Developing tanks with aprons

zanxion72 · Jul 17, 2018

Accidentally, at a local flea market, I came across a tinny "ARS Roll Film Developing Tank 35". It looked like new and bought it for 5 euros. Inside it had an apron and not the usual reels.
The very next night I tried it with a roll of 135 film. I was surprised by the ease of loading film to the apron. No film pushing, no special edge cutting prior to loading, Just wind them together and in less than a minute everything was ready. The sweat from my hands had no effect in loading the film in the tank (it is pretty warm here these days, 35-40 deg C).

Amazing how simple it is. I am to convert another of my developing tanks to use aprons, 2, or even 3 at the same time. Is it possible to buy aprons for film developing. I have googled it and all I get is kitchen related stuff.

pentaxuser · Jul 17, 2018

Sounds useful but I cannot envisage what an apron looks like that makes it perform the function of a reel but is easier to load. Can you show pictures of it?

Thanks

pentaxuser

jon.oman · Jul 17, 2018

I'd like to see an image also...

GRHazelton · Jul 17, 2018

pentaxuser said:
Sounds useful but I cannot envisage what an apron looks like that makes it perform the function of a reel but is easier to load. Can you show pictures of it?

Thanks

pentaxuser

I began my darkroom "career" with a Kodak tank which used aprons. IIRC my Father and I had aprons for 35mm, 120 and 127. What do they look like? Imagine a transparent piece of lasagne the length of the film plus a little, with a small roll at one end secured with a rivet. In total darkness the end of the film is put against the rivet, and the "lasagne" with its frilled edges, is wound up with the film, forming a sandwich. In the Kodak tank a slotted metal plate held the whole thing down; I additionall used a properly sized rubber band around the roll of film/apron. No inversion agitation. The device worked well; with 35mm the perforations hid the tiny spots of contact with the apron, on 120 am 127 the spots might be visible depending on the film gate of the camera. I used the tank for Ektachrome processing, the one with reversal via photoflood lamp!

Marcelo Paniagua · Jul 17, 2018

Something like this?

They are easy to use and was indeed my first tank back when I was 12 years old. Sadly they are not very durable. Plastic tend to become yellow/brown and become brittle with use. At least they did for me. Also, almost positive they started to degrade with color film and E6 chemistry.

After that, I moved to plastic reel and finally to stainless steel and didnt turn back.

Regards

Marcelo

Paul Howell · Jul 17, 2018

While in high school we used Kodacraft tanks and aprons. The metal plates sits on top keeping the apron from floating up and it allows for one more than one roll to be process at time. We had both 35mm and 120, the tank held 2 35mm or one 120. They were great for high school kits, never lost a roll due to poor film handling. Our process was to load the tank in the dark then add the developer and put the top on then turn on the white lights. With use they turn brown. Not long ago (within the last 10 years) I saw a new third party apron and tank on one of the film sites, might have been Freestyle.

guangong · Jul 17, 2018

Tanks made by Leitz also used aprons.

pentaxuser · Jul 17, 2018

Certainly a new piece of kit to me. Thanks all for the explanation and pictures. It isn't immediately obvious from the picture of the apron but from GRHazelton's explanation it sounds like the edges of the apron have raised bits to ensure that the film doesn't stick to the apron which might prevent development. Have I got this right?

pentaxuser

MattKing · Jul 17, 2018

pentaxuser said:
Certainly a new piece of kit to me. Thanks all for the explanation and pictures. It isn't immediately obvious from the picture of the apron but from GRHazelton's explanation it sounds like the edges of the apron have raised bits to ensure that the film doesn't stick to the apron which might prevent development. Have I got this right?

pentaxuser

Yep - the raised bits keep the layers separated, and the film "floating" in between.
I first used them about 50 years ago.
If someone has any of the 616/116 aprons, I'd love to talk!

Paul Howell · Jul 17, 2018

In the more distant past, maybe 15 or so years ago someone posted that he had made his own aprons, found a flexible plastic that he created the wave pattern by using a curling iron. If it works you could make your 616 apron.

Sirius Glass · Jul 17, 2018

New to me too.

AgX · Jul 17, 2018

zanxion72 said:
Is it possible to buy aprons for film developing. I have googled it and all I get is kitchen related stuff.

All Apron tanks I knew of before were older than me...

However, today for the first time I learn of that Kodak tank. it seems to be younger.

GRHazelton · Jul 17, 2018

pentaxuser said:
Certainly a new piece of kit to me. Thanks all for the explanation and pictures. It isn't immediately obvious from the picture of the apron but from GRHazelton's explanation it sounds like the edges of the apron have raised bits to ensure that the film doesn't stick to the apron which might prevent development. Have I got this right?

pentaxuser

Quite right! Dried lasagne pasta was the best example I could come up with. I don't know what happened to my old tank....

Paul Howell · Jul 17, 2018

I think Kodak made the Kodacraft tanks until the 60s. There are a number on Ebay, not cheap, seem to run 12 and up for a tank, plate and apron in good shape. Not sure why they were no longer made, other than by the 70s Patterson and Patterson style tanks and reels took off.

GRHazelton · Jul 17, 2018

A "fun" thread! I used the Kodacraft tank for 35mm, and found it much easier for 120 than stainless steel or Paterson. I find the thinner base of 120 film difficult to handle in Paterson reels. If I could find a Kodacraft tank with the 120 apron I'd seriously consider it. I have no idea where my tank has gone.

BAC1967 · Jul 17, 2018

I have this Kodak Day-Load Tank that supposedly you can load a roll of 35mm film without needing a dark room or dark bag. It uses an apron like the one mentioned above but somehow you load the film into the small chamber and then turn a knob to feed the film into the apron. Obviously I haven't tried to use it yet, I need to look at the instructions.

Paul Howell · Jul 17, 2018

GRHazelton said:
A "fun" thread! I used the Kodacraft tank for 35mm, and found it much easier for 120 than stainless steel or Paterson. I find the thinner base of 120 film difficult to handle in Paterson reels. If I could find a Kodacraft tank with the 120 apron I'd seriously consider it. I have no idea where my tank has gone.

There is one on Ebay.

GRHazelton · Jul 17, 2018

Paul Howell said:
There is one on Ebay.

Thanks, I saw it, but from what I could tell the apron was badly discolored. Probably not a good sign.

pentaxuser · Jul 17, 2018

GRHazelton said:
I find the thinner base of 120 film difficult to handle in Paterson reels. If I could find a Kodacraft tank with the 120 apron I'd seriously consider it. I have no idea where my tank has gone.

Interestingly while I have managed to load a 120 onto a Jobo reel, I prefer to use the Durst reel which has a loader attached. Once you attach the lead to the centre spring via the loader the rest is easy. The Durst 35mm tank has a loader as well but I find the Jobo 35mm reel easier to use. This kind of replicates your experience. 120 film is not the easiest to load

pentaxuser

AgX · Jul 17, 2018

pentaxuser said:
... I find the Jobo 35mm reel easier to use.

Keep in mind there are two different Jobo reels, the clear and the white ones.

Paul Howell · Jul 17, 2018

GRHazelton said:
Thanks, I saw it, but from what I could tell the apron was badly discolored. Probably not a good sign.

The aprons we used in high school were stained dark brown, did not make any difference. Like Patterson reels you can use various cleaners. dont known if anyone still makes tray cleaner.

thuggins · Jul 18, 2018

I ran across this a while back when reading thru some old articles and advertisements. Kodak even made a box that you loaded the film and apron in, closed the lid and turned the crank! Considering that loading the reel is the hardest part of the whole development process (and I use Hewes reels!), this looked like a great idea. But as is often the case, technology marches on and the new method is inferior to the old.

abruzzi · Jul 31, 2018

The typical complaint I hear about the aprons is they limit the circulation of developer. I’ve mostly done stand development with mine so that is less of an issue. They made “miniature film aprons” (35mm) and the regular “film aprons” (120 and 620). They take all the challenge out of loading the reel. The tanks are the same for 35 and 120, and they can’t be inverted. The metal plates are slightly different. The 120 plates are a slightly larger diameter and have a raised arc to make it easier to grab. The 35mm plate went in between two rolls of 35 and were flat without the raised bit. There wasn’t a plate on the top reel because the lid of the tank served the same purpose of keeping the warped part of the apron (which touched the film), at the edges of the film where they wouldn’t interfere with the picture.

An interesting side point. I recently saw something about a Japanese boutique film manufacturer that makes emulsion on 35mm sproketed paper. Their “film” can’t be spooled on standard reels (plastic or metal) so they sell a kit with clear base and a heavy thread that you look back and forth through the sprocket holes on the base. The thread touches the “film” at the edges, and spaces the rest away, just like the “lasagne” aprons.

AgX · Jul 31, 2018

abruzzi said:
Their “film” can’t be spooled on standard reels (plastic or metal)...

Why not? The paper thickness?

Camera "film" with a 35mm perforated paper base is nothing new. So the issue of tank developing would have come up before.

gorbas · Jul 31, 2018

MattKing said:
Yep - the raised bits keep the layers separated, and the film "floating" in between.
I first used them about 50 years ago.
If someone has any of the 616/116 aprons, I'd love to talk!

Matt, you can make your own #616/116 apron from 70mm film and threading thicker fishing line thru perforations. If you have wide enough reel I will give you few feet of 70mm film or just use 2 paterson reels to make 70mm wide reel. It works!

Developing tanks with aprons

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