Developing 8x10 B&W in a bathroom, equipment?

[Sizam]

I currently get my (4x5) film developed at a lab which is a PITA as I have to drive there and back and its often days between when I get a chance to drop off and pick up. So I just got my 8x10 setup and am starting to think I could just do the processing in the back of the bathroom here at work.

The bathroom has a shower room in the back of it (that nobody uses) that has a separate door to it (so it should be easy to light seal) and plumbing (shower) and floor space. What is a easy setup for 8x10 B&W processing? I don't want to take up too much space and would prefer a setup that I can just develop a few sheets at a time w/out having to waste the chemicals between uses, or at least use very little chemicals if I have to.

And do I need a drying cabinet or any other tools? I haven't done B&W lab work for about 2 years and it was 35mm at the time. I see this 'JOBO expert drum', is that the one?

Thanks

[ic-racer]

I would consider a Jobo processor with an appropriate drum for either 2 or 5 8x10s at a time. You did not say how much you want to spend. (That Expert Drum is almost $300, I have 1, 2 or 3 of just about everything, but don't have one of those...yet)

If the room can be made light tight, the most inexpensive way to process them is in trays and just hang them up on a clothes line to dry. I don't think it is easier than the Jobo, but it would be easier to collect the equipment and get it set up to do it that way. Heck, if your local store sold trays and chemicals you could be processing film tonight with that setup.

An intermediate solution would be a developing tank.

There are many possibilities, especially if you can 'take over' that whole shower room.

What is your budget?

[Ralph Barker]

If you want to do tray processing of 8x10, all you need to do is build (or find) a work surface of a convenient height, and a little ingenuity. My tray table is hinged to the wall above the toilet in the spare bathroom. When down, the front corners are supported by little stubs from the sink counter and the workframe I built over the tub for the 4x5 enlarger.

I dry my 8x10 on film hangers I made from wire clothes hangers and small binder clips, and hang them from the shower curtain rod (sans curtain, of course).

[eddie]

here is my darkroom err i mean bath room.

note the table and the plastic hangers that i use to hand the film from the curtain rod.

[Bjorn Nilsson]

There is additional info and a "sticky" thread on apug.org which have photos and inspiration for you. The thread is named "Darkroom portraits" and can be found here: http://www.apug.org/forums/forum43/10966-darkroom-portraits.html. (There are some 650 darkrooms to choose from. At least a few of them ought to be similar to what you have in mind.)
Apart from that, eddie shows you the essentials just above this answer. You don't need anything more except maybe some great pictures. Well, maybe a contact frame, a small lightbulb and some printing paper. I recon even Edward Weston would have said something like "Yes, that's about it.".
Good luck.

//Björn

[Ron Marshall]

Jobo Expert drums are for daylight processing, so you wouldn't have to bother with lightproofing. They must be loaded in a changing tent. They can be hand rolled for b/w, so the Jobo processor is not needed.

Trays are simpler, and cheaper, as long as it is easy to lightproof the room.

[Bruce Barlow]

Try to find 10x12 trays for processing 8x10. They'e wonderful, and feel "just right," where 8x10 trays are too small, and 11x14s are too big.

[scott_6029]

I would tray develop by inspection, which I do in a small laundry room. I can process up to 8 sheets at a time...with a little practice. You need a sink for sure. I have a jobo too, but prefer the tray method....fewer chemicals, faster, and I like the inspection element. However, if you are really tight on space, you could load the jobo in the dark in a bathroom and develop in a larger lit room....

[Michael Heald]

Hello! You can pick up a Unicolor roller for $15 or so on E-Bay. An 11x14 print drum will go for $10 and will do two sheets of 8x10 at a time. No temperature control, unlike the Jobo. However, for B&W developing is often performed at room temperature. Most folks have fairly consistent indoor temperatures, and where corrections a couple of degrees around room temperature is needed, that change is usually fairly easy to adjust for wiht the time of development.
There is an article on this site that discusses chrome developing with a Unicolor drum system, so even tight temperature control can be obtained fairly simply.
Easy to use, reproducible results, inexpensive, and minimal chemical needs - perfect for one shot developing. Best regards.

Michael A. Heald

[David A. Goldfarb]

I process 8x10" and larger in trays, and I've done so in a few different bathrooms now.

In my current dark/bathroom, I've got the trays set up on freestanding plastic shelves in a shower stall that is never used. You can find these shelves at places like Sears.

I also print in there. The dry side is in a large room that we use as a study, connected to the bathroom. Rather than trying to curtain off the dry side and the bathroom, I've put up a blackout curtain that I can pull over the window of the study, so I have a big roomy space to work in. I need to add another curtain to make it dark enough to print during the day, but meanwhile I've been printing at night, and I can process film during the day with the blackout curtain pulled and the bathroom door closed.

[Sizam]

Thanks guys, I think I'll need to track down a JOBO to keep the footprint small. My budget is < $1000 which I think can fetch me a used CPP2 and a new 8x10 tank (since I can't find any used).

If I use a JOBO, how much ventilation do I need and where? Obviously the room I load the film in will be exposed to chemical smell but does the processor itself produce scents? I ask because the bathroom isn't terribly well ventilated but I imagine I can load the film in there with minimal exposure to the chemicals, but if the processor produces a lot of odor I'll probably put that in a different room.

But man that unicolor option sounds worth a try if its so inexpensive...

[Ralph Barker]

You're mostly concerned with stop-bath and fixer fumes. Most bathroom vent fans don't have the capacity to move enough air. I upgraded mine to a 150cfm unit, and added filtered, light-tight vents in the door.

[Jim Edmond]

You could make your own BTZS tubes, also. I believe they were once made in 8x10, so it may be possible to find them used. Search the web for "make BTZS tubes", and you'll see some options.

[John Kasaian]

I'd recommend a Unicolor: cheap...efficient...nothing to break or wear out that you could make yourself---what kind of customer support does Jobo have these days?

FWIW I use trays for ortho, Unicolor for panchro, and ?? for color---like who can afford 8x10 color?? Not I !

[tgtaylor]

Thanks guys, I think I'll need to track down a JOBO to keep the footprint small. My budget is < $1000 which I think can fetch me a used CPP2 and a new 8x10 tank (since I can't find any used).

If I use a JOBO, how much ventilation do I need and where? Obviously the room I load the film in will be exposed to chemical smell but does the processor itself produce scents? I ask because the bathroom isn't terribly well ventilated but I imagine I can load the film in there with minimal exposure to the chemicals, but if the processor produces a lot of odor I'll probably put that in a different room.

But man that unicolor option sounds worth a try if its so inexpensive...

Sizam,

You don't need a CPP2, the CPA2 will work just fine. If your work space is not air conditioned, just keep one of the bottles in the jobo filled with ice to maintain constant temp while processing B&W. Use plain 'ol water instead of a chemical stop bath for B&W.

As far as chemical scents from the Jobo, I haven't noticed any. I process C-41, E-6, and in a few days RA-4 in a CPA-2 on a kitchen sink countertop (it's level). B&W I process in the bathroom by hand inversion in Jobo 1500 and 2500 tanks with the ventilation fan going and the door open to listen to the stereo. I load 35mm, roll and B&W 4x5 film in a Harrison 8x10 tent. Since I find it easy to load the Jobo Expert Drum from the top rather than from the side as would be the case using the Harrison tent, I load the 3010 Expert Drum in the bathroom - which in my case is easy to lightproof.

Over the next couple of days I will be "remodeling" my darkroom - moving the enlarger out of the bathroom to a convenient corner of the bedroom which is directly across from the bathroom - keeping it strictly for the wet process. So I will be able to expose in the bedroom and with B&W walk a couple of feet across the hall into the bathroom to develope, wash, and dry the print. For color paper I'll have a Jobo print drum next to the enlarger which I'll load and bring to the processor in the kitchen. Since I can lightproof the hall, bedroom and bathroom, this setup will give me more "walk-around" room to work with and help protect the enlarger from moisture.

Thomas

[Amund BLix Aaeng]

BTZS tubes from the Viewcamerastore http://www.viewcamerastore.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_74&products_id=790

Super easy to use and super even development, superior to any Jobo that doesn`t use expert drums IMO.