Which Jobo Drum to Use in Color Printing?

[RedSun]

I have several Jobo tank/drums, 15xx, 25xx and 28xx, even the 3063. Which one should I use when I process test strips in color printing?

The clips in the 2840 won't work since the sizes of the strips may vary, and not standard size. Not sure if the expert drum should help me, such as 3006 etc.

Can I let the strip float in the tank? I remember Jobo makes some small test drums. Are they for this purpose? They are standard tank/drums, but just shorter.

[jeroldharter]

You should size your test strips to fit the drum, e.g 2x10, 4x10, 8x10

[RedSun]

But how can I cut the test strips that precise? It is in the dark. So you mean I need to use the clips?

[koh303]

Use a guillotine... making exact size test strips of color paper in the dark is easy.

Mark the cat position on the board of your cutting machine\surface with a thick take, and repeat the tape several times so that it is thicker then the paper.
Then simple slide the paper all the way against the strip of tape - and slice. easy.

[Larry Gebhardt]

I use a 2820 which does 2 4x5 sheets with 40ml of developer. I therefore try to use either 4x5 or 4x10 test strips. This is the drum meant for test strips.

[RedSun]

So you use 4x5 test strips for all sizes of prints? As the test strips, you have to cut the 4x5 from the large paper?

[polyglot]

It's nowhere near that hard. I have I think a 2520 (the tank that does one roll of 120) and use that for test strips, with nothing else inside the tank. No clips, no reels. I cut my test strips to be 8" long and between 0.5"-2" wide by cutting up 8x10" sheets. You can put 4 of those strips in the drum: put pairs of strips back-to-back, put one pair in one side of the drum and the other pair in the other side. Somehow they all get developed with only a rare strip missing out on some chemistry for a couple blotches.

The actual prints go in a larger drum one at a time, facing inwards.

You do need the printing cup to go inside the tank lid instead of the funnel that connects to the centre core when using spirals. Using the funnel with no core gets you light leaks.

[Pasto]

I use the 2820 for all my test strips. I cut test strips from the final paper size with a plain old scissor. They're not pretty but they work. The 2820 is really meant for 2 x 3.5 x 5 prints. I've never tried to see if 4x5 prints fit. I cut the paper on the dimension that fits the ribs in the 2820. For 16x20 paper, that I'm actually printing on at this very moment, I cut it into 7-8 strips on the 16 inch side. One 2820 does all the work for me during a printing session, as long as I properly dry the tank and lid between test strips. For 20x24 prints I use the 3062 expert print drum for 20 inch long strips. It's just like the 3063 but smaller. I hope this helps. Have fun!