Any Experience with processing 20x24 sheets in 3063 expert drum?

[Enrico Scotece]

Hi all,
I'm waiting till I can place an order with Ilford for HP5 in 20x24.
In the meantime I'm exposing 20x24 Multitone Lith Film as continuous tone negatives. Using Dektol 1+25 etc etc...

How do I avoid the blotchiness? I know this is a pith film problem. The closest I got was to avoid the expert drum and tray process with a pre-wash (more like a full hose rinse!). Once all the dye was gone the processing improved immensely.

Does anyone get problems with the 3063 tank since it has ribs along the inside of the tank? (i.e.. uneven processing or streaks/marks etc)?

Enrico

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I tried doing 14x17 sheet film in the 3063. I would get vertical lines running down my film where the ribs pushed the film up a little and caused turbulence in the developer. The trick I've been given to solve this problem is to put pads of window insulating high-density foam (the stuff that comes in 1" wide strips with peel-off adhesive on the back) around the circumference of the drum, at the top, middle and bottom, between the ribs. This will raise your film off the ribs and keep it from slopping around and scratching itself. This solution works, but I'm not thrilled with it. I've decided that on the rare occasions I shoot with the monster, I'll just tray process my sheets and be VERY, VERY careful.