Do I have to use reels?

[cmacd123]

The Jobo 1500 reels are probaly the "slickest" of the plastic reels. I find the Jobo tanks are less likly to leak than the Paterson System 4. The super system 4 has a better seal than the older Patersons, but I dislike the time it takes to put on the cap beofre you can invert the tank. The older Jobo 1000 reels and tanks are also fairly good, but not as good as the 1500 Series. Hopefully the new production Jobo will be a good as the existing ones....

Stainless stell is slightly harder to get used to. the Loader device is a great help to start. You proably don't need it after a while. Trick with Stainless is keeping the film feeding ABSOUTLY straight, or you will have blotches when the rows touch.

I have only used the Sea-Saw method once, and it does work, but is hard to get right in the dark.

Comercial labs often have (or had) Dip-and-Dunk machines where the film is hung on film clips and the machine lowers it into a deep tank of developer. There were special clips that let a 36 exposure roll be looped in the middle so that the tank did not have to be 6 feet deep. iften the film would be liffted up and advanced every 30 seconds so it went into a new tank, and the thre were enough tanks (or wide enough tanks) to reach the required developing time.

 

[cepwin]

Also make sure everything is dry. I used to rinse my reels and tank before loading until I learned that was likely the cause of my loading problems

 

[Stephanie Brim]

Also make sure everything is dry. I used to rinse my reels and tank before loading until I learned that was likely the cause of my loading problems

Yup. Always have enough reels for the amount of film you plan to be developing at one time. They are inexpensive (most of the time) and it's the only thing you really need to be dry, so you can just have the single tank and 12 reels if you want to. Heh.

 

[ozphoto]

I remember starting out my B&W processing many years ago, with an old Kodak "lasagne" style apron and developing tank. It didn't have it's lid, but the Kodak film container lids fitted perfectly (grey style). Processed hundreds of rolls this way, before I finally found a Patterson tank that was a good price and not damaged. Could be a novel way to process in a bucket. . . . . .

I actually wish I hadn't got rid of it, because it was an extremely quick and easy way to load film for processing and I haven't actually seen one around since.

 

[MartinP]

Another memory from pre-history just surfaced. Long ago 16mm instrument-camera film would often be chucked in a bucket for development etc. All you had to get off it was the time (from the clock in the shot) that the other dials and numbers showed whatever-it-was. So, as the OP jokingly suggested, buckets really have been used to develop long bits of film - though with some slight damage that probably made the results unusable for enlarging.

 

[TooManyShots]

Well, you can use a bit of Zen visualization here. I have successfully developed 2 rolls of 120 BW. I am just beginning to develop my own negatives because I don't feel like being held hostage by some pro labs in Cal. And taking weeks for the turn around time and $25 per roll developed and scanned. I am free, finally. Anyway, still waiting for my Canon 9000f scanner to show up in order to scan my negatives. My first try took me 15 min +. My second roll was a lot easier. I also practice with an used roll in my room with light on but with my eyes closed. I use my bathroom as my darkroom. Just cover the window. Then, I put a large blanket over my head and sitting down on the bathroom floor. I put the reel (paterson system) on top of the tank so that it won't roll around on the floor. Once the film has been unwrapped, I used 2 fingers on each corner of the film lead. Then, I slowly guide it to the reel. I make sure each corner is successfully passing through slot. I don't rush because there is no point. You either get it to load correctly or you give up and ruining your film. I may need to try few times but would eventually get the film to pass through the ball bearing. The rest is just easy.

 

[snaggs]

OK, looks like its steel reels then (only thing I can get off the shelf for 70mm). Do the film loaders help? (Hewes make them).

Daniel.

 

[luizjorgemn]

Well, you can use a bit of Zen visualization here. I have successfully developed 2 rolls of 120 BW. I am just beginning to develop my own negatives because I don't feel like being held hostage by some pro labs in Cal. And taking weeks for the turn around time and $25 per roll developed and scanned. I am free, finally. Anyway, still waiting for my Canon 9000f scanner to show up in order to scan my negatives. My first try took me 15 min +. My second roll was a lot easier. I also practice with an used roll in my room with light on but with my eyes closed. I use my bathroom as my darkroom. Just cover the window. Then, I put a large blanket over my head and sitting down on the bathroom floor. I put the reel (paterson system) on top of the tank so that it won't roll around on the floor. Once the film has been unwrapped, I used 2 fingers on each corner of the film lead. Then, I slowly guide it to the reel. I make sure each corner is successfully passing through slot. I don't rush because there is no point. You either get it to load correctly or you give up and ruining your film. I may need to try few times but would eventually get the film to pass through the ball bearing. The rest is just easy.

Hello from Brazil. Sorry if my English is poor.

One advice: take a scissor and do a small cut at the edges of the film, angled 45 degrees. This little angled cut will make it easier for you to load the film.
If you didn't understand, look for it over the web. At the AP reels manual you can find a better description.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[hdeyong]

Yes, I find cutting the corners of the leading end of the film on a 45' angle helps, too. I start the film onto the reels in the light, Just pull out enough film, which is wasted anyway, cut off the leader and angle-cut the corners, start the film and then do the rest of the loading in the dark. The canister dangling on the end of the film while it's going into the reel acts as a little weight to keep the film from curling up and tangling. Been doing this for decades and never had a problem, (as long as the reels were DRY and CLEAN).