#&%$ Jobo!!

sar-photo · Jan 19, 2010

Does anybody else work themselves into a frenzy whilst trying to load film onto Jobo reels?
I'm processing 22 120 films today and the most frustrating part is trying to load the film onto the b****y reels

ARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Ok, I feel better now - only 14 films to go!

Cheers
Simon

RalphLambrecht · Jan 19, 2010

sar-photo said:
Does anybody else work themselves into a frenzy whilst trying to load film onto Jobo reels?
I'm processing 22 120 films today and the most frustrating part is trying to load the film onto the b****y reels

ARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Ok, I feel better now - only 14 films to go!

Cheers
Simon

My problem was that I squeezed the reels too hard and thereby clamped the film. If I clip the film corners and hold the reel gently, it works just fine.

Mike Kennedy · Jan 19, 2010

Make sure your reels are dry as a bone before loading.

MikeSeb · Jan 19, 2010

Bone dry's the key. The slight aggravation loading the reels is a worthwhile price to pay, IMO, for set-and-forget film processing.

I always found manual processing unbearably tedious. The jobo gives me 100% consistent results with brainless ease.

Tom Kershaw · Jan 19, 2010

The other issue I have is that I use Jobo 1500 series reels, 2500 series reels, and Paterson reels, which rather complicates the intuition when trying to load films in the dark. Although I've had more issues with loaded reels rolling off the work bench. Perhaps I should dedicate a tray with sides to roll film handling.

Tom

Nicholas Lindan · Jan 19, 2010

The problem with 120 and stainless reels is getting the film absolutely centered in the little spring clip.

I found the answer to the problem was rather obvious: don't use the spring clip.

I just put the edge of the film inside the cage formed by the 4 center wires, hold it there with one finger and start rolling the film on the reel.

The reason Hewes 35mm reels work so well is the film is centered by the little claws that engage the sprocket holes. The old Honywell/Nikor (not Nikon/Nikkor) 35mm reels had an open cage in the center and loaded with the above procedure, and again they are very easy to load.

As pointed out, dry reels and dry hands are a must. Keep a towel handy and dry your hands just before loading a reel.

Ahh, just went back and saw 'Jobo reels' - um, never mind the above ... though it is good advice for SS.

RalphLambrecht · Jan 19, 2010

sar-photo said:
Does anybody else work themselves into a frenzy whilst trying to load film onto Jobo reels?
I'm processing 22 120 films today and the most frustrating part is trying to load the film onto the b****y reels

ARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Ok, I feel better now - only 14 films to go!

Cheers
Simon

Dry reels is a must, but I had the same issue with bone-dry reels. My problem stopped after I stopped squeezing during loading. The more frustrated I got, the more I squeezed them.

funkpilz · Jan 19, 2010

Jobo reels are the devil. I wish I had a paterson tank so I could use the reels I have lying around.

pentaxuser · Jan 19, 2010

Try loading from the taped end. Turn it over and feed it into the reel, making sure that the 2 parts of the reel on either sude shaped for the film are level. This makes the film more rigid and it should be possible to push the film well into the reel as you would do with a 35mm. Once it stops moving then use your thumbs on either side in a move and hold pattern. Roger Hicks has a demo on his site Roger and Frances Photography.

I don't find Jobo reels very easy for 120. Durst reels with a loader are a better bet but might be difficult to come by. Worth watching out for on e-bay.

pentaxuser

hjt · Jan 19, 2010

I have had far fewer problems with Jobo reels since running around the inside with the point of a pencil. This seems to 'lubricate' the reel and I now load both 2 x 120 or 1 x 220 with little difficulty. I have noticed however that the film itself has some bearing on the ease of loading. Ilford Delta, for instance, is considerably easier than any Adox film.

pentaxuser · Jan 19, 2010

hjt said:
I have had far fewer problems with Jobo reels since running around the inside with the point of a pencil. This seems to 'lubricate' the reel and I now load both 2 x 120 or 1 x 220 with little difficulty.

Nice one. I must give that a go. In the absence of any comment to this effect, I take it that the graphite lubricant either doesn't get onto the film surface or if it does it does no harm

Thanks

pentaxuser

thisismyname09 · Jan 19, 2010

What's this about squeezing? I've never had to squeeze anything to get film on a jobo reel before. The only difficulty I have is when loading wet reels and the fact that one of my reels is cracked on the very end. I can't fit two rolls of 120 on it, but I only find that out after I struggle to fit the second roll on.

hjt · Jan 19, 2010

pentaxuser said:
Nice one. I must give that a go. In the absence of any comment to this effect, I take it that the graphite lubricant either doesn't get onto the film surface or if it does it does no harm

Thanks

pentaxuser

As far as I can tell no graphite gets onto the film. There remains a 'grey' line in the reel grooves after processing and I have used the same reels quite a few times since doing this without re-application. The reels look a bit dirty but certainly run smoothly and I cannot detect any detrimental effect to the films surface. I suppose that if there is anything it is washed away by fixing/washing.
I should add that I always use an all alkaline process. (plain water stop) in case this makes any difference re the graphite

RalphLambrecht · Jan 19, 2010

thisismyname09 said:
What's this about squeezing? I've never had to squeeze anything to get film on a jobo reel before. The only difficulty I have is when loading wet reels and the fact that one of my reels is cracked on the very end. I can't fit two rolls of 120 on it, but I only find that out after I struggle to fit the second roll on.

I'm probably not explaining it right, but I'm talking about a problem with dry reels. After getting the film started, I was holding the reel in my right hand while trying to push the film into the reel. At the same time my right hand was holding the reel too tight, which clamped the film. After reducing my holding force, the film went in easily, and adding a second roll was no problem either.

Rafal Lukawiecki · Jan 19, 2010

I've used the trick of "lubricating" plastic reels with a medium, or a soft graphite pencil for all the years when I did 35mm film. The only side effect is the black line on white or clear reels. Some of my negs which I just happened to look at a few days ago and which are 28 years old show no signs of the use of the pencil. Now I'm trying to tame a Hewes steel reel for 120 without kinking the film - sure I could use the plastic again but steel seems like a rite of passage...

36cm2 · Jan 19, 2010

Posted wirelessly..

This may be a dumb question,but do you have to use Jobo reels when Jobo processing? Can you use SS reels instead?

MikeSeb · Jan 19, 2010

36cm2 said:
Posted wirelessly..

This may be a dumb question,but do you have to use Jobo reels when Jobo processing? Can you use SS reels instead?

Jobo reels only. I wish it weren't so.

I should clarify that I'm speaking only of the ATL-1000/1500, which are the only machines I've owned or used.

Martin Aislabie · Jan 21, 2010

I find I have problems if I don't have completely dry sweat free hands.

The warmer I am and/or the more stressed I am the more problems I have

It can be a vicious circle

Martin

Tom Kershaw · Jan 21, 2010

Martin Aislabie said:
I find I have problems if I don't have completely dry sweat free hands.

The warmer I am and/or the more stressed I am the more problems I have

It can be a vicious circle

Martin

Loading film isn't a particularly stress free activity I agree. It would be better if I had space for a dedicated film handling station or area in the darkroom.

Tom

Ed Sukach · Jan 21, 2010

36cm2 said:
Posted wirelessly..

This may be a dumb question,but do you have to use Jobo reels when Jobo processing? Can you use SS reels instead?

If memory serves, (and it may not!) JOBO themselves marketed stainless steel reels for use in their tanks at one time.

Personally, with a little maintenance (occasionally scrubbing the tracks with a toothbrush and toothpaste) and making sure that I do not squeeze the reels together, I have much less than a 1% incidence of failure in film loading.

My major compplaint against SS reeels is that, once dropped, I can NEVER get the #$$^&$ reels straight again; with plastic they are either straight or broken - and so far, I have broken one (1) reel in well over ten years.

EricNelson · Feb 2, 2010

I use the 1500 series reels and they load just fine. For the most part my 1500 reels load via a push feed method with clipped corners, and for those times they do stick, using the twist feed the reels allow for turning them back and forth will usually overcome any sticking issues.

Once when I was having processing issues and Jobo sent me some 2500 series reels to try out and see if it cured the problem. I have no idea how anyone is able to load onto those although I've seen some kind of loading apparatus Jobo made for those reels. I sold off my 2500 reels as they were unusable here.

The toothpaste/toothbrush combo sounds like a possible answer, (not knowing which reels are in question), as well as using a bichromate tray cleaner from time to time to remove developer byproducts on the reels.

Marizu · Jun 13, 2010

I was taught to clip both of the corners off the leading edge of the film. I cut a triangle around 0.5 cm off. If the film starts to go a bit off centre in the reel and start catching on the 'spokes' the these 45 degree edges should help to push it back in.

rshepard · Jun 17, 2010

I have loading problems only infrequently. I clip the corners with a nail clipper (like Ralph does), and feed the end into the outside slits. When the taped end (where it came off the paper backing) is in the first groove I hold it with my left thumb and index finger while holding the edges with my right thumb and index finger. Then I pull the end around as far as I can. This sets the film almost completely in the outside groove. Then I hold each side of the reel and work it back and forth to feed in the rest of the roll.

Works well for me. Perhaps it helps that I close my eyes since I'm working in a dark bag and my sense of feel is not distracted by looking out the patio door.

Rich

Mahler_one · Jun 17, 2010

sar-photo said:
Does anybody else work themselves into a frenzy whilst trying to load film onto Jobo reels?
I'm processing 22 120 films today and the most frustrating part is trying to load the film onto the b****y reels

ARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Ok, I feel better now - only 14 films to go!

Cheers
Simon

A relatively easy way to start loading the Jobo reels is to leave a bit of the film leader OUT of the canister while rewinding, or to purchase one of the easy to use ( usually! ) film retrievers. Start loading the film into the reel in the light, and once the leader is threaded, turn the light off and proceed as others have indicated. Obviously only for 35mm film. For 120 film sometimes I will use the end of the film that has the paper on the end in order to start threading. The paper appears to supply some support that make loading the film a bit easier.

All of us have had issues wherein, on a certain day, the film absolutely refuses to load onto the Jobo reels. One yells, screams, and wishes the Balvenie was close by. However, take a deep breath-a VERY deep breath-and exhale. Then start again slowly. As Ralph indicated, sometimes tension imparted to the reel with one's "free hand" can inadvertently complicate the loading. And of course, keep a roll of film on hand, and periodically disappear into the darkroom and practice loading a few times.

The final hint: Move to sheet film! :}....only fooling, although the expert tank for sheet film is very easy to use.

Ed

Tom Taylor · Jun 17, 2010

The 1500 reels are a lot easier to learn to load than the 2500. This is probably due to the larger size of the latter.

In both cases the best way seems to be to gently pull the film about half-way around the reel and then with an index finger on the film edges protruding thru the sides of the reel to rotate one side of the reel with that index finger pressing against the film protruding thru that side of the reel and releasing that index finger at the end of the revolution and repeat with the other side of the reel. In other words, rotate each side of the reel with only one index finger - on the hand doing the turning - touching the film. Be sure that the reel is perpendicular to the ground and that you don't clasp the reel such that it prevents the film from advancing. You can follow the films advance on the reel with your index fingers.

The procedure is the same with the 2500 reels with the exception that you make absolutely certain that the film is in the appropriate slot and pulls easily around the reel and that a bend in the film hasn't been introduced.

Thomas

#&%$ Jobo!!

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