Poll: Development Method

[Andre Noble]

What is your typical B&W sheet development method?

Note: "Rack (Manual Dip and Dunk with a 1-up or 4-up Rack)" is the same as "Hangers" - I couldn't come up with the word "hangers" when I made the poll, thanks.

[Eric Rose]

hangers in a tank, semi-stand, pyrocat-hd

[Scott Davis]

Most of the time, Jobo CPA2, Expert drums, Pyrocat HD. If I want semi-stand effects, and/or I have a large volume of 8x10 work to do, it's tanks and hangers. I'll have to tray process my 5x12 and 11x14 stuff until I can find a Jobo 3004 drum.

[Nick_3536]

What format?

4x5 Jobo 2509N reels.

Bigger print drums.

[John Kasaian]

Unicolor Processor.

[Herb Cunningham]

hangers, i.e. rack

[steve simmons]

trays, as described in an artice on the Free Articles section of the View Camera web site. I was taught this metod by Jim Glavin and Morley Baer. In 28+ years of using it I have scartched maybe two negs. This process allows me to develop 6-8 negs simultaneously for 6-8 different development times.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Oh yes, music in the darkroom is a key ingredient.

steve simmons

[Louie Powell]

If nothing else, this demonstrates that there is no one absolutely right way to do it.

[Brian Ellis]

BTZS tubes for 4x5.

[Mike Castles]

Beseler paper drum and roller (Unicolor or Beseler), tray on occasion.

[Andrew O'Neill]

BTZS tubes or trays. When I use trays, it's one-at-a-time. I love to spend a lot of time in the darkroom...nobody (wife) bothers (kids) me (dog) there.

[Ron Bose]

Jobo Expert drums, one for 8x10 and one for 4x5, on a CPP ...

[Gene McCluney]

I am a prolific shooter. I often come back with 40 to 60 sheets of 4x5, plus some 5x7 to process, from a days shoot. The only way to process the quantity of film in a reasonable time frame is to do it rack and tank in deep tanks.

[darr]

Jobo ATL 1000

[Nick_3536]

I am a prolific shooter. I often come back with 40 to 60 sheets of 4x5, plus some 5x7 to process, from a days shoot. The only way to process the quantity of film in a reasonable time frame is to do it rack and tank in deep tanks.

Depends on how much of a rush you're in. I can run 18 sheets of 4x5 per tank in my biggest Jobo tank. If I really felt the need I could run two tanks at once. Beauty of the Unicolor motorbases is they're so cheap.

[Merg Ross]

For 4x5, I use an 8x10 tray and a three minute pre-soak. This method has worked for me for over fifty years without the problems sometimes associated with tray development.

I have also tried other methods, such as Combi tanks and deep tanks with hangers. I prefer the ease and results of tray development.

[Scott --]

Beseler paper drum and roller (Unicolor or Beseler)

Same setup here.

[lee\c]

I use the same thing as Mike just above. Pyrocat hd

lee\c

[xavier deltell]

Jobo ATL 1000, Jobo ATL 500

[Randy H]

Beseler paper drum and roller (Unicolor or Beseler), tray on occasion.

ibid

[paulr]

I settled on the a jobo 2500 series drum on a motor base years ago. It was the simplest method I found that was dead consistent and posed hardly any risk to the negs from personal klutziness.

The expert drums are better, at least if your film/developer combo is at all prone to streaking. But I fixed those issues through chemistry and never had to upgrade. The 2500 drums do let you process 12 sheets at a time vs. 10, which I find helpful.

[paulr]

trays, as described in an artice on the Free Articles section of the View Camera web site. I was taught this metod by Jim Glavin and Morley Baer. In 28+ years of using it I have scartched maybe two neg

Very nice. I was taught with a tray too, but I probably scratched each and every neg. I'm impressed by you guys mange so deftly. Jock Sturgess told me he processed 25 sheets of 8x10 at a time in trays, without any casualties. Hats off.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I was a diehard tray processor (Eight 5x7 sheets in an 8x10 tray) until I tried developing tubes. A year or so ago I bought four used J&C tubes on whim and really liked the results. I bought a few more (since J&C is defunct I simply buy the tubes--electrode canisters--directly from a welding supply company) and can now do six 8x10s at a time. It is a bit of a juggling act but with an extra cap and some loud music I can do it with my eyes closed.

[sparq]

Unicolor paper drum and roller.

[Shen45]

BTZS tubes here. I used Jobo for quite awhile but now the Jobo is gathering dust at a friend's place since he too has switched to BTZS tubes.

[Ole Tjugen]

What format?

4x5 Jobo 2509N reels.

Bigger print drums.

Same question, same answer. Except that I also do 6.5x9 and 9x12cm in the 2509n reels.

[Bob Chambers]

Unicolor drums, hand rolled for 4x5 5x7 or 8x10

[Michael Graves]

If nothing else, this demonstrates that there is no one absolutely right way to do it.

There's one absolutely right way for each person here, it seems.

Or not. I do Jobo for sheet film and inversion tanks for roll film Maybe there ISN'T just one way.

[Merg Ross]

Well, Steve, it looks like you and I are in last place!

Does anyone here develop by inspection?

[Peter Lewin]

Well, Steve, it looks like you and I are in last place!

Last place if you are looking at the "written posts" but first place if you look at the statistics. Tray developing is the most popular single method, but I assume I wasn't the only person to take the poll but feel that posting a comment was superfluous - until now! I pretty much follow Steve's instructions from View Camera, except instead of 8x10 trays for 4x5 film, I now use 6x9-ish plastic food storage containers - deeper and less surface area. I've been using PMK "forever," but am very curious about the "new developer" Steve promised for an upcoming issue of the magazine.

[Ole Tjugen]

There's one absolutely right way for each person here, it seems.

I must have forgotten to mention...

I also do tanks and inversion, tanks and stand development; trays and "shuffling", trays and stand development, trays and "soaking" (two-bath developing), and trays with inspection.

There are different goals and reasons for all these methods, and I often use rather unfamiliar films - how do you develop a 50 years old Perutz Perortho glass plate for POP printing? My answer to that is a staining developer, KBr at the ready, and develop by inspection. Much of the time I have no idea what the final developer is, nor how much of the "additives" I've added.

The other extreme is when I have several different films, all with a single notch, exposed under very different circumstances. 90 minutes stand development in FX-2 makes printable negatives from just about anything!

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

Jobo CPP2 with expert drums for 8x10, brush development for 12x20

[Aggie]

I think I've tried every conceivable method for 4x5. The one I was most impressed with lately was the method I was taught by Cristina Kahlo. Her great grandfather Guerillmo Kahlo (Frida's father) used some tricks with a yankee 12 sheet tank. I got the best results using this method. I'm hooked. Daylight, 12 sheets, and no problems. But when I'm home here and not on the road, I use my jobo 2500 series to do 18 sheets at a time. I have two of those tanks and 6 reels so I can do 36 sheets back to back rather quickly. If I feel overwhelmed with lots to develop, I take part of it to my partners house and let him run it through his alt 3000 with his expert drums while I do some at home. He use to own a custom lab in Irvine California.

[John Bartley]

Home made ABS BTZ type tubes for both 4x5 and 8x10.

[Matt Miller]

I shuffle negs in a tray and develop by inspection with a night vision monocular.

[Philippe Gauthier]

Unicolor roller with Beseler tubes. I was easy enough to pick this kit for 5 dollars some years ago.

[Per Madsen]

HP Combiplan with presoak and Rodinal 1 + 100.

[Bill_1856]

Standard Tray deveopment seems the winner so far, but it would be more instructive to ask whether its TAT, "time and temperature," or DBI, "Development by inspection."

[Don Wallace]

4x5 - Jobo CPE-2
5x7 and 8x10 - Jobo Expert Drum, hand-rolled on Jobo base

[rfesk]

Unidrum method for 4X5 and 5X7. Would like to try semi-stand but with what?

[Scott Squires]

Jobo CPP-2 with 3005 Expert drum for 8x10 and 4x10. 3010 Expert drum for 4x5. I do E-6 also so the CPP-2 and Expert drums are almost a must, so that decision made my B&W developing easy.

Scott Squires