Jobo Sheet Film Chemistry

I am not looking to start a major debate here, but I would like a few recomendations on which developers to use with my sheet film and Jobo cpp.

I have been using Kentmeres Kmax--(not recomended extra small print) and have almost had my fill of kentmere due to lack of information available other than MSD sheets, extremely short shelf life, and unpredictable nature of it.(Kentmere paper has been good to me)

So lesson number 1---learned---don't try to save a few $s on chemistry.

I am shooting New and Old Kodak--A variety

And I am really enjoying the results I get with Neopan Across--

I am willing to keep a few developers around....

Thank you in advance for your response

Best regards

Robert

Kentmere UK didn't make chemistry but their US distributor sells chemicals under the same name. So you'd need to ask Freesyle about Kmax.

You could try Xtol, it's an excellent developer, or Pyrocat HD which you can make ip yourself or buy from The Photographers Formulary. There are a lot of good film developers around, and every one has their favourites.

Ian

I don't use a Jobo; I use a Phototherm. I have pretty much settled on Ilford DD-X for nearly everything. First of all, it's easy for me to get locally, so that in and of itself is enough of a decision maker for me. But it has other advantages, too. It's liquid concentrate, so I don't have to fool with mixing the powder - I can make pictures rather than fool around in a chemistry lab. And, also since it's liquid, I can make little batches of the dilute solutions for the Phototherm at will. It's quite simple to mix 200ml of working solution without standing on my head. And Ilford has published information about it for a variety of film stock.

On the down side, it's a bit pricey compared to D-76 or some others (about $10/liter with sales tax), but in my mind the cost is easily offset by the time I save. It also begins to crust up around the top of the bottle by the time I get to the last 20% or so of concentrate, so I am considering decanting it into smaller 250ml bottles when I first crack open a new container. I haven't noticed that this hurts the developer, but I really don't like the thought of little flakes of developer loose on my counter top that may have film or paper placed on it in the dark. The crusting probably wouldn't be an issue if I used it more rapidly, but because the Phototherm is stingy with chemicals, like your Jobo no doubt, a bottle will last a while.

MB

For 3-4 years I have been very happy with Rollo Pyro from Bostich & Sullivan. It is a one shot mix of A&B chemicals as is the Fixer, so lasting capability is not important. I use a CPP-2 with different size tanks for 120mm, 4x5, 8x10 and 7x17. The bulk of my shooting is 7x17 in T max or HP 5. Of all the features and benefits I think I like the edge separation best, the precise transition from light to dark.

Ian, it has been 3-4 years since I read the Jobo manual, but I think they recommended against using Xtol. I may be wrong there. I tried it initially and switched to Rollo Pyro for a platinum workshop. The results were so good that I stayed with it even though I print contact sheets now on Kentmere Fineprint VCFB.

John Powers

Dear Robert,

In a Jobo I've used D-76/ID-11, Edwal FG-7, Rodinal, T-Max (not RS), and Xtol on sheet film. All have worked very well (even the T-Max that isn't supposed to be used for sheet film). Keep in mind that I always use developers "one-shot" so I have not explored the keeping properties of diluted developers since I started using the Jobo rotary system.

Neal Wydra

I've used T-Max RS and I have very good results with T-Max sheet films (both 400 and 100 ISO)

XTOL

XTOL was made for use in rotary processors. This from Dick Dickerson and Silvia Zawadski who lead the R&D team that created XTOL. Much of their research was done using the Jobo systems apparently.

I personally develop 5x4 400Tmax using a CPP-2 and a 3010 tank using XTOL 1:3 and get beautifully consistent results. I do recommend that you mix and dilute with distilled water. I've also done a lot of sheets of Tri-X with XTOL 1:3 and can attest to that working really well also.

The nice thing about XTOL and rotary processing is that it has the right activity level to give you reasonable development times. Developers like HC110 are too active for rotary work IMHO -- development times become too short for consistent results.

BTW, Jobo never recommended against XTOL. What they recommended against was a prewash when using XTOL. Because it's not needed. I confirmed this with Zawadski and Dickerson who said it's not needed because they designed XTOL with rotary processing in mind.

I've used regular chemistry in the Jobo a quite a lot. I only use the chemistry as a one-shot, and I've had good results. The small quantities of chemicals and the rotary action of the machine mean that the chemicals exhaust and become oxidized quickly. Some people have had problems with this, especially with the more traditional pyro formulations. Rollo-Pyro and Pyrocat-HD were designed for this use, however, and they seem to work fine. So do things like D-76. Times may take some experimentation if you don't have recommendations for your developer and film in a rotary processor. The times for tank are closer to correct than the times for tray, but usually the times for tank are a little bit long (say 10 percent) - your mileage may vary.

I purchased some PMK Pyro and only afterwords did I realize I should have purchased the Rollo Pyro for I develop my film in a JOBO unit. I don't have access to a darkroom. I do not wish to waste the PMK Pyro and it appears that according to The Darkroom Cookbook, 2nd edition, at page 69 it is recommended I can increase the Solution A by 30% in the working solution to compensate for the oxidation of the developer which occurs with the continuous agitation. Has anyone else had this problem and utilized this method so they could use the PMK Pyro solution with their PYRO? If yes, how well did it work for you? Thank you in advance for your input. Jon

I agree-I'll Stop

Bruce Watson said:

XTOL was made for use in rotary processors. This from Dick Dickerson and Silvia Zawadski who lead the R&D team that created XTOL. Much of their research was done using the Jobo systems apparently.

I personally develop 5x4 400Tmax using a CPP-2 and a 3010 tank using XTOL 1:3 and get beautifully consistent results. I do recommend that you mix and dilute with distilled water. I've also done a lot of sheets of Tri-X with XTOL 1:3 and can attest to that working really well also.

The nice thing about XTOL and rotary processing is that it has the right activity level to give you reasonable development times. Developers like HC110 are too active for rotary work IMHO -- development times become too short for consistent results.

BTW, Jobo never recommended against XTOL. What they recommended against was a prewash when using XTOL. Because it's not needed. I confirmed this with Zawadski and Dickerson who said it's not needed because they designed XTOL with rotary processing in mind.

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I have to agree with everything Bruce said. I am very pleased with Xtol 1:3 for HP5+ and Delta 100. I use a 3010 on a Beseler motor base.

Bruce,

Thanks for the advice on pre-soaking. I have been using a pre-soak with good results. I'll try without. It will simplify my processing if nothing else.

jonw said:

I purchased some PMK Pyro and only afterwords did I realize I should have purchased the Rollo Pyro for I develop my film in a JOBO unit. I don't have access to a darkroom. I do not wish to waste the PMK Pyro and it appears that according to The Darkroom Cookbook, 2nd edition, at page 69 it is recommended I can increase the Solution A by 30% in the working solution to compensate for the oxidation of the developer which occurs with the continuous agitation. Has anyone else had this problem and utilized this method so they could use the PMK Pyro solution with their PYRO? If yes, how well did it work for you? Thank you in advance for your input. Jon

Click to expand...

This depends on the developing times you are using. But as most PMK times are around or well above 10 minutes, the soup will be very inactive at the end. What Gordon Hutchings (sp?) recommends is to use two development baths, with a change in the middle. While this takes the double amount of PMK soup, it will help with the oxidizing issue. As PMK is quite cheap to use, this is probably the best way for you to get a good use for it. This was the way I was dealing with the JOBO/PMK problem and I managed to get consistent results out of it.

For the OP, PMK is obviously not on the recommendation list. But I do recommend Pyrocat HD. Do get the version which is mixed in glycol as that will store much better.

//Björn