print drum for developing 4x5 sheet film?

[Mike Buehler]

Hi,

I recently purchased a used Color by Beseler 8x10 print drum with motor base. I was curious as to whether I could also use this drum to develop 4x5 B&W sheet film. Does anyone have any positive negative experiences with this?

Thank you for your time.

Mike

[Nick_3536]

You may need to fix the film in a tray. I use a Jobo film tank and reel for 4x5 but for 5x7 I'm using a print drum. Negatives look fine to me. But I wonder how much developer I can use without the film coming lose inside the drum. Maybe I'm worried about nothing.

[John Kasaian]

Mike,
I don't know about the Beseler, but I've used the Unicolor print drum with great results. Look up http:// www.largeformatphotography.info/unicolor/ which has illustrations of the Unicolor drum and compare that with your Beseler to see if it will work out. I'd expect it would. Good Luck!

[Pat Kearns]

Mike, I've used the Beseler 8x10 drums for processing 4x5 b&w sheet film for years and have been pleased with the results. There should be a plastic clip that separates the film. Without it the sheets may slide and overlap during developing.

[Alec Jones]

Another way to do it is to find the small drum Cibachrome offered with their introductory kit. It does one 4x5 at a time. Although intended for paper, it works perfectly for film too. No problem with loading several sheets and keeping them separated in a larger drum. Uses little chemistry.

Would be a pain for doing a big job, but perfect for just a few.

[paulr]

The problem you might run itno is that sheet film is extremely sensitive to streaking from uneven flow of developer. This isn't an issue with prints, because you develop them to a degree that would be considered radical overdevelopment for negs ... so the development pretty much evens out in the end.

The developing drums made specifically for sheet film are designed to carefully control the flow pattern of the developer. The jobo expert drums are supposed to be the best, though I haven't used them. I use a regular jobo drum for 4x5 (up to 12 at a time) with a reversing beseler base that I picked up at a flea market, and it all works well. It's not completely perfect--there's slight edge density buildup on the long sides of the negs-- but it doesn't intrude on the printed area.

In the end you have to try it, because there are so many variables. Film type and especially developer type make a big difference. I had problems with unevenness with D-76; when I switched to a glycin and phenidone developer the streaking went away. I also get more even results with t-max than I did with Agfapan.

Some things that help evenness with drum development:
-a thorough presoak. This can be improved by adding a touch of alkali, like sodium metaborate, to the presoak solution. Especially helpful with T-max.
-a way to pour the developer in while the drum is spinning. With the jobo drum I use a funnel that has a length of flexible hose stuck on the end. It works great. This was actually suggested by a Jobo technician.
-a motor base that spins fast enough, but not too fast (i know this isn't too helpful, but it's something to consider adjusting if you have problems)
-a motor base that reverses at least every five rotations. this is critical ... it prevents consistent flow patterns from developing.
-developers that use developing agents that are not overly restrained by bromide (phenidone rather than metol).
-smaller film is easier to develop evenly than larger film. if you're doing bigger than 4x5, an expert drum might be best.

Good luck! It took me a while to work the kinks out, but after that there was no looking back. My days of wrecking negs in the dark are long over.

[Darin Cozine]

The beseler drums were exactly the same as the unicolor drums as mentioned in a previous response. I use a cibachrome print drum, and it works great. I've never had any problems with streaking.

Some motor bases reverse or wobble to help even development. If yours does not, just pick up the drum and reverse it on the base like every minute or so.

darin

[paulr]

good point ... reversing by hand works just as well.
but you won't have more than a few seconds at a time to prepare chemicals, etc.

[Jacques Augustowski]

No problem with loading several sheets and keeping them separated in a larger drum.
--alec, 2004-11-05 11:54:45

Hi Alec,
how do you separate the sheets in a large cibachrome drum
Jacques

[Tom Raymondson]

Another vote for the Beseler drum. The only problem I ever had was insufficient fixing, which I solved by pulling the film out and doing the second half of the fix in a tray. My motor base does not reverse and I make no compensation for that, but I get perfectly even development with no streaking.

[joe suburbs]

Can you put a roll-film reel inside a beseler print processing drum? Do they fit?