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jb7
10-Feb-2010, 11:48
I'm just about to dip my toe into colour processing- Chemistry is Fuji Hunt x-press-

I don't have a Jobo system, though I have something close for 8x10.

However, that's not the question-
I plan on using a Nikor Tank as part of a dip and dunk process-
using the 4x5 cage.

Using 1 litre of chemistry, is there a maximum number of sheets I can process at once? Or can I load up the full 12 sheets?

Does anyone have any experience of developing 4x5 this way? Would appreciate your views-

I know there's another C41 thread going at the moment, but I didn't want to contaminate it...

Gary Beasley
10-Feb-2010, 16:13
I've processed all 12 in my Nikor quite often. Just be aware of the exhaustion rates and replenish as needed, don't overuse the chems.

jb7
10-Feb-2010, 16:20
Thanks Gary, that's just what I wanted to hear-
Fuji Hunt x-press recommend slight time increases-
I haven't researched replenishment for it yet, I suppose I'd better look into it-

Thanks for the reply-

Allen in Montreal
10-Feb-2010, 20:10
You have not mentioned keeping it all at 100 degrees, if you don't have a set up for that yet, you can do it cheaply from the pet store, a tube to put the tanks in, a small pump to move a soft current and a submersible tank heater that can do 100 degrees.
For a few bucks, you have a controlled (reasonably) temp box.

jb7
11-Feb-2010, 02:23
Thanks Allen-

I'm awaiting delivery of the pump and heater-
the heater is for Home Brewing, and they can set the thermostat up to 60ºC.
It's similar to an aquarium heater, but hotter-
I bought a temperature controller with a remote thermocouple to run it- 250562394907 -
reasonably priced, I thought- though all temps will have to be checked manually anyway-

And I got a Paterson Thermo Drum to contain it all-
It's a print processor up to 16x20, so I can process 2 8x10's at a time,
which may not seem like a lot, but it's faster than I can afford to expose colour film-
and again, it wasn't expensive-

Anyway, that setup will provide the water jacket for the smaller films too-
Very like a Jobo in operation, but a fraction of the cost.

Not ideal, but it just might work...

Robert Hughes
11-Feb-2010, 09:36
Of course, if you can get your sink faucets to run at a consistent temperature, you can succeed with a water bath for free.

jb7
11-Feb-2010, 11:45
I'm sure that would work, as long as nobody else opened a tap-

Very wasteful though, I'd feel bad about that-

While my system is undeniably cheap, I doubt whether it could be claimed that running hot water down the drain is free-

Tom Monego
11-Feb-2010, 14:44
I have a Nikor tank and it has some problems with standard agitation, easy to get uneven development. I make sure my cage doesn't piston in the tank, use a plastic shim, the pistoning causes weird chemical flow over the film and the center gets developed more than the edges in the rails. With any color chemistry replenishement is iffy without test strips and a densitometer, I would just use the chemistry one shot, wasteful but easier.
make sure you have the base of the film near the inner flexible strips, load with the emlsion toward the strips and you get a real ugly dot in the middle of the film.

Tom

PenGun
11-Feb-2010, 15:53
Thanks Allen-

I'm awaiting delivery of the pump and heater-
the heater is for Home Brewing, and they can set the thermostat up to 60ºC.
It's similar to an aquarium heater, but hotter-
I bought a temperature controller with a remote thermocouple to run it- 250562394907 -
reasonably priced, I thought- though all temps will have to be checked manually anyway-

And I got a Paterson Thermo Drum to contain it all-
It's a print processor up to 16x20, so I can process 2 8x10's at a time,
which may not seem like a lot, but it's faster than I can afford to expose colour film-
and again, it wasn't expensive-

Anyway, that setup will provide the water jacket for the smaller films too-
Very like a Jobo in operation, but a fraction of the cost.

Not ideal, but it just might work...

I used to just break the plastic stop on the aquarium heaters heat control to get 100. $10 digital thermometer, rubbermaid tank and you are good to go.

emo supremo
11-Feb-2010, 16:43
Pay attention to tom monego's comment. It took me a while and wasted too much film trying to figure out that little pearl of wisdom he just parted with.
Save your wasted sheets and practice before the cage is wetted.

jb7
11-Feb-2010, 17:43
Thanks Tom, PenGun, Emo-

Not sure what you mean by pistoning-
or where the shim goes-
I haven't had any problems with Black and white developing-
well, apart from loading 2 sheets in the same slot, from time to time-

I don't plan on developing with the lid on,
the tank takes too long to fill and empty-

I'll have four tanks, and dip and dunk from one to the next.

Agitation- I thought I'd rotate the tank in the water bath, constant agitation-
Sound reasonable?

Yes, replenishment sounds more trouble than it's worth, though I might give the extended times a go-
although I do understand that one shot would be the most consistent method-
I have read reports of less density in subsequent batches-