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Thread: DIY?: 20x24 to 24x32" RA4 NovaPrint Processor Style Portable Print Processing

  1. #1

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    DIY?: 20x24 to 24x32" RA4 NovaPrint Processor Style Portable Print Processing

    Hello all,

    I have a Chamonix Silver Solution Box:

    https://www.chamonixviewcamera.com/a...versolutionbox



    Does anyone think if this could be converted to a Nova Print processor style developing system?

    Could I take from the books of Dip and Dunk machines, and so to do agitation I use compressed nitrogren?

    What do you all think?


    Thanks so much!
    Be well

    Best regards,
    Kevin H.

  2. #2

    Re: DIY?: 20x24 to 24x32" RA4 NovaPrint Processor Style Portable Print Processing

    I've seen the RA4 positive process performed using a simple film developing tank.

  3. #3
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: DIY?: 20x24 to 24x32" RA4 NovaPrint Processor Style Portable Print Processing

    The Devil is in the details, and I'm skeptical about evenness of development and cross-contamination between steps. You'd have to handle a wet print multiple times. I do drum development for up to 30X40 prints, and it's been done for even bigger. It's a lot easier to build an efficient drum system.

  4. #4

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    Re: DIY?: 20x24 to 24x32" RA4 NovaPrint Processor Style Portable Print Processing

    Hello Drew Wiley!

    Thanks for the reply

    When you do your drum development at 30x40, may I ask if the drum is DIY and if so, how do you let liquids in the drum but not light or do you only open or fill/drain in the dark?

    I'm going to be buying 8" diameter x 32" pvc pipe to see how well the paper clings to the inner wall (which is a big concern for me).
    The only other obstacle is figuring out how to put liquids in the diy drum without fogging the paper.

    Anyone have any advice?

    There was an idea to buy a smaller, existing drum processor and adapting it's cap onto the 8" pvc pipe end cap.


    Thanks so much!
    Be well

  5. #5
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: DIY?: 20x24 to 24x32" RA4 NovaPrint Processor Style Portable Print Processing

    That was a drum I bought from an excellent company no longer in business. But drums larger than 20X24 can be DIY made from black irrigation pipe sold at agricultural suppliers. A simple endcap would serve at one end, but on the fill and drain end it would have to be modified to both receive solution and be entirely light tight. White PVC might be partially translucent. Black ABS would be better. But you can test. As for filling caps, look at various manufactured varieties to get an idea.

  6. #6

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    Re: DIY?: 20x24 to 24x32" RA4 NovaPrint Processor Style Portable Print Processing


  7. #7

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    Re: DIY?: 20x24 to 24x32" RA4 NovaPrint Processor Style Portable Print Processing

    Hi Drew and Duolab123,

    Drew, I think when I was a little bit interested a while back in building a rotary drum tank I asked you some questions.

    Well, I'm almost ready to start collecting and building.

    May I ask if I was printing ra4 24x32", should I base my circumference on the 24" edge or 32" edge if my paper is 24" wide roll.

    I just wonder if the curl affects the sort of adhesion of the paper to the wall of the tank.

    And my second biggest concern, the light trapping ability.

    Do you think I could just buy, for example, a Jobo 35mm film drum and graft it's end cap on the the possibly 8" pipe end cap?
    Perhaps a Jobo 1520 UniTank lid would work?

    I'm not sure how else to work with plastic/pvc to construct a light trapping end cap.

    Its been 10 years since I graduated Ryerson University (now the Toronto Metropolitan University) with a BFA in Photography and I'm starting to feel inspired again with analog processes.
    If you have any advice or tips printing this big I would really love the friendly stranger support hehe

    ~ ~ ~

    Duolab123, I've never seen that processor style before! Thanks for sharing!

  8. #8
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: DIY?: 20x24 to 24x32" RA4 NovaPrint Processor Style Portable Print Processing

    I don't want to give the wrong impression, but Jobo lids are awfully slow filling and draining relative to large prints due to their small funnel. My 30X40 drum, which accepts solutions around the entire lid perimeter during roatation, actually fills faster than my little Jobo 120 single-roll hand processing drum. It's important for consistency. The RA4 papers I work with come in 30 or 40 inch wide rolls, not 32 inch. The long dimension (40-inch) equates to the drum diameter, not its length. My 30X40 drum diameter is a little bit under 14 inches. For just 24X30, you'd need at least 10-inch inside diameter.
    That does not need to be a fixed rule, except for the length of my processor itself. But too narrow a drum will be hard to load. I don't actually have a 24X30 drum, so have to tape the edges of that smaller paper size to the interior drum wall of my 30X40 drums. Ordinary removable masking tape will leave a permanent blue residue on the corners of the paper (I always leave a white margin for handling purposes). But I discovered that Premium Black Archival Masking Tape (an actual brand name) does not. It's available on the Internet. RC color papers as well as PET-based Fujiflex do fine this way; I'm skeptical about large fiber-based black and white papers done in drums without sagging.

    I have tried using tape behind the print on the drum wall; but that's quite an ordeal in the dark, just getting the print slid in there against the adhesive resistance, and wasn't dependable for me anyway.

    Those old Kodak processors were an interesting concept - the print held on the outside of the drum, spinning through a tank of cascading solutions in the dark. I've seen videos of it being done. I wonder how long the lungs of the operators survived. Saw an old video of one in use - no gloves, not eye goggles, no fume hood - wow! A naive era. Of course, any video showing how to do it involved light; and the demo solutions were probably plain water - but still, wrong impression about its safety.

    Wish I could talk my Dentist into taking an XRay of one of my drum lids. But I dread dentists. They take away not only your money, but your teeth. I have a deluxe drum system. But if you can find an old Dev Tech drum with its front and back caps, those were the most efficient of the cheap variety. I still use those for my test strips and little 8X10's, or even 11X14's. The problem with Jobo is that they designed their drum cap to accommodate the cog drive, so the fill spout hole is quite small.

  9. #9

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    Re: DIY?: 20x24 to 24x32" RA4 NovaPrint Processor Style Portable Print Processing

    Hahaha, great reply Drew Thank you kindly Sir.

    Of all the things on the make and buy list the rotary drum and processing machine are high up.

    I've possibly got a P. Eng to help with the lighting and shutter for the mammoth camera/ra4 direct positive process.

    Drew, I found a supplier for 10.5" inner diameter/12" outer diameter (both approx.) @ 45 USD per 25" lengths but 2 of them will cost me a total of 300 in shipping lol End caps will be sold to me as well.


    In terms of the 30x40 drum processor made by Photographic Consolidated Industries I've found by searching the forum, do you think I will ever find one for sale?
    How rare are they?

    My concerns:

    1. The grafting of a light tight funnel will be disastrous
    2. If I'm directly driving the rotation of drum, with fluids, I wonder how powerful of an electric motor do I need?



    Thank you for sharing some of your knowledge and experiences. I really really appreciate it!
    Be well
    Kevin

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