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Thread: Tray or Tank for film?

  1. #1

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    Tray or Tank for film?

    I just developed my first 4x5 negatives last night. Did it by hand in a tray. Many small scratches, when I looked at them today.

    I found some stainless steel hangers and 2 Kodak tanks made out of thick hard black rubber, these hold 1/2 gal of solution each. Today I developed 10 4x5 negatives at the same time. No scratches. Once I loaded the hangers I did not have to touch the negative again. 10 fit into the tank, I think that is the max, but 10 was all I shot today, so that worked out very well for me. I transferred them from one to the next solution all at once. It worked very well. I used the 2 Kodak tanks for the developer and for the fixer. Then while the wash was going on, I cleaned them up and used them for the PermaWash and fot the Photo-flow. Other solutions were in cheap plastic food containers. After the Photo-Flo dunk I left them in the hangers to dry. It really was easy.

    I'm sure this topic has been beat to death, but I found the tank to really work great. Developer was single shot. Fixer will last for a week or two. Stop bath, I mixed a gallon and will use until exhausted. PermaWash I used as single shot, unsure about saving that one, Photo-flow was single shot, unsure about saving Photo-flow.

    Any suggestions?
    Bill

  2. #2

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    Re: Tray or Tank for film?

    Trays for light shooters, tanks for commercial volume.
    Wilhelm (Sarasota)

  3. #3
    Hack Pawlowski6132's Avatar
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    Re: Tray or Tank for film?

    Suggestions for what?

  4. #4

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    Re: Tray or Tank for film?

    Suggestions, for any way to improve, any comments on how to do it better. This was my first time, I was figuring it out as I went. Is there a better way? It worked really well for me this time.
    Thanks, Bill

  5. #5

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    Re: Tray or Tank for film?

    ansel explains tanks/hangers in his book The Negative. don't leave them in the hangers to dry. print some of those negs with clear skies to make sure you aren't getting surge marks from agitation before you go an make a career out of it. other than that it HAS been covered to death.

  6. #6
    Consulting the pineal gland
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    Re: Tray or Tank for film?

    I'm curious, what kind of scratches are you (or others) getting in trays?
    I often get tiny, hairline scratches on my Ilford films on the base side. These don't show in my epson flatbed scans or in contact prints or enlargements with a diffuse light source.
    But I worry that one day they might show under a condenser enlarger or a different scanner.
    I soup them emulsion side UP, never managed a successful batch emulsion down. I've only ever been able to get them this relatively scratch-free after watching a series of you-tube videos on tray developing which I found very helpful.

    I've previously had good luck with a combiplan tank but no longer use it since I've started developing by inspection.
    I've thought about trying tanks and hangers but always worried about chem volume, surge marks, etc... also I can't recall reading about anyone doing dbi with them but it seems like it should work.

  7. #7

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    Re: Tray or Tank for film?

    Two weeks ago I developed 4x5 negatives for the first time. I still have too much trouble loading a Jobo 2509 reel with 6 4x5 sheets for the Jobo 2521 tank. So I resorted to developing by hand in trays, which isn't so bad after all. I found the 4x5 negatives were very undisciplined in the 8x10 trays, as I wasn't very good at keeping them well aligned in the slippery liquids. They rotated individually in all directions. Hopefully, next time will be easier. I am considering acquiring 5x7 trays to prevent the disturbing rotations.
    J. K.

  8. #8

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    Re: Tray or Tank for film?

    I develop my sheets in trays. I never really found I was getting scratches much when developing more than one at a time but was always worried about getting them. I bought a Slosher from the Photo Formulary. I can develop 6 sheets at a time, they stay in the slosher from start to finish and no sheet ever touches another one through the entire process. I get absolutely no scratches whatsoever.

    It probably uses a bit more chemicals that most tank processes but chemicals are cheap so I don't let that worry me much.

    Grab one of these if you want to continue to develop in trays - http://stores.photoformulary.com/-st...ray/Detail.bok

  9. #9

    Re: Tray or Tank for film?

    I've tried tanks, tubes, and trays. Agreed that they've been done to death. But . . . Murphy's Law strikes in developing sheet film in a way that it does not strike roll film. I've tossed my tubes and tanks and hold fast to the rule of developing one sheet at a time in trays with fresh developer each time. Too many scratches and surge marks and ruined sheets over the years to do otherwise for me.

  10. #10
    hacker extraordinaire
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    Re: Tray or Tank for film?

    Tanks gave me surge marks, so I gave them up despite loving them otherwise.

    Trays for me, emulsion up. If I'm careful I don't get scratches. With tanks, I'm careful and still get the occasional surge marks.
    Science is what we understand well enough to explain to a computer. Art is everything else we do.
    --A=B by Petkovšek et. al.

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