread today indicated, or for scratching. It also is great for fingernail staining and for any cuts or scrapes on your fingers! Also the aroma of the chemistry doesn't always easily come of the hands.

And it is no way more even or less chance of streaking then closed tank like the Combi or open tank like nitrogen burst deep tank or several other methods including dip and dunk and roller transport.

[Eric Woodbury]

Bob, there is loading from the film itself, not just the air. (For 20 years I developed my film in a nitrogen atmosphere in a Jobo. If I ran one or two sheets, I had to load some of the other cylinders with exposed/blank film.)

I don't know a Combi plan, but the other advantage I find for tubes is that if I'm running more than one sheet of film, they can all be different times.

Compared to trays, I don't risk scratching and uneven development and I don't have to spend all that time in the dark. And sewer pipe is widely available, always will be, and is indestructible.

One other possibility is the hybrid tube-tray method: using a piece of pipe to hold the film and put the tube (or tubes) in a tray of developer. This, however, must be done in total, full-time darkness.

[Ken Lee]

...what might be the best method for developing single sheets (1 or 2) of 4x5 film... rather than filling the whole tank up with 1000ml of solution

Try some plastic food containers. If you get the right size, you need less chemistry, and they are much cheaper than photo trays.