Fed Up With JOBO!

[Paul Ozzello]

I don’t have any trouble getting the leading edge of the film into the opening groove of the reel. I do the same thing as you. I slip one corner of the film into the groove, hold it, and then slip the opposite corner of the film into the opposite groove. Then I push the film in about 2-3 inches until I can grab it in the recessed wedge.

The problem is after that. I try to gently load the film onto the reel, and it will move smoothly for 2-3 inches. But then it will jam. And I have to back it off an inch, and try again. And the further on the reel the film advances, the more difficult it becomes to load! To the point when, if I’m trying to load two rolls, the first roll becomes almost impossible unless I “force” it. And yes, this is with a bone-dry reel.

The problem is most likely humidity. Do you load your reels in a changing bag? When I load my films in a darkroom it takes me only a few minutes to load several reels. When I use a nylon changing bag, it doesn't take much for the film to become tacky from a small amount of sweat vapor and makes loading jobo plastic reels next to impossible.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Depends. Too low a humidity, like when returning from a desert trip, or leaving exposed film around too long in a very dry forced-air heating environment, can make some roll films very stiff and uncooperative. Of course, there is the opposite potential issue too - leaving film sitting around in a damp darkroom for awhile before spooling it on the reel. I don't like to do any kind of film work in a sink room except to actually develop it. Helps to have a separate area for that.

 

[JerseyDoug]

Apologies if someone else has already mentioned these:

When loading 120 film on a Hewes, Paterson or AP/Samigon reel I do not remove the tape from the film when I separate the film from the backing paper in the changing bag. Instead I fold the edge of the tape over the end of the film to stiffen the film and keep it from curling crosswise. In 50+ years of doing this I have never seen any ill effects of having the tape in the tank during development.

Also, I have not clipped the corners off 120 film in the changing bag since I once found one of the little triangles of film stuck emulsion-to-emulsion right in the middle of an otherwise really nice image. I do clip the corners of 35mm film before I put it in the changing bag. I can do that because I don't rewind the film all the way into the cassette.

 

[AgX]

Also, I have not clipped the corners off 120 film in the changing bag since I once found one of the little triangles of film stuck emulsion-to-emulsion right in the middle of an otherwise really nice image.

How could that snippet have stuck to the film strip? More so that it did not come off in the bath.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Apologies if someone else has already mentioned these:

When loading 120 film on a Hewes, Paterson or AP/Samigon reel I do not remove the tape from the film when I separate the film from the backing paper in the changing bag. Instead I fold the edge of the tape over the end of the film to stiffen the film and keep it from curling crosswise. In 50+ years of doing this I have never seen any ill effects of having the tape in the tank during development.

Also, I have not clipped the corners off 120 film in the changing bag since I once found one of the little triangles of film stuck emulsion-to-emulsion right in the middle of an otherwise really nice image. I do clip the corners of 35mm film before I put it in the changing bag. I can do that because I don't rewind the film all the way into the cassette.

One needs to remove the corner chips from the film after trimming.

 

[DREW WILEY]

I clip the corners off with a small blunt-nose scissors, and they land on the countertop. Why would they remain on the film?

 

[Pieter12]

Because he is using a changing bag.

 

[AgX]

How can a changing bag make a snippet stick to the filmstrip and keep it there during processing?

The humidity in the bag?

 

[Don_ih]

Maybe @JerseyDoug never investigated how it happened. He said it did happen. I'd call it bad luck and leave it at that.

 

[JerseyDoug]

Maybe @JerseyDoug never investigated how it happened. He said it did happen. I'd call it bad luck and leave it at that.

How could that snippet have stuck to the film strip? More so that it did not come off in the bath.

The only scenario I could think of at the time was that despite my regularly turning the changing bag inside out to shake out the little bits of paper from the 120 rolls and the film corners one of the corners was left behind, got into the developing tank along with the film and stuck to it when I poured in the developer and started to agitate the tank.

Sadly, it was a lucky action shot of a Newark firetruck exiting the firehouse at speed with the lights flashing and the firemen barely hanging on the back. The head of my employer's darkroom where I was doing my printing on lunch hours and I tried soaking the film overnight and lifting off the little triangle but the emulsion was too badly damaged to make a marketable print.

 

[Pieter12]

The only scenario I could think of at the time was that despite my regularly turning the changing bag inside out to shake out the little bits of paper from the 120 rolls and the film corners one of the corners was left behind, got into the developing tank along with the film and stuck to it when I poured in the developer and started to agitate the tank.

Sadly, it was a lucky action shot of a Newark firetruck exiting the firehouse at speed with the lights flashing and the firemen barely hanging on the back. The head of my employer's darkroom where I was doing my printing on lunch hours and I tried soaking the film overnight and lifting off the little triangle but the emulsion was too badly damaged to make a marketable print.

Since your employer has a darkroom, maybe you should ditch the changing bag and load film there.

 

[JerseyDoug]

Since your employer has a darkroom, maybe you should ditch the changing bag and load film there.

I retired from that job in 2003 and shortly afterwards the facility was closed. I have no space for even a minimal darkroom in our small apartment. I do have the use of an absolutely first class darkroom but it is further away than I am comfortable driving these days. My friend very kindly makes an occasional darkroom print for me when I develop a negative that deserves the effort and the cost.

 

[mshchem]

I use a corner rounder, smallest radius available. 120 film will fall into the reel if the "nip" or the radius is too big. I should patent the tech. It's unbelievable how easy it is with a smooth tiny rounded corner. As amazing as the modular system Jobo has worked out, it must be a bit of denial/arrogance to not address the issue with a simple tool to dress the leading corners of roll film.
It works great for sliding in strips of film into Printfiles too.

 

[MattKing]

"Corner Rounder" ~ nail clippers.

 

[mshchem]

The one I use has 3 different radius cuts available. Insert the film until it stops and clip. Too much of a nip and it's a disaster. The only reels that I require such an exact cut are Jobo. Never had a problem with Paterson or AP. The right size nip is a Jobo thing. Believe me! I understand the OP frustration!

 

[nmeese]

My 1500 reels have an indent approximately 30º behind the loading slots on each side of the disc spirals that, when held with the loading slots facing me, I can place my index fingers into and gently press the film back and forth laterally as I gently ratchet the film onto the spool. As long as the spool and my hands are dry, this works for me unfailingly.

 

[logan2z]

I've only recently bought a 1520 tank and a couple of reels. So far I love the tank, but I'm still warming up to the reels. Rounding (or at least angling) the corners of the film seems absolutely necessary. Without doing that, the film hangs up on the reel and will not advance.

I think I've also had a couple of air bells on a handful of frames since using the Jobo that I wasn't getting with steel reels, but I am using inversion agitation at the moment (I do give the tank a good thunk after agitating). I might pick up a roller base and try rotation and see how that goes.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I've only recently bought a 1520 tank and a couple of reels. So far I love the tank, but I'm still warming up to the reels. Rounding (or at least angling) the corners of the film seems absolutely necessary. Without doing that, the film hangs up on the reel and will not advance.

I think I've also had a couple of air bells on a handful of frames since using the Jobo that I wasn't getting with steel reels, but I am using inversion agitation at the moment (I do give the tank a good thunk after agitating). I might pick up a roller base and try rotation and see how that goes.

There have been at least two Jobo processors recently in the Photrio Classifieds that were at really great prices. Keep your eyes open and you may be expanding to color processing too. I use the processor more for black & white than I do for color.

 

[Agulliver]

I think I've been using my Jobo 1520 for twenty years at this point, and have never clipped the corners of the film. What I do sometimes find helpful is tapping the coils in the area just after the point where the film enters the reel, where the reel is a bit less wide and you can feel the film edges. If it gets "stuck", just tap both sides with your fingers and the next part of the spiral magically works.

At least it does for me. YMMV of course.

 

[nickandre]

As best I can understand 100% of the frustration loading these plastic reels comes from humidity. They are not really compatible with a changing bag unless you work quickly. You have to basically blow dry every reel and then load them without any moisture.

 

[AgX]

As best I can understand 100% of the frustration loading these plastic reels comes from humidity.

See post #48

 

[logan2z]

They are not really compatible with a changing bag unless you work quickly.

FWIW, I'm new to Jobo reels and have been practicing using a changing bag when loading them, and haven't found that to be problematic - at least no more than loading them outside the changing bag I think I'm getting the hang of it, though, and can do it pretty consistently now.

 

[bags27]

Desiccant packs--super cheap and no electricity--are great for removing moisture between uses of the reels/tanks.

 

[AgX]

But with a changing bag practically all moisture should vanish the moment you lay it flat and by this expell the air volume.

In general the often hinted at moisture within changing bags must come frome ones hands and arms. I doubt that a desiccant would be fast enough to absorb this vapour during changing operation.
But maybe someone knows.

 

[bags27]

But with a changing bag practically all moisture should vanish the moment you lay it flat and by this expell the air volume.

In general the often hinted at moisture within changing bags must come frome ones hands and arms. I doubt that a desiccant would be fast enough to absorb this vapour during changing operation.
But maybe someone knows.

Sorry, I meant just using it to dry equipment fully in a bag between uses.