Frustrated, need help deving 4x5

[leeturner]

John, many thanks. I've got quite a backlog to process so I'll give it a go this weekend.

 

[MikeM1977]

GB -

I started out doing tray development. That was fine, but in spite of all the precautions, there was always a risk of scratching. Then a couple of years ago I discovered sloshers. Since then, not a single scratch. And they work for DBI.

A slosher is nothing more than a plastic cradle that holds the film emulsion-side-up as you process it in a tray. Each sheet of film is in its own compartment so that they can't move against each other to cause scratches. Agitation is by lifting alternate corners of the slosher and then dropping them back down into the solution. That forces the solution to flow through the holes in the bottom and sides, and around and over the individual sheets.

You can buy a commercial slosher, but I found that it was just as simple (and less expensive) to make my own. I used 1/4" plaxiglass from Home Despot - cut it on a table saw, and use a hole saw in an electric drill to drill circular holes in the bottom. Used plexiglass cement to put the pieces together (that's a bit hard to find - but a good glass shop should have it). My six-sheet slosher fits into an 11x14 tray and uses just 800ml of solution (I use HC-110, dilution H), and I also made a two-sheet version that fits in an 8x10 tray.

Bingo. I've tried trays, BTZS tubes, and Unicolor tubes. I had problems with all. Then I made a "slosher" out of plexiglass and I'm sticking with it. I'll still use 5x7 trays for developing single sheets, but never more than 1 at a time. With a slower and an 8x10 tray, I can develop 4 scratch-free negs at a time.

Figuring out how to develop scratch-free, evenly developed 4x5 negatives was by far the hardest part of learning large-format photography for me.

 

[Albin]

JOBO 2521 tank with 2509n spiral in an old CPE, at slow speed. Perfectly even development of up to six sheets at a time, no scratches.

I use a 2830 paper tank for 5x7", 18x24cm and 24x30cm films. Even slides come out just fine

Is the back of film clean perfecly?

 

[Ole]

Is the back of film clean perfecly?

So far the E6 has been perfectly clean. The last batch of BW (FP4+) I did there was one with some anti-ahlation dye left in one corner. I just let it sit in a tray with water while I hung the other three 5x7" to dry, and it was clean when I picked it up. Less than two minutes extra wash.

I use a prewash in this processing, five minutes with just water to wet the films and wash away the AH layer. It seems to work, and the negatives are nice and clean. I haven't tried developing without the prewash - "if it works, don't fix it".

 

[Willie Jan]

i also use a JOBO 2521 tank with 2509n spiral
but do manually invert the tank each 30 seconds

yesterday i prewashed fp4+ 4x5 for about 45 secs, and after that put in the rodinal. I saw some light lines on the negs. Probably you need to prewash longer, or not....

next batch i did not prewash and it was fine.

After development i place the negs in the 4x5 film holders for tank processing and let them dry in these.

Willie Jan.

 

[haziz]

HP Combi 4x5 daylight tank. Works great for me. Takes 6 sheets at a time, no scratches and very even develpment. I fill and pour via the tank spouts and have not seen any unevenness in 4 years of use.

Sincerely,

Hany.