Apron/Correx type reels - any advantages?

[AgX]

I ask this as long time ago Jobo for several of their tanks offered the choice between spiral reels and plain reels that were intended to roll the film by means of an apron.
The apron method came before the spiral, which even vanished here from the market again. Only when twistable spiral reels came up their success story began.
I never used one one (long before my time). For those who don't know: the apron or Correx tape was a strip as wide as the photographic film made of Acetate film (I guess) that at both rebates had dimples, protruding to both sides. Thus enabling to wind the film onto itself, still yielding space for the bath between filmstrip layers.

Now I wonder why Jobo did offer Apron/Correx tape reels.
Of course one may argue that it was intended for people out of sheer conservatism clinging to such.


Or where there also advantages over the spiral?

-) In the discussion about films getting sticky in changing bags, I see advantages for tape rolling.

 

[AgX]

3 days, no reply... no old farts around who still used aprons? This no longer is good old Apug...

 

[miha]

Hi @AgX, a picture of such type might help. I personally don't know there were other types of spirals once available, but I'm sure interested to learn about them. Thanx.

 

[AgX]

As I described above:

-) a reel of the width of the respective film, with punctuated flanges, without spiral groves, flat inside
-) a plastic strip of the width and lenght of the respective film, with dimples on bothe sides of the rebates

 

[tezzasmall]

I have found them available new in the past, but one had to REALLY shop / look around on the internet to find them.

The one time that I was introduced to them and used them, was when I taught b/w taking, developing and printing, on an American camp for boys - aged about 8 - 16 years, but this was about 30 years ago though, in the 1980's.

I've seen conversations about them popping up over the years on various forums, but I can imagine a big majority of members will never have either seen or used one, as I hadn't years ago.

They were a very useful item, and classes of up to about 12 people, who had never unloaded a 126 film from it's case - in the dark - managed to get their films into the tanks for developing, with no problems. I do sometimes wonder why they disappeared from use.

Terry S

 

[AgX]

Thank you.

 

[miha]

I guess this link might be of use (found it by googling for Correx):

https://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/Paterson/Developing_Tanks/Tank_History.html

Have a look at the DIMPLE dish - that's a win in my book

 

[MattKing]

If we were local, I could let you actually touch a few of the Kodak or Freestyle varieties.

 

[AgX]

And do you see (or feel) advantages of the apron over the spiral?

 

[MattKing]

The aprons are very easy to use. If you have strongly curled films - such as very old films - they are great.
With some carefully placed painter's tape, I can easily load that strongly curled film with my 1.5 hands.

 

[AgX]

The only recent reference to Correx reels/tanks I know is from Gigabitfilm (High Resolution Films) from over 15 years ago, Here the bad tank construction was hinted at, which praktically only allowed agitation with that stick and yielded long bath exchanging times due to small funnels. But that of course had been surpassed by the Jobo tanks I started this thread with.
Maybe one day I come such across. So far I only came across one Correx tank, of the antique style and respective price.

 

[BradS]

I learned with the old style (Kodak?) tanks with the apron. It is what they had at school and they were easier to load than the stainless steel spirals of the time. Within a year I bought my own kit which included a GAF tank with plastic reels...and I never ever used the apron or the stainless steel reels again.

 

[Paul Howell]

Same here, in high school we had Kodacraft tanks and reels, they worked pretty good, I found a tank and apron at a garage sale, the apron was brittle so I passed. In college and AF we used SS tanks and reels. When working as a PJ when possible I packed a small single roll GAF tank and plastic retched type reel in case I had to develop film in the field which I on occasion. I picked the GAF tank and plastic reel over SS as SS reels are easily bent and hard to roll not a chance I wanted to take in the field. This topic comes up on occasion and some folks seem to have bought flexible plastic sheeting and using a electric curling iron made their own plastic aprons.

Kodacraft came in 35mm, 127, 120, there was larger tank that took 2 rolls, a perforated metal plate was used to separate the rolls.

 

[bernard_L]

Apron reels are the only way to develop Washi films. Well, not the only; one ca, also use the see-saw method.

 

[Hunter_Compton]

The apron method of tank development is, as far as I can tell, the earliest method of tank development employed. The history of the apron method dates to 1900 or thereabouts, and the inventor A.W. McCurdy, seen below with an early developmental daylight film tank.



After further developmental work, McCurdy presented his design to George Eastman, who bought the patent rights to McCurdy's developing machine in 1902. This would be put on the market as the Kodak Developing Machine, later called the Kodak Developing Tank. This illustration from 1907 shows the tank in use:

The following catalog excerpt from 1907 describes the apparatus. The usage of the loading machine and tank allowed the development of roll films in full daylight with no changing bag or darkroom necessary. To begin with the film was constructed slightly differently than we are accustomed today. Attached to the end of the film itself was a 4" long piece of paper. After shooting a roll of film, the photographer would unroll the backing paper until this tail appeared, and then tape it to the backing paper. This meant that the film would be attached to the backing paper on both ends, and not curl up when the backing paper was taken off the spool. At this point, the film and backing paper, still rolled on the spool, would be placed in the loading machine with the reel and opaque apron, where the film (backing paper and all) would be loaded onto the reel with the apron. This system is quite similar to the modern day Lab Box system. Once loaded on the reel, the film could be removed and placed in the tank for development.

This system would later be employed in the Kodacraft roll film tank, however, in this system the aprons were clear and the tank utilized no reel, instead relying on a weight to keep the apron and film submerged.

I have a bit of experience with the latter system, and by far, I consider it to be the easiest film tank system to load, bar none. This is its primary advantage. All the user needs to do is remove the film from its backing paper or cassette and roll it up in the apron.

The disadvantages are, however, numerous, as compared to plastic or steel spiral reels. Because the apron is not contained in a reel, the tank cannot be inverted and the user must rely on a figure-8 swirling motion to agitate the developer. The aprons themselves are delicate, both physically and to chemical exposure. They will eventually yellow and crack due to continued exposure to developing chemicals, but with B&W chemicals this takes some time. They are not compatible with the Bleach and higher temperatures of color developing.

 

[MattKing]

Kodacraft came in 35mm, 127, 120, there was larger tank that took 2 rolls, a perforated metal plate was used to separate the rolls.

I never saw the double tank.
What I would like to have is the other size of aprons - the 616/116 aprons - because the 616 film I have is curled like spring steel.
The perforated metal plate is also used on top of the apron in the single tanks.
You can try using the aprons in invertible tanks, but they work better in a tank with a prong on the bottom that helps keep one end of the apron centred in the tank.

 

[AgX]

You can try using the aprons in invertible tanks, but they work better in a tank with a prong on the bottom that helps keep one end of the apron centred in the tank.

The Jobo tanks of course were already of the inversion type. I assume one end of the apron was fixed on way or the other to the stem of the reel. I got no idea though how the free ends of film and apron were fixed. Apron widths ranged from 16 mm (at least) up to 70mm.

 

[eddie]

We called the aprons "film lasagnas". When I taught, they were a good way for beginners to get results without the difficulty of trying to load a metal reel, and without having film contact itself. With metal, they could take a half hour trying to load a roll of 35mm, often with frustrating results. With the lasagna, they'd be in and out in 5 minutes, with every frame coming out fine.

 

[Hunter_Compton]

I never saw the double tank.
What I would like to have is the other size of aprons - the 616/116 aprons - because the 616 film I have is curled like spring steel.

I haven't seen a larger size either. The normal Kodacraft tank will accept two rolls of 35mm or 828, but only one of 127, 120/620 or 116/616.

I haven't seen any of the 116/616 aprons come up for sale. It took me a couple of months before I finally found a 127 apron to go with my tank.

 

[AgX]

Thank you all for the participation so far, this thread finally came alive. Actually I am surprised by the positive reports on a device/technique that completely vanished.

 

[eddie]

I'm surprised no one makes them. They can't be expensive to produce.

 

[neilt3]

You might also want to have a fresh read of this thread ; https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/developing-tanks-with-aprons.161147/
At the time Firstcall photographic sold the 35mm one that I linked too , but have since stopped selling them .

 

[Paul Howell]

Our high school had a double tank, would take 2 rolls of 120, either 3 or 4 35mm, we shot mostly 120 in the 60s, but it might have been another brand besides Kodak. I wonder if Yankee made tanks that would take 2 120 rolls, any tank would work, the issue was the plate that separated the rolls. Could all be confabulated memoires, thinking about the large SS tanks we used in college and in the Air Force, I have a SS Nikkor tank that will fit 4 120 rolls, don't use it much as it take a very long time to fill and empty.

 

[AgX]

I'm surprised no one makes them. They can't be expensive to produce.

Then the idea should be to make an apron reel compatible to one of the major spiral reels.

 

[voceumana]

Freestyle Photo offered a copycat version of these for 120 film a few years ago--no longer available. I always thought someone should make something like this for sheet film, too--at least for 4x5 and 5x7.