Question about Jobo 3063

[JamesLee]

Hi,guys,I just got a new Jobo 3063 drum for 11x14 sheet film,do i need the sheet film insert?
Thanks!!!

[IanMazursky]

Hi James,
I have a bunch of jobo 3063 drums, they are great drums but not very easy to use with film.
I process my 12x20’s in them and use weather-stripping foam to keep the edges of the 12x20 film off of the inside ribbing.
If you don’t have something like the foam or an insert, the drum will leave marks on the base side of the film or irregular development marks.
The film inserts that jobo made sort of worked as some have mentioned but were far from perfect.
Unfortunately jobo is long gone and so are the inserts.

I would go with a jobo 2840 drum (2820 drum with a 2870 extension). It will hold an 11x14 comfortably with little wiggle room.
Thats important, if you put an 11x14 in the 3063 it would float around and get badly scratched.
Some foam will help keep the ribbing from ruining the negs. I use this technique to process 8x10 E6 in a jobo 2830 drums.

[Oren Grad]

Maybe, maybe not. I develop 11x14 HP5 Plus in 3062 and 3063 drums by wedging the sheets in between the ribs. I get good results, developing in D-76 to get negatives for printing on silver paper. However, users who have tried pyro developers in this way have reported problems - search here and APUG for other threads on this topic.

[IanMazursky]

Sorry forgot to mention that my experience with the developer marking was with PMK Pyro developers.
Its bad and basically ruins the neg. Once i added the foam standoffs, no more marking.
Other developers as Oren mentioned may work fine without any markings. Pyro is super sensitive to agitation.
Another advantage of using a smaller drum is smaller solution volumes.

[Scott Davis]

Ian- how are you using the foam strips? did you put them between the ribs, running down the length of the barrel? or are you using them some other way? Could you post a picture of how you do this? I'm trying to do 14x17 film in my 3063 and haven't yet come up with a good way to do it. I tried making my own Jobo mat but that has been less than fully successful.

[JamesLee]

Oren,IanMazursky,Scott,Thanks for your information.

[Phil Hudson]

Another method is to use a piece of fiber glass mesh material (the type sold for making drying screens/fly screens) to line the inside of the drum. I have used this method and my early results have been quite good with no obvious drum or mesh marks. The advantage of the mesh is that the solutions can run over the back of the film as well.

It's low cost and requires hardly any skill!

[Scott Davis]

Phil-

have you done this with Pyro developers, or just metol based developers like D76 or Rodinal?

[IanMazursky]

Hi Scott,
Here is a pic of what i did. The foam is only along the edges and they are about 1”x1/4" strips.
I tried making my own jobo style mat but that was a disaster, it ruined the film.
When the film gets wet the ribs on the mat impress upon the base and they are visible in a print or scan.
Not to mention removing the film from the mat is a pain. Jobo used raised standoffs that hold the film in between plastic stops.
That would work great since the film never touches the plastic mat. Unfortunately without vacuum forming equipment, its really hard to make one that would work.

The foam i use is open cell and the fluid can get behind (through) it. All of the AH dye is removed and no change in density has been observed.

I did try some mesh once and it was the same result as the plastic mat. The mesh pattern showed up on the base of my film (HP5 and trix from the 70’s).

Hope that helps.

[Scott Davis]

Ian- so from what I'm seeing, you just have little pads of the stuff between the ribs, at the top end only? Do you have the little pads anywhere else down the barrell of the drum, or do they go from top to bottom and I'm just not seeing it from the reflections in the photo?

[IanMazursky]

I have the foam also on the bottom of the drum. Maybe ½” off of the bottom in the same pattern as the top.
I don’t have any in the middle, the sheet is rigid enough that it stays off of the ribbing.
You might be able to do something like this on your drum.
Just place a sheet of 14x17 in the drum and mark where the edges are. Them place the foam.

One thing to note, i have the foam all around the drum top and bottom edges.
I also put a corner of the film under an edge of the foam. You can see that in the picture i posted.
If the sheet comes off during processing, it can float and settle back onto them no matter where it is in the drum.

[JamesLee]

Another method is to use a piece of fiber glass mesh material (the type sold for making drying screens/fly screens) to line the inside of the drum. I have used this method and my early results have been quite good with no obvious drum or mesh marks. The advantage of the mesh is that the solutions can run over the back of the film as well.

It's low cost and requires hardly any skill!

Pil:Could you post some pictures of drum with mesh?Thanks!!!

[JamesLee]

Hi Scott,
Here is a pic of what i did. The foam is only along the edges and they are about 1”x1/4" strips.
I tried making my own jobo style mat but that was a disaster, it ruined the film.
When the film gets wet the ribs on the mat impress upon the base and they are visible in a print or scan.
Not to mention removing the film from the mat is a pain. Jobo used raised standoffs that hold the film in between plastic stops.
That would work great since the film never touches the plastic mat. Unfortunately without vacuum forming equipment, its really hard to make one that would work.

The foam i use is open cell and the fluid can get behind (through) it. All of the AH dye is removed and no change in density has been observed.

I did try some mesh once and it was the same result as the plastic mat. The mesh pattern showed up on the base of my film (HP5 and trix from the 70’s).

Hope that helps.

Ian:Thanks for your experience.Does the foam stick a Jobo 2840?or Jobo 3063?

[IanMazursky]

Hi James,
Glad i could help. The foam sticks very well to the inside of jobo drums. I use them on all of my jobo drum, 3063, 2830, 2820…..
I buy weather stripping foam in rolls from Home Depot. They are black open cell foam, the thickest ones that are the least wide.
Once i have the roll, i cut off a section a little smaller then the width of the ribbing. I then slice the shiny top off of the foam.
This opens the cells so the chemistry will get to the film. Its hard to get them even but i try to line them up ½”-¾” away from the top and bottom of the drums.

After a number of processing runs or when they fall off, i replace them. If they fall off during processing, they don’t damage the film because they are so porous.
I have had some stick to the film, they just float off with no marks or development changes. They also stick to the cog lid and you just pick them off.
Once them come off, sometimes the adhesive leaves a residue (only if they’re dry), I just rub it off. If they float off wet, usually they leave no residue.