Dry-to-dry RA-4 at home, or colour darkroom in PNW?

Is anyone printing 20x24 RA-4 at home? I'm exploring options as there is no public access colour darkroom in Seattle (that I know of).

The Fujimoto desktop machines are all crazy expensive for what they are, I'd rather install a full size commercial machine for the prices I'm seeing on eBay.

Ultimately I'm looking to print up to 20x24, at least once a week, about 5-10 sheets a session. I have a Jobo CPA2 but that just seems so tedious and fiddly for prints I just couldn't stand it.

Space is not a huge concern, I have plenty of basement space.

Any opinions or pointers welcome, especially if anyone knows of a PNW colour darkroom that one can access on a regular basis.

Realize that large roller-transport processors need a lot of chemical volume. Just depends on how big a capacity you want to go.
I sold my 20 inch wide unit, and turned down a free 50 inch Kreonite one. You also have to factor replenishment and ventilation.

I really prefer doing it in light-tight drums using the chemistry one-shot. That solves a lot of issues, and minimizes maintenance fuss. I do up to 30X40 inch prints in drums; the big ones are no more work than small ones or even test strips, except for cutting the paper off wide rolls in the dark. My machine is quite a bit more robust than any Jobo, and the drums fill and drain much more efficiently. But there was quite a bit of personal customization involved. You can't just go out and buy something like this;
so you need some shop skills to build one yourself. But quite a few people have done it.

The exposed paper is loaded in the drums in the darkroom, and then the actual processing is done outdoors, with the roller unit on a portable cart. This minimizes my exposure to the chemistry. One can develop sensitivity to color chemistry over time.

DEV TEC Drums come up on Ebay now and then, 20x24, and a trough for a water bath. You don't really need much for RA4.

mshchem said:

DEV TEC Drums come up on Ebay now and then, 20x24, and a trough for a water bath. You don't really need much for RA4.

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This.

I don’t even know if you would need the water bath, when I used to use drums up to 16x20 a pre-rinse to get up to temp in the drum was all that was needed. The developer is only I there for 45 seconds after all.

Also, I used to think 20x24 was the large size I wanted, but found 16x20 worked well for me and it’s easier to find gear for and handle.

I’m sensitive to RA4 developer fumes so no open trays for me.

0x001688936CA08 said:

I'd rather install a full size commercial machine for the prices I'm seeing on eBay.

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That's a possibility, but especially for a dry-to-dry setup, have you checked what the energy costs are of running such a setup? Also, ensure your space is well-ventilated as the dryer will heat things up big-time. Might be OK on cold days, but in summer, it may make things very, very uncomfortable.

Sorry, no really good suggestions; 20x24 is big and whatever route you choose, it's going to be a chore. I only do inkjet on that size.

You're not going to be able to do enough to justify the upkeep and maintenance. Both Koraks and I have a modified Durst RCP-20 roller transport system. Developer, stop, and blix. Then rinse and wash in running water, in a tray. Then I run mine through an old but reliable Ilford dryer.
The RCP-20 is limited to 8 1/2 " wide paper. I only get mine out if I need to make a bunch of prints, I use mine for black and white too.

Even this baby machine requires considerable effort, I never leave the machine sit overnight with chemistry, my rollers are in great shape because it's never been used professionally. Without parts and factory support you can't treat these machines like they were used in the good old days.

It all boils down to how much money you want and can afford to spend, doesn't it? Come to think of it, that applies to almost everything in life with the possible exception of the pursuit of true love where more basic "drivers", established at dawn of time take over.

pentaxuser

Most of the energy consumption is due to the dryer, which is optional. One can air dry their prints on screens, and use a hair dryer for test strips.

There's nothing hard about 20X24 RA4 prints. Even the cheapest system once out there - Dev Tech - did it great. Their drums are easier to use than Jobo, in fact.

mshchem said:

DEV TEC Drums come up on Ebay now and then, 20x24, and a trough for a water bath. You don't really need much for RA4.

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These look ok, but the manual nature of it all is exactly what I'm trying to avoid.

koraks said:

That's a possibility, but especially for a dry-to-dry setup, have you checked what the energy costs are of running such a setup? Also, ensure your space is well-ventilated as the dryer will heat things up big-time. Might be OK on cold days, but in summer, it may make things very, very uncomfortable.

Sorry, no really good suggestions; 20x24 is big and whatever route you choose, it's going to be a chore. I only do inkjet on that size.

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True, 20x24 is big, but I'm trying to stop drum scanning and sending out for digital c-prints, and I never print smaller than 30" on the long side. Regarding the power, without actually checking the consumption larger machines, I'm not super concerned because we have solar panels that produce vastly more than we consume, and the overage is banked with the power company. Not sure how long that sweet deal will last though.

mshchem said:

You're not going to be able to do enough to justify the upkeep and maintenance. Both Koraks and I have a modified Durst RCP-20 roller transport system. Developer, stop, and blix. Then rinse and wash in running water, in a tray. Then I run mine through an old but reliable Ilford dryer.
The RCP-20 is limited to 8 1/2 " wide paper. I only get mine out if I need to make a bunch of prints, I use mine for black and white too.

Even this baby machine requires considerable effort, I never leave the machine sit overnight with chemistry, my rollers are in great shape because it's never been used professionally. Without parts and factory support you can't treat these machines like they were used in the good old days.

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The maintenance is an issue, I'm just misguided enough right now to consider it a workable solution.

Having used dry-to-dry Colenta machines for years in art school, going back to running individual tests and prints through drums just seems like the dark ages.

Thanks for sharing your experience, looks like I'll be making regular to trips to SF and LA to get my printing done in the short term.

0x001688936CA08 said:

Having used dry-to-dry Colenta machines for years in art school, going back to running individual tests and prints through drums just seems like the dark ages.

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Yeah, I know what you mean. Honestly, I think the two real options are (1) bite the bullet on one of the bigger lab machines and deal with inevitable fuss or (2) (re)embrace digital print. Drums and troughs are...nah. And trays are a non-starter for this size prints.