Jobo Not Producing Print Drums and Accessories for Printing

mshchem · Apr 18, 2022

I have a new and old Jobo processor. I have found finding the print tubes 28xx are difficult to find. I've managed to find tubes used. I would like to buy divider clips, maybe a couple new tanks. The light trap beaker used in place of the funnel light trap, are impossible to find.

I've contacted Catlabs, I bought several used beaker light traps, they no longer have any new or used.

Seems Jobo has completely stopped producing any print tubes.

I'm interested if others are in need of tanks and accessories??

halfaman · Apr 18, 2022

All the print drums I have came with Jobo machines I bought in the second hand market, so far I never need anything else.

There has been a resurrection in film photography but unfourtenately just regarding the use of film, printing is still something left behind by most of the users I know.

ic-racer · Apr 18, 2022

I think they are primarily for RC paper which is somewhat of an amateur product.

Neal · Apr 18, 2022

If it helps, I find that it's more convenient to print color in trays.

halfaman · Apr 18, 2022

ic-racer said:
I think they are primarily for RC paper which is somewhat of an amateur product.

You can print fiber base paper too but these drums are really meant for low volume color prints in rotary processing.

Neal said:
If it helps, I find that it's more convenient to print color in trays.

I disagree very much. I hope that at least you do it at room temperature, odors and evaporation on trays at standard 35-38° C would be difficult to justify against a print drum.

AgX · Apr 18, 2022

I think we should (next to rotary drum and roller transport processing) distinguish between tray and vertical slit processing.

When Jobo introduced their rotary drums there were not yet vertical slit processors

mshchem · Apr 18, 2022

One thing that bothers me is that the Jobo machines are sold as a "do it all" machine yet the components for printing are not available new.
The Expert drums work well. I've used 3005 drums for processing 8x10 prints. I've even done (21°C) fiber base black and white, toned everything up to final wash they work great . Very consistent. I think Jobo could sell drums, 28xx, especially for smaller foot print setups. Expose your print in the dark and develop in a nice breezy, sunny kitchen.
If we could buy the bits, light traps and print clips, but best of all 28xx drums with clips that would be great.

mshchem · Apr 18, 2022

My question is why doesn't Jobo produce 2830 and 2840 drums, print clips, and light traps. I think they would sell.

Sirius Glass · Apr 18, 2022

mshchem said:
I have a new and old Jobo processor. I have found finding the print tubes 28xx are difficult to find. I've managed to find tubes used. I would like to buy divider clips, maybe a couple new tanks. The light trap beaker used in place of the funnel light trap, are impossible to find.

I've contacted Catlabs, I bought several used beaker light traps, they no longer have any new or used.

Seems Jobo has completely stopped producing any print tubes.

I'm interested if others are in need of tanks and accessories??

See if the Darkroom Doctor has any to sell to you. https://darkroomdoctor.com/

mshchem · Apr 18, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
See if the Darkroom Doctor has any to sell to you. https://darkroomdoctor.com/

Thanks for the tip my friend. Just sent an email. Best Regards Mike

Sirius Glass · Apr 18, 2022

mshchem said:
Thanks for the tip my friend. Just sent an email. Best Regards Mike

No charge for the advice. He and his wife have helped me with various questions, parts and repairs over the years.

pentaxuser · Apr 18, 2022

ic-racer said:
I think they are primarily for RC paper which is somewhat of an amateur product.

The OP in mentioning beaker light traps presumably is referring to RA4 colour prints which are made on RC paper. So what do the professionals use for colour prints?

pentaxuser

wiltw · Apr 18, 2022

mshchem said:
One thing that bothers me is that the Jobo machines are sold as a "do it all" machine yet the components for printing are not available new.
The Expert drums work well. I've used 3005 drums for processing 8x10 prints. I've even done (21°C) fiber base black and white, toned everything up to final wash they work great . Very consistent. I think Jobo could sell drums, 28xx, especially for smaller foot print setups. Expose your print in the dark and develop in a nice breezy, sunny kitchen.
If we could buy the bits, light traps and print clips, but best of all 28xx drums with clips that would be great.

An issue for Jobo is probably that the number of Jobo users who are now acquiring Jobo machines has dropped to (for them) almost insignificant volume that it has become so expensive to manufacture and store inventory of different size drums.
I acquired Jobo CPA-2 machine and drums almost 30 years ago, for processing 8x10 and 16x20 prints in the same drum, and that's all I needed for my Cibachrome printing. Now that chemistry and paper is discontinued, and I have no desire to make RA-4 prints (too easy and relatively inexpensive not to simply send that out to commercial printing services!) And doing B&W is so easy and simple in trays (vs. the near darkness of color processing and the challenge of temperature control in trays)

mshchem · Apr 18, 2022

Using drums for black and white works great. No fingers in developer, stop or fixer. I have used drums for rc paper dev, stop, fixer, rinse,,,,final quick wash in a tray.
I've done developer, stop, fixer, hypo clear, selenium toner, hypo clear, rinse, the final wash out of drum.

I've even done full sequence through selenium toner with fiber base prints in a 3005 Expert drum. Great for trying more than one exposure, filtration.
I suspect that the injection molding of the 2800 drums requires Jobo to remove die inserts etc (PITA)

EVERYTHING JOBO IS GOLD on Ebay rare deal

THIS CAME TODAY NO PRINT CLIPS. I PLAN TO USE ON 11X14 SHEET FILM. I MOSTLY JUST WANTED ONE OF THESE
The Cat is not from Catlabs. I got from Freestyle, the only one in USA, AFAIK

mshchem · Apr 18, 2022

I tried to send an email to Jobo in Germany, it came bouncing back wanting me to open an account, but because I live in the US, it won't let me. I forwarded my questions to Catlabs, probably never hear back.

nbagno · Apr 18, 2022

mshchem said:
I tried to send an email to Jobo in Germany, it came bouncing back wanting me to open an account, but because I live in the US, it won't let me. I forwarded my questions to Catlabs, probably never hear back.

Use the contact form. They replied when I used it.

Sirius Glass · Apr 18, 2022

mshchem said:
I tried to send an email to Jobo in Germany, it came bouncing back wanting me to open an account, but because I live in the US, it won't let me. I forwarded my questions to Catlabs, probably never hear back.

See if the Darkroom Doctor has any to sell to you. https://darkroomdoctor.com/

Oren Grad · Apr 18, 2022

Although they are used by some for ULF film, by design the 3062 and 3063 are print drums, and Jobo markets them as such.

Lachlan Young · Apr 18, 2022

Oren Grad said:
by design the 3062 and 3063 are print drums, and Jobo markets them as such

And unlike the 2830/2840 they can piggyback off the tooling for the other Expert Drums as they're manually fabricated from common components, while the 28xx Print Drums (and the 2563/ 2560 film drums) need their own specific tooling (and demand levels to sustain it).

mshchem · Apr 19, 2022

nbagno said:
Use the contact form. They replied when I used it.

I tried after careful typing it went boink , contact form must be in German. Very irritating.
Oh well last time I buy new.
And by the way the original instructions that came with the 3062 and 3063 showed the use of the clips.

And the other alternative is call the fellows in China, they've copied everything else that Jobo made.

I ordered some rigid ABS straight tubing maybe try fabrication.

I have 6 of the straight clips which will work. I understand that there's no real market for print drums. Seems like everyone under 40 just scans.
Reversal film, a good scanner, slide projector and an inkjet printer wouldn't be bad.

I love my darkroom.

mshchem · Apr 19, 2022

Oren Grad said:
Although they are used by some for ULF film, by design the 3062 and 3063 are print drums, and Jobo markets them as such.

That's not what the instructions say, but I hear you. I have a dozen different Expert drums several 3005,3006,3010. Maybe I could invent something.

mshchem · Apr 19, 2022

I used Google translate

Stellen Sie gerade bedruckte Clips für 2800- und 3062-Trommeln her?

Hopefully I didn't insult anyone

Oren Grad · Apr 19, 2022

mshchem said:
That's not what the instructions say, but I hear you. I have a dozen different Expert drums several 3005,3006,3010. Maybe I could invent something.

I have the 3004, 3005, 3006, 3010, 3062 and 3063. When I bought my 3062 and 3063 years ago, they most definitely were sold as print drums. Jobo used to offer an optional, custom-made insert mat for those who wanted to use those drums for ULF sheet film, to keep the film off the ribs. See this Jobo profile of Burkhardt Kiegeland, the Lotus guy:

https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/059fdc02-f8c5-4493-829d-bd516896d654/downloads/Issue _20 – JQ9804 - User Profile- Burkhardt K.pdf?ver=1626884389281

I discussed this with Sam Proud, then of Jobo USA, at the time.

Some of us eventually figured out that we could get away with jamming film in between the ribs without the insert - but not with all developers. Some users of pyro developers have run into trouble with markings attributable to the ribs; my results with D-76 have been fine.

The capacity sheet below, still available via the Jobo USA site, dates from the period when I got my 3062/3063 - scroll down to the "Print Drums" table on the next-to-last page.

https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/059fdc02-f8c5-4493-829d-bd516896d654/downloads/Tank and Drum Capacities.pdf?ver=1626884388425

Also, the CPA-2 and CPP-2 instruction manuals from the era when I bought my CPA-2, when Jobo Fototechnic in Ann Arbor was the distributor, describe the 3062 and 3063 as "Paper Drums" and refer to their "Print Capacity".

All that said, I haven't seen what instructions they're putting in the box now.

AgX · Apr 19, 2022

mshchem said:
Stellen Sie gerade bedruckte Clips für 2800- und 3062-Trommeln her?

Hopefully I didn't insult anyone

No insult, but that text makes no sense at all to me. What are "bedruckte Clips" ? I never saw such at drums.

AgX · Apr 19, 2022

Concerning the Jobo site, it is the worst site I know in our field of interest.

Even I myself have to resort to my own archive to understand some products. How can then a newbie get wise from it?

Jobo Not Producing Print Drums and Accessories for Printing

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