Roller developing times, versus inversion?

[Daniel_Buck]

Hello :) I'm about to start trying roller developing (with a uniroller), I'm curious as to what developing times would be a good starting point? Right now I'm using HC-110 (31:1000 mixture), developing for a total of 10 minutes for a normal 'full' develop, inverting constantly for the first 30 seconds, then 10 times after each minute. I usually under develop a bit, but this is what I use when I want a full 'normal' develop.

Any idea how what a good starting place would be, for how long I let the uniroller go for? Surely 10 minutes would be to long, should I cut that in 1/2 and try 5 minutes for my first pass at it?

Thanks for any guidance!

[Nick_3536]

Cut 10-15% to start then test. You may need less or more. The unblinkingeye website has[had?] an article on this. Some film/developer combinations needed more time then others.

[vijaylff]

With Ilfotec DD-X in a Unicolor print drum, my trial and error led me to reduce times by 20% (compared to the published recommendations).

-Vijay

[Sandeha]

I use -15% of time, plus an extra 25% plain water. Works for me, using Rodinal or Ilford DDX.

[jetcode]

Hello :) I'm about to start trying roller developing (with a uniroller), I'm curious as to what developing times would be a good starting point? Right now I'm using HC-110 (31:1000 mixture), developing for a total of 10 minutes for a normal 'full' develop, inverting constantly for the first 30 seconds, then 10 times after each minute. I usually under develop a bit, but this is what I use when I want a full 'normal' develop.

Any idea how what a good starting place would be, for how long I let the uniroller go for? Surely 10 minutes would be to long, should I cut that in 1/2 and try 5 minutes for my first pass at it?

Thanks for any guidance!

Daniel,

What I found extremely useful is the following:

1) Use a step card (mine has 4 calibrated shades of B/W that map to the tone scale)
2) Expose 8 sheets of film using different ISO settings (from recommended to lower)
3) Develop each sheet individually starting with a base development time

I guarantee by the time you reach sheet 4-5 you will know exactly the working ISO for that film in that light setting (I used late afternoon direct sunlight for my test)

If I shoot in a scene that has not been calibrated then I make sure I have 4 sheets exposed so I can develop each one individually until I reach perfect development

I call it a working mans film test because it didn't come from any book and my guess is there are far superior ways to test film and development cycles.

Oh and I use the uniroller to process 4x10 sheets
Hope that helps - Joe