How many developing tubes can you use at once?

JG Motamedi · Mar 20, 2006

I am considering purchasing a few of J&C's developing tubes for 8x10 and 5x7 use. I have been doing 11x14 for a while in a junky color paper tube, and have been pretty happy with the results, however I only do one sheet at a time. How many developing tubes are you able to handle in one session? Do the extra caps help?

Thanks,

jason

Donald Miller · Mar 20, 2006

I have four of each size and usually use only two at a time. I built my own tubes and therefore am not able to comment on the extra caps.

johnnywalker · Mar 20, 2006

This is a bit off topic, but I built my own tubes from plumbing supplies according to some plans described somewhere here. I joined two of the tubes together, so the solutions can pass between, but not the negs. So I do two negs at a time.

The person who came up with this idea suggested wrapping the negs in fibreglass cloth to protect them against scratching. I've been doing this, cutting fibreglass cloth a little bigger than the negatives, using it then throwing it out.

The fibreglass cloth works, but it is a PITA. I end up with strands of it all over the darkroom, and it can't be rinsed to use again without falling into threads. Anybody got any better ideas? Short of sewing an edge on the cloth.

Donald Miller · Mar 20, 2006

johnnywalker said:
This is a bit off topic, but I built my own tubes from plumbing supplies according to some plans described somewhere here. I joined two of the tubes together, so the solutions can pass between, but not the negs. So I do two negs at a time.

The person who came up with this idea suggested wrapping the negs in fibreglass cloth to protect them against scratching. I've been doing this, cutting fibreglass cloth a little bigger than the negatives, using it then throwing it out.

The fibreglass cloth works, but it is a PITA. I end up with strands of it all over the darkroom, and it can't be rinsed to use again without falling into threads. Anybody got any better ideas? Short of sewing an edge on the cloth.

I am not sure if you are using the tube design that I came up with or someone else's. However on the fiberglass window screen material, I am still using the original ones I fabricated over two years ago. It may be that you have a different material in Canada.

I got away from using the screens for a short while but went back to them because my negs develop better with them. I found that I can dry the screens in a microwave between uses.

johnnywalker · Mar 21, 2006

Uh Oh. Fibreglass window screen you say. That may explain it. I was using fibreglass cloth. I should learn to read more better.

John Bartley · Mar 21, 2006

I develop in tubes and also made my own. I also posted a set of plans here, but that's beside the point. I can only roll one at a time, but that has more to do my own dexterity and the fact I use continual agitation in the form of sllooowww steady rolling for one or two complete turns one way before rolling back the other way.
As per David Carper (formerly of Ilford, and formerly tech support on the Ilford forum), I don't worry about the back of the film, trusting the tray wash to remove anything that's there. NOTE :: I develop, stop and fix in a tube, but I wash in a tray of running water.
I use a 0.020" poly sheet behind only my 4x5 negs, but only because I have big hands and my thick fingers have a hard time gripping the negative in that tiny tube, so I pull on the poly instead of the negative to remove it.
I have recently started presoaking my negatives and that has eliminated any fluid runs showing in the finished negative. These I have found, are caused by not having a dry tube to start with.

Anyway - the answer? - only one tube at a time for me.

cheers

noseoil · Mar 21, 2006

Good Lord Johhny! I'm guilty, but I believe I said fiberglass window screen in my little post on the subject (per Donald's idea).

I've done 4 tubes at a time, but it seems too much like work for me. This is with minimal agitation, so timing is important, as well as the rubber bands to tell which tube is which. I put a rubber band on each tube, in a different location (1,2,3,4), so I could keep track of which tube to spin and when, etc. This got to be a bit stressful, as I was too busy with this method and photography is supposed to be a strees relief valve from work. Two at a time is plenty for me now. tim

johnnywalker · Mar 21, 2006

noseoil said:
Good Lord Johhny! I'm guilty, but I believe I said fiberglass window screen in my little post on the subject (per Donald's idea).
tim

I'm sure you did. I must be suffering from adult-onset dyslexia. At least I hope so, as the alternative is not good.

Amund · Mar 21, 2006

Four at a time shouldn`t be a problem, and you don`t need the fiberglass screen with the JandC tubes.

JHannon · Mar 21, 2006

Amund said:
Four at a time shouldn`t be a problem, and you don`t need the fiberglass screen with the JandC tubes.

I bought four but did not try them yet. I notice that the inside walls of the tubes have ridges running the length of the tubes, this may help the liquid get at the back of the film??

Oren Grad · Mar 21, 2006

Jason -

It really, really depends on one's own temperament and manual dexterity. I have a couple of 8x10 BTZS tubes that I fiddled with for a while before I moved on to a Jobo, which I much prefer. Based on my experience with the tubes, I'd hesitate to run more than two or three at a time. I'm just not that adept at manipulating tubes bobbing around in a tray of water, especially when I'm tired or otherwise under the weather. I know others feel differently.

If you do go that route, though, having extra caps is extremely helpful - definitely worth the extra few dollars.

Amund · Mar 22, 2006

JHannon said:
I bought four but did not try them yet. I notice that the inside walls of the tubes have ridges running the length of the tubes, this may help the liquid get at the back of the film??

Yep, just give the film a couple of minutes of presoak, and there is no problem with the antihaliation dyes.

Amund · Mar 22, 2006

Oren Grad said:
Jason -

It really, really depends on one's own temperament and manual dexterity. I have a couple of 8x10 BTZS tubes that I fiddled with for a while before I moved on to a Jobo, which I much prefer. Based on my experience with the tubes, I'd hesitate to run more than two or three at a time. I'm just not that adept at manipulating tubes bobbing around in a tray of water, especially when I'm tired or otherwise under the weather. I know others feel differently.

If you do go that route, though, having extra caps is extremely helpful - definitely worth the extra few dollars.

Are the BTZS tubes ridged on the outside?

The JandC tubes are, and very easy to spin, so 4 or even 5 would be really easy to handle, as long your development times are not very short.
And extra caps sure is handy.

noseoil · Mar 22, 2006

Amund, my suggestion for the screen was aimed at the tubes I suggested making out of 1 1/2" black ABS plastic drain line. Since the inside surface is smooth, it is very difficult to get the film out after development due to its slippery surface. Without the screen as a backing surface, the anti-halation dye doesn't wet out very well some times. With the screens, you just leave a "tab" of longer screen at the mouth end and use it to pull out the film. I use a finger on the film's edge and the screen's tab to make things easier. Best, tim

JHannon · Mar 22, 2006

Amund said:
Are the BTZS tubes ridged on the outside?

The BTZS tubes are smooth like the homemade (black ABS Drain line). They are currently only available in 4X5.

juan · Mar 22, 2006

I've just gotten one of the J&C tubes and developed my first negatives with it over the weekend. Prior, I had been using open ended PVC tubes in a 5-gallon bucket.

For vertical stand (minimal agitation) development I don't see that the extra cap does any good. It's not large enough to hold enough solution to cover the negative. If you are using the tube in some form of rotary development (BTZS or Jobo or something) the extra caps would probably hold enough solution.

With the J&C tube, I pre-soak in a tray, put the developer in the tube, then slide in the wet negative. No sign of scratches and the anti-halation layer is removed.

I did, however, agitate one of the negatives too strongly and moved a bit of the negative above the top of the developer, so I got a half-inch or so of underdeveloped film.

juan

Donald Qualls · Mar 22, 2006

I use homemade, daylight fill ABS tubes for my 9x12 cm and 4x5. I didn't cement the caps on, so I'm able to join two tubes with a pipe coupler, and I have three fill tube tops; once (probably never again) I staggered the fill times while using a long agitation intervale and actually had all three double tubes processing at once, with two negatives in each.

If I could find big enough pipe in black (maybe 8" would work, but I think I need 9" or 10"), I might be tempted to try to fabricate something similar to the Jobo Expert drums, though it would require so much developer to fill for standing that it would force me to roll process, which would be a complete ground-up rewrite of my usual method. As things stand, I usually process one double tube at a time, serially.

How many developing tubes can you use at once?

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