Banquet format film processing.....

[scootermm]

okay..... so I built an 8x20 pinhole camera.
its a beast but shes my lovely gorgeous beast.
I managed to get ahold of John at JandC and he sold me some dsfunctional 8x20 film for very cheap so I have the means to try out an actual film neg in my newly created beast.
Ive done alot of paper negative shots and been really pleased with them.

now the question is.... how do you banquet shooters process your negatives? do you use huge 16x20 trays or are there some trays or other means to process an 8x20 negative without using a few liters of chemicals?
I have 16x20 trays and thats what I used for the paper negs but mixing up my pyro in such large batches seems like it would be less than ideal and cost efficient.

I did a search and did not find anything in the archives or previous threads but if I missed where this has been talked about just, verbally chastise me, point me in the right direction, and Ill be on my merry little way....

thanks.

 

[John Kasaian]

I use a Unicolor print drum and base for souping ULF film. Get the 16x20 size drum and you should be able to do two 8x20s at a time.

Cheers!

 

[Jeremy]

We just discussed this in the chatroom, but in case anyone else is going to pipe in with some thoughts or is looking for an answer to the same thing:

Matt and I thought that brush developing in tupperware might be a good idea. It is just a matter of finding a tupperware container that is just a little bit bigger than the film.

 

[Michael Mutmansky]

There are a few manufacturers that make long and narrow trays. I use some from a company called MFG:

http://www.mfgtray.com/mh/

They can be purchased through a place called US Plastics, among other places:

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/product.asp?catalog_name=USPlastic&category_name=97&product_id=3448

They make many more sizes than US Plastic carries, and there might not be an ideal tray for 8x20, but you may find one that is a bit easier to use that the 16x20 tray. For big negatives and prints from banquet cameras, these trays save a huge amount of chemicals and also space in the sink.


---Michael

 

[scootermm]

per jeremy and I's conversation in the chatroom...
Im going to go out and do some "research", visit the container store, target and other tupperware locations. Ill send a note if I find anything worth while.

also ..... speaking of brush developement what brushes do people use?

 

[scootermm]

michael
thanks so much for the links. those trays look perfect and would most definetaly save on space.

 

[Mateo]

Matt,
I use the hake brushes from the art store, the kind with string binding instead of a ferrule.

Michael,
Thanks for the link to the plastic supplier, that'll save me some chemistry for sure.

 

[Nick Zentena]

If you win the lottery Jobo makes [I assume they still do] custom film inserts up to 16x20 to fit thier big print tanks. Only reference with a price I could find is seven years out of date. The price was over $200 for the insert plus I guess $150 for the drum. That'll buy a fair bit of chemistry.

http://www.jobo-usa.com/jq/jq9804.htm

 

[Shinnya]

I use Chromega 16x20 drum to process 2 sheets of 7x17. You can process 8x20 as well since you can adjust inserts for the width of the films you want to process. I find them to be very good for processing sheet films in general. They are quite inexpensive as well on Ebay...

I have a question for those who use Unicolor drum. Will I be able to adjust width of the film so that I can process 2 sheets of 7x17 at a time?

Warmly,
tsuyoshi

 

[jimgalli]

2 at a time in Jobo 2850 tank with perfect repeatable results. As little as 750ml of Pyrocat HD.

 

[John Kasaian]

Shinnya,
There are two fixed channels on the 16x20 Unicolor drum that permit two 7" wide pieces of film to be secured on each side of the drum. Another set permits two 8" wide negatives. For 12" negatives just puttiing one of the edges in a channel seems to work fine. YMMV.

 

[Shinnya]

John,

Thanks for your information. I was always curious as to how films are being secured in the drums. Now, I can look for Unicolor ones as well.

Also, does anyone use Beseler kind for the same purpose? Could I use it for 2 sheets of 7x17 as well?

Warmly,
Tsuyoshi

 

[John Kasaian]

Shinnya,
The spacers in the Unicolor aren't moveable, but they are in the right spaces for holding two 8" wide sheets film or, in the secondary spacers, two 7" wide sheets film.

 

[John Kasaian]

oops! forgot to add that the spacers are ridges of plastic that form an acute angle to the sides of the drum. The edges of the film slide into the angles.