developing roll film

[Eric Brody]

I would love to know how the roll film users on the forum develop their film. What tanks and/or processors are people using? For the record, I shoot TMAX 100 and 400 and develop in Xtol diluted 1:2. My issue relates to evenness of development. I realize this is not a strictly LF question, but there must be LF camera users who shoot with roll film backs.

For a number of years, I had been developing my 4x5 and roll film in a 2521 Jobo tank with a CPE-2 processor. Uneven 4x5 development and recommendations from experts led me to get a Jobo 3010 drum recently (from a LF forum member) and I am using it on an old Beseler roller base until I can acquire a CPP processor at a reasonable price. The 3010 delivers exquisitely even development at least in the few batches I have done. I only wish I had done it sooner.

I have not been happy with the evenness of my roll film development in the 2521. There is occasional unevenness along the edges. I do not recall having this problem in the old days when I used stainless steel reels and a stainless steel tank in a water bath and agitated for the first 30 seconds and then 5 seconds per minute. I was using Agfa 100 and Rodinal 1:50 then.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

"Tanks" so much.

Eric

[Nick_3536]

I use 2551 and bigger tanks for everything basically. All on unicolor motorbase.

Some people have no problem others have problems. I've never been able to figure out why it doesn't work for some. At first I thought they were using low developer volumes but some of the people it works for using very low amounts of developer.

You could try inversion with your 2521 tanks if you want.

[Herb Cunningham]

I use patterson tanks/reels. Presoak 3 to 5 min , develop in pryrocat hd for 12 min

at 2:2: 100. Multiple inversions first minute, two inversion/minute after. Works for me. never could see doing the motorized stuff just to save a touch of developer, which I mix myself from raw chemicals, so it is cheap.

don't have any un eveness issues. developing 120 film

[John Cahill]

My 120 goes in my gallon 5x7 tanks, on ss reels, on a rod. Of course, I have to sit in the dark listening to music and the timer, but have never had a problem with uneven development. I agitate as if it were sheet film. Thirty to forty seconds gentle lifting at the beginning, then lift it free, tilt the reels, back in solution, lift again, and tilt.
For years I have used replenished D23, which is a very forgiving developer.

[ic-racer]

My issue relates to evenness of development.

Yes, excellent question. I have been concerned with this also (here is a thread on my rotary/rodinal experiments http://www.largeformatphotography.in...d.php?t=23322).

From a, so called 'expert technique' standpoint, I would evaluate a rotary process with evenness of development first, followed by the evaluation of other characteristics (like sharpness/grain/contrast) only after estabilishing an even development.

Much has been written on the relationship between developers and film when it comes to grain/contrast/sharpness, but much less is written about evenness of development. So a lot of the decision making has to come from anecdotal accounts of others or extensive personal experimentation.

Broad statements like 'this reel is better; this tank is better; prewash is better' etc, are unfounded without defining the developer/film/agitation parameters.

I have not had the time to experiment with 1/10000th of the combinations available, but I can say from personal experience with t-max developer that it gives good results even in the toughest of conditions: Jobo 1500 tanks, plastic reels, 120 film, rotary process.

The worst I have tried is tech pan developer (but this is expected).

Rodinal looks like it is also a star player with rotary, however, my tests all involved the pre-requisite of 10cc of solution per 120 roll.

I think getting good results with the 120 rolls is more difficult than 35mm because the image area comes much closer to the edge of the reel. Because of this, I tend to think that if I can get good 120 processing, the other formats will also come out even.

Interested in reading other's results.

[Brian Ellis]

Paterson tanks.

[Mick Fagan]

The only times I have ever had uneven development of 4x5" film in a 2521 tank was whenever I loaded 6 sheets, instead of 4 on the reel.

Jobo states that these reels do hold 6 sheets but for critical processing of even backgrounds, it's recommmended that only four sheets be loaded onto the reel.

I tested this when I first started processing B&W, E6 and C41 sheet film and Kodak's sheet color print film, which is a C41 process but you end up with a transparency. This was in 1986, I don't believe anything has changed since.

I agreed with Jobo, you do get an uneven development, since then I have only ever developed 4 sheets at a time.

Regarding roll film, I use the 1500 series of tanks exclusively, never had an issue with 135 nor 120 with one roll per reel. I have had an issue with uneven development when I use the 1540 tank and load 4 rolls of 120 film, two rolls to each reel.

The issue was due (I believe) to running the minimum amount of solution, which is 470ml. By switching to 500ml of solution the uneven development went away and hasn't returned.

I've been using 500ml for all processing whenever I use the 1540 tank, regardless of the film combinations. Likewise whenever I use the 1520 tank for one or two rolls on one reel, I use 300ml instead of the minimum of 270ml.

I run a very early model CPE2 which has the two speeds and a lift.

Obviously with E6 and C41 processes I use those solutions as they are basically, but not exclusively, not negotiable. With B&W film whether it be Tmax 100/400, Ilford FP4 & FP5, Fuji NP100/400 & 1600 I use D76 mixed from scratch. Almost always at 1+1, sometimes 1+3, hardly ever, neat.

Mick.

Mick.

[Marco Polo]

I was frequently getting edge marks on my 120 roll film when I developed it in a Patterson tank using a staining developer. I read somewhere that inversion agitation can cause this. Now I shake the tank up and down like a cocktail shaker and the edge marks have disappeared. Remember that staining developers are more prone to uneven development.

Mark

[jj golden]

i shoot LF with a 6x9 film back, my development is pretty simple, my tank is a yankee, presoak for 1 min, rapping the bottom of tank, then d76 1:1 9 min invert tank 4 times for the first 10 sec, then wait 50 sec for the clock to go back around. invert 2 times in 5 sec, then when clock gets to the half min mark invert 2 times in 5 sec, do that until about 15 sec before time is up. stop bath 30 sec(continuous agitation) fix agitate for 30 sec per min up to 10 min. i have never had any problems with uneveness.

[Per Madsen]

I have a Patterson tank with space for 3 35 mm rolls or 2 120 rolls.

I presoak for 2 minutes and use D-76.