Single sheet development in trays

[schmidtjas]

I've begun reading Steve Simmons' book on View Cameras as well as Ansel Adams' "The Camera". I plan to try to develop at home in a makeshift darkroom (bathroom at night with towel under the door). I'll be shooting Ilford HP5 which is what is available locally in 4x5 sheets to learn on. I also have access to both Kodak and Ilford chemistry locally, so that is what I would like to stick to. My plan is to develop one sheet at a time. I'll probably attempt to scan using my Epson Artisan to get a rough positive.

My question is does anyone know of a good resource on setting up a VERY basic minimalist darkroom? I've been researching on this board, and the internet as a whole and have come up with a start.

From what I understand I would need:
-3 Trays or tanks or something to dip into (advice on this for a single sheet would be great). I may look around at the local dollar store to see if I can find something. I don't want to waste too much chemical.

-3 tongs from the dollar store for trays or maybe a frame for dipping if I went for an upright tank, they seem to be on eBay

-Developer (Kodak D-76 or possibly Ilford?)

-Stopper - Kodak Indicator Stop Bath or Ilford

-Fixer - Kodak Kodafix

-Kodak Photo-Flo (is this that important?)

-A clip of some kind to hang the negative to dry

-a few measuring tools

Will these items be enough? I don't intend to worry about the "dry side" (enlarger) right now. Most of the videos etc I've seen use 35mm

[schmidtjas]

I've done some more looking and it looks like combiplan would be a good system, but might be over kill for my needs. I like the idea of deep trays as opposed to shallow trays.

[Kevin Crisp]

Forget the tongs, you will damage the film. Shallow trays as used for paper development are fine, develop emulsion side up. Developer is typically one shot but back to back you can do multiple sheets within a reasonable amount of time. You aren't dipping the film, I suggest constant agitation - check the Kodak website for the TMAX100 tray development instructions, that's what I use for everything and I get very even development. It is basically lifting the tray gently from 3 different sides within about 8 seconds.

[Leigh]

From what I understand I would need:
-3 Trays or tanks or something to dip into (advice on this for a single sheet would be great).
-3 tongs from the dollar store for trays or maybe a frame for dipping if I went for an upright tank, they seem to be on eBay

Trays, not tanks. Tanks take way too much liquid, and require hangers to hold the film.

Tongs should not be metal, because you don't know if it will react with the chemistry.
Traditional material is bamboo, but plastic will work OK.

-Developer (Kodak D-76 or possibly Ilford?)

For tray development I highly recommend Diafine. It's a two-part compensating developer, so it needs two trays rather than one.
It has several advantages over most other developers, including:
1) It can be used at any temperature from 70F to 85F, and requires no temperature control or stabilization within that range.
2) Development time is constant; 3 to 5 minutes in each solution for all films, with no change in results
3) Very minimal agitation, meaning you can let the sheet sit undisturbed for 30 to 60 seconds at a time. No constant agitation.

These characteristics make it ideal for tray use where close temperature control is not normally available.

-Stopper - Kodak Indicator Stop Bath or Ilford
-Fixer - Kodak Kodafix
-Kodak Photo-Flo (is this that important?)

Yes, all the normal post-development stuff.
I would add a hypo clearing agent like Perma-Wash after the fix. It greatly reduces the required wash time, to a couple of minutes.
Photo-Flo is highly desirable, as it reduces the likelyhood of water spots. It's quite cheap due to its very high dilution ratio. It's just soap.

-a few measuring tools

Be very careful about contamination, particularly of the developer.
I prefer to have two completely separate sets of tools and vessels; one for developer and another for other chemicals.

If you elect to use Diafine, add a third set for Solution A. You must be very careful not to contaminate it with anything.

You also need a timer of some sort, either one that beeps every 30 seconds, or a multi-step programmable.
Keep lights out until halfway through the fix period.

That should pretty well cover you.

[Jim Jones]

Photo-Flo or a substitute is important. Also, use distilled water for the final bath unless you have an unusually pure water source. Check kitchen wares for trays. They should be a little larger than the film. If the bottom is slightly uneven, it helps when lifting the film out of the tray. You need more than three trays. I use at least five: one for a pre-wash, three for chemicals, and one for a holding tray after the fix. After all film is in the holding tray, the pre-wash, developer, and stop trays can be dumped and used to finish the wash. Having extra trays helps avoiding contamination. You should have an accurate thermometer. If chemicals, wash water, and trays are all stored at toom temperature, and the room temperature is within maybe 65 to 80 degrees F, an accurate wall thermometer might do. Consistancy is more important than absolute temperature accuracy. Clothespins strung on a wire suffice for drying film.

[Leigh]

You need more than three trays. I use at least five: one for a pre-wash, three for chemicals, and one for a holding tray after the fix. After all film is in the holding tray, the pre-wash...

DO NOT pre-wash if you're using Diafine or other two-part developers. Pre-washing will kill the development action.

Two-part developers work by absorbing the first part into the dry emulsion, then putting the film in the second solution to activate development.
If you pre-wash, the first part cannot diffuse into the emulsion, so there's nothing for the second solution to work with.

- Leigh

[schmidtjas]

How should a sheet be handled in the dark? The tutorial at the root of this site seems to imply just using your hands - is the chemistry safe to use regular kitchen dish gloves or even bare hands?

[Leigh]

Kitchen dish gloves are much too bulky, and destroy your sense of touch.
I use nitrile gloves just to avoid getting finger prints on the film.

The chemicals are safe for most people to use their hands.

Be careful moving the sheets from one tray to the next.
Pick up a sheet using the gloved hand in the developer and drop the sheet into the stop bath without letting the glove enter the bath.
IUe tongs to move the sheet in the stop, take it out and put it in the fixer, without getting the tongs in the fixer.
Then use the fixer tongs to move the sheet around there and move it to the wash.

When using tongs, be careful to grab the film by a corner, outside of the image area, and don't bend or twist the film.

An alternative to this procedure would be to get some 4x5 film hangers, bend the arms up so they'll lay flat in the trays, and use
them to transport the film through the process. You need not remove the film from the hanger until the final wash is done.
You can even leave the film in the hanger and hang the whole thing up to dry if you wish.

If using hangers, don't raise the film straight up from the liquid. That may pull the film out of the hanger. Tip it up then out, gently.

If doing multiple sheets you must use a dry hanger for each.

- Leigh

[archphotofisher]

Here's my two to bits 8.5 x 11 trays for 4 x 5; 11 x 17 trays for 8 x 10, trays should have some ribs on the bottom to keep the film off the tray bottom. The film will get sucked to the bottom of the tray without ribs. I always develop a minimum of three sheets of film; it allows one to get a rhythm going while shuffling the sheets in the developer. I've always used my bare hands but if you have seen Brett
Weston nails they were black, as he and his father were amidol user’s on very regular basis. I was always afraid stopped bath so I used tongs. Then back in the fixer with bare hands, I would usually turn the light on after a minute in the fixer see how all turned out.

G

[jeroldharter]

You might look at BTZS tubes (even a single tube) as an option. They are sold new at The View Camera Store. Fred has good YouTube videos showing their use. Once you put the film inthe tubes, you can process with the lights on which is convenient for a makeshift darkroom.