A hare brained scheme to process 8x10 sheet film?

Mainecoonmaniac · May 15, 2018

I've been toying with this idea for a while regarding processing an 8x10 single sheet film. I'm wondering if I could use an 8x10 film hanger inside an 8x10 plastic paper safe? I could add a light baffle to allow the filling and draining of the safe. Opinions?

Luckless · May 15, 2018

Well the obvious first question would be: Does the hanger fit in the paper safe? - Your plans might become far more complicated if you haven't double checked that point early on.

Second point I would worry about is how reliable of a light trap can you add to it, how durable it and the connection is, and how evenly you can flow developer and stop bath in/out of it.

Thirdly I would want to ensure that there aren't any real issues during agitation, and how well the paper safe seals against liquids. - Can you easily set up any standing waves that make stuff surge out the light trap? Does it leak around any seams? etc.

Interested to hear how the project goes. I've been looking for more options on doing sheet film at home for myself, so I'm always curious about new ideas people are working with. Good luck.

Alan9940 · May 15, 2018

Sounds like more effort than needed to me. If you want simple, make some tanks out of gray Schedule 40 pipe and some end caps. If you want easier and faster fill-n-dump, get some removable stoppers for one end. If you're interested, look up Steve Sherman and EMA. He has a video showing these tanks.

ic-racer · May 15, 2018

This is for 4x5 but a daylight system for 8x10 could be made.

Paul Howell · May 15, 2018

8X10 color paper drum and motor base.

Mainecoonmaniac · May 15, 2018

Paul Howell said:
8X10 color paper drum and motor base.

Actually, I do have one. I have a Beseler 8x10 drum. I plan to process Fuji X-ray film. The emulsion gets soft and I'm afraid that I might scratch the emulsion trying to remove the processed film out of the drum. I'm going to have to run a test. The cool thing about the drum is when I processed 8x10 color prints, I used as little as 1.5 ounces of chemistry. I'm going to have to run a test with it.

John Wiegerink · May 16, 2018

The paper-safe idea works just fine. I made one about five years ago. I can use it for four sheets of 4X5 and one sheet of 8X10. I nipped the side tabs off that hold the hanger in the tank so as to be able to fit it inside the paper-safe. My paper safe was the cheaper molded kind that had a deep groove on the under side. I drilled holes in that groove which allows me to fill and empty the thing. I load it right side up and then flip it over to fill. To empty I just flip it over and the developer empties out the holes. The nice thing about it was that I never once got scratches on my negative when using it. I stopped using it since I do almost zero 8X10 now and I bought the Stearman SP-445 pictured above. JohnW

removed account4 · May 16, 2018

as long as it doesn't leak i guess it will work .
i do mine in a tray ..

bvy · May 16, 2018

Why stop there? Why not a system that lets you process the film right on the film holder? It's something I've been "designing in my head" for some time...

Luckless · May 16, 2018

bvy said:
Why stop there? Why not a system that lets you process the film right on the film holder? It's something I've been "designing in my head" for some time...

Dealing with the light trap for the dark slide in that case sounds like a real pain due to the risk of salts build up in them and leading to light leaks.

bvy · May 16, 2018

Luckless said:
Dealing with the light trap for the dark slide in that case sounds like a real pain due to the risk of salts build up in them and leading to light leaks.

Sorry. I meant that a holder would have to be modified or specially built for this purpose.

Craig · May 16, 2018

I've developed ortho film in a Kodak paper safe, and it worked fine. Obviously you have the change solutions in the dark, but that's not a problem if you're organized.

jimjm · May 16, 2018

I've been using BTZS tubes for 4x5 for years now, and really like the simplicity of the method. Moving up to 5x7 I didn't want to pay for larger BTZS tubes, so I just made my own from ABS plastic tubes and caps from the home improvement store.
For 8x10, I would think 3" diameter tubes and fittings would work fine.
Benefits: Daylight developing, all other steps in dim safelight. Only need to load film in the dark. Very small quantity of developer needed per sheet. Consistent, even development. I can develop multiple sheets at the same time and still vary the development time for each one. No chance for light leaks and easy to clean and store.
Cons: No motorized agitation, but that's not a concern for me.
Here are my home made 5x7 tubes:

Mainecoonmaniac · May 16, 2018

jimjm said:
I've been using BTZS tubes for 4x5 for years now, and really like the simplicity of the method. Moving up to 5x7 I didn't want to pay for larger BTZS tubes, so I just made my own from ABS plastic tubes and caps from the home improvement store.
For 8x10, I would think 3" diameter tubes and fittings would work fine.
Benefits: Daylight developing, all other steps in dim safelight. Only need to load film in the dark. Very small quantity of developer needed per sheet. Consistent, even development. I can develop multiple sheets at the same time and still vary the development time for each one. No chance for light leaks and easy to clean and store.
Cons: No motorized agitation, but that's not a concern for me.
Here are my home made 5x7 tubes:

View attachment 200675

Hey Jim,

Thanks! I'm going to have to do some investigating at Home Depot. One weird thing I have to contend with is that Fuji HRT radiograph film has emulsions on both sides. I think using tubes might require me to fix the film in a tray to remove the unexposed silver from the base side.

jimjm · May 16, 2018

Mainecoonmaniac said:
Hey Jim,

Thanks! I'm going to have to do some investigating at Home Depot. One weird thing I have to contend with is that Fuji HRT radiograph film has emulsions on both sides. I think using tubes might require me to fix the film in a tray to remove the unexposed silver from the base side.

Yep, that's what I do as well since the anti-halation dye does not sufficiently clear from the back of normal films. With the safelight on, I remove the film from the tube after the stop bath and fix in a tray. I also use Hypo clear and that removes any remaining dye from the film before the wash.

John51 · May 16, 2018

A Nova slot processor could be used.

A hare brained scheme to process 8x10 sheet film?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency