Why is Jobo equipment so expensive?

[photobymike]

"Why is Jobo equipment so expensive?
Or, in other words, why are people willing to pay so much for this stuff?"

You really have to use Jobo to understand. Constant quality, The stuff last for years, very modular. All the tank parts are for the most part interchangeable. I use a Beseler roller for my processing. i have a speed control for slowwww Pyrocat hd developing. I have used all kinds of tanks for film.... lets see..... kodak racks, trays, BTZ tubes (close second to jobo) 4x5 nikkor, FR 4x5 tank <worst.. dental processor, Hope processor.... mmm i believe that covers it.... oh some kinda dip and dunk processor.... i really wish i could buy the rights and manufacture these wonderful tanks here in the states, or maybe china....LOL
I don't particularly like the 2509N with the paddles. But I like the early 2509 reels the work without the paddles. The paddles were added to added to help circulate chemistry. I just use a little more chemistry. For the photographers concerned about the ecology Jobo uses less chemistry than other tank systems.

[photobymike]

oh one other point i can develop if I want, 24 sheets of 4x5 film, 4 rolls of 120, and oh 4 rolls of 35mm at the same time.....i would never but i could... i have the tank extensions for this ability. i can make a 6 foot Jobo tube.....mmmm I wonder if there is a classification in Guinness world records?

[Oren Grad]

As mentioned above, the holes for the sheets are not cylindrical to allow solutions to reach the back side, and the inner walls are very thin to allow a fast heat transfer from the water bath to the solution in the Expert drum. The dies for making the parts are therefore not that easy to make, I assume.

Also, between the wells and the outer wall the drums are hollow, with slots on the bottom rim to let water in from the tempering bath so that the drum also serves as a water jacket to speed temperature equilibration. In all, the drums have a pretty complex construction.

Years ago I spoke with Sam Proud of Jobo USA about this. The upshot was that it was the complexity of the molds that made the Expert film drums so expensive.

[Bruce Watson]

You've asked two questions: why so expensive, and why are people willing to pay that much.

It's so expensive for a number of reasons. The molds are large and difficult to make. The molds are large, requiring large machines, both to make the molds, and to use the molds. The manufacturing runs were fairly small -- these drums never sold like iPhones -- so there were fewer drums over which to spread the fixed costs. So even when Jobo was making and selling the drums, they cost many orders of magnitude more than the cost of just the plastic.

People were willing to pay for them because of the results they could get in using them. That is, nearly flawless, very consistent film processing.

People are willing to pay even more for them today than when they were when Jobo was selling them because of supply and demand. They aren't being made any more, so there is no new supply. And the people who have them like them, so they aren't willing to part with them. And there's this crowd of people who have figured out, too late, how good they are and want them. So when one comes on the market, the people who want them compete for them, driving the price up.

[Brian Ellis]

A lot of it is German wages, pensions, medical benefits, retirement ages, business taxes, you name it. While Jobo is a fine product, it isn't the quality per se that makes it so expensive, it's the cost of doing business in Germany.

I've always thought that BTZS tubes are a better option for a fraction of the cost, especially if you're processing some sheets at N, some at N+1, etc. But you have to rotate the tubes by hand for a few minutes and a lot of people prefer to let the machine do the work for them.

[Robert Ley]

Irregardless of the wonderful tanks and reels for processing film and prints, the fact that I can control with very tight tolerance two of the variables in film processing is worth the price of admission.

I have a CPA-2 with a lift and having variable agitation and temperature that can be controlled very easily is a godsend for C-41 processing. I have had this setup for about five years and wouldn't trade it for anything else.

I was fortunate to pick up a unit in good condition at the right time.

The wonderful digital revolution was full steam ahead and people were dumping anything analogue like it was on fire. Many of those good condition units are now in the hands of dedicated film photographers who will have to die before they will give them up, thus the present scarcity of good units on the market.

I am afraid that the days of someone finding one of these on Craig's list or at an estate sale for cheap is over.

[Moopheus]

it's the cost of doing business in Germany.

Right, but it is (or was) done there because that's where the industrial infrastructure was. Germany could produced the skilled labor needed to design and manufacture a a complex high-quality product. It takes time and money to develop that infrastructure. If other places try to match that--match the levels of education of process control--they're not going to be cheaper. Especially for a product that will never be a mass-market consumer item.

[jose angel]

It is so expensive simply because people demand it. Being discontinued makes it even more expensive.

Why people want it?
Simply because it makes film developing, and specially sheet film developing easier&faster than with other techniques (the Lift system increase that easiness). Just this.

IMHO it doesn`t mean results are better... in fact, rotary processing (including Jobo) eliminate the benefits of using certain developers, and also certain developing effects.
By far I prefer the usual small tank or tray processing results, but I must recognize that I use the Jobo for convenience.

[ypres.bass]

ya, JOBO is expensive, but a few moments ago i bought like new JOBO Multitank 2 for 11EUR...

[Don Hutton]

If you think Jobo gear is dear, don't develop a Leica habit...