New Processor: dev.a

[sasah zib]

dev.a (pronounced as the english word "diva") is a brand new, fully automatic, film development machine created by Adel Srl, an italian company based in Modena.
available from catlabs: https://www.catlabs.info/product/deva

AND or filmomat.


[-- no association with either --]

if this were 1980, they'd be great for the small portrait/wedding shops.
I'd love to know who these machines are designed for; what market do they see over the next 5 years?
Perhaps the weekend/ large film landscape photographer with a love of machines that blink.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

Looks interesting.

However, "diva" is an Italian word

Doremus

 

[Sirius Glass]

That is interesting. I wonder what the final costs will be including the three size tanks on Dev.a and similarly for the Filmomat. Now I could use a desktop Keronite machine.

 

[Randy Stewart]

That is interesting. I wonder what the final costs will be including the three size tanks on Dev.a and similarly for the Filmomat. Now I could use a desktop Keronite machine.

Looking at the pre-order info on the Catlab website, I'd guess that a machine and the two smaller tanks will probably push $6,300 by the time you take possession. It looks like the finest option on the current or near-future market, and may be a better value than the somewhat less costly machines which only take the home-kit three bath chem options, but how many buyers out there are going to pay $6k for a small volume film processor. Maybe it will hit with small lab services and sell enough units to last more than a year or two.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Looking at the pre-order info on the Catlab website, I'd guess that a machine and the two smaller tanks will probably push $6,300 by the time you take possession. It looks like the finest option on the current or near-future market, and may be a better value than the somewhat less costly machines which only take the home-kit three bath chem options, but how many buyers out there are going to pay $6k for a small volume film processor. Maybe it will hit with small lab services and sell enough units to last more than a year or two.

[sarcasm=ON]Oh yes I will take two then.[/sarcasm]

 

[Michael Firstlight]

Not bad alternatives to the Phototherm which I still prefer with its automatic chemistry intake feed from bottles, but the Phototherms have become rare and eventual lack of parts will ultimately make them extinct. I'm surprised no one just bought the Phototherm rights and continued producing them. Nevertheless, these are good-looking programmable units. Now if only we can get someone to build and market new automatic print processors to replace the Fujimoto CP31/32 and CP 51 units as well as a smart enlarger!

 

[AndrewBurns]

Not bad alternatives to the Phototherm which I still prefer with its automatic chemistry intake feed from bottles, but the Phototherms have become rare and eventual lack of parts will ultimately make them extinct. I'm surprised no one just bought the Phototherm rights and continued producing them. Nevertheless, these are good-looking programmable units. Now if only we can get someone to build and market new automatic print processors to replace the Fujimoto CP31/32 and CP 51 units as well as a smart enlarger!

Michael, I didn't buy the rights or design of the Phototherm but I have designed a completely new machine based around the principals of the Phototherm (specifically heating the chemicals as needed in a small heating tank, and sucking in chemicals from external tanks). I haven't updated on the progress of the Chromabox for about 5 months now as I've been very busy with contract work and travel over the Christmas break, but you can see previous progress on my website here: http://midtonemachines.com/

I've had 3 beta machines working at film labs for 5 or 6 months now and I'm getting close to starting my first production run, I've been looking at some commercial property to lease for assembly space in the last week. Unfortunately it's a very turbulent and difficult time to get a new product to market now so I'm just doing the best I can to manage supply delays and price hikes.

 

[faberryman]

This is the machine Zone Imaging is using to develop color negative film, which is the subject of another thread here.

 

[mshchem]

Michael, I didn't buy the rights or design of the Phototherm but I have designed a completely new machine based around the principals of the Phototherm (specifically heating the chemicals as needed in a small heating tank, and sucking in chemicals from external tanks). I haven't updated on the progress of the Chromabox for about 5 months now as I've been very busy with contract work and travel over the Christmas break, but you can see previous progress on my website here: http://midtonemachines.com/

I've had 3 beta machines working at film labs for 5 or 6 months now and I'm getting close to starting my first production run, I've been looking at some commercial property to lease for assembly space in the last week. Unfortunately it's a very turbulent and difficult time to get a new product to market now so I'm just doing the best I can to manage supply delays and price hikes.

I have been wondering where you have been. I look forward to hearing more.
Best Regards Mike

 

[foc]

@AndrewBurns . Wish you continued success with your efforts.
How did the 3 beta machines in the labs work out?

 

[alanrockwood]

I think a great improvement to the Chromabox would be to include the capability of cooling the solutions in addition to warming them. The reason is that a lot of us live in houses with temperatures that are above 68 F, and this means that recipes that call for 68 F developing would not work in the Chromabox, at least not in my house.

I think from a technical standpoint it would not be very hard to do. For example, thermoelectric chips are not very expensive and not too hard to use. The same chip can be used for cooling or warming, simply by reversing the direction of current in the chip.

 

[AndrewBurns]

@AndrewBurns . Wish you continued success with your efforts.
How did the 3 beta machines in the labs work out?

Sorry for the late reply, for whatever reason I never received a notification that you have replied to my post. The three beta machines have worked out well so far, I just got the keys to some commercial property today to start building my first production batch in today, stay tuned for more info!

I think a great improvement to the Chromabox would be to include the capability of cooling the solutions in addition to warming them. The reason is that a lot of us live in houses with temperatures that are above 68 F, and this means that recipes that call for 68 F developing would not work in the Chromabox, at least not in my house.

I think from a technical standpoint it would not be very hard to do. For example, thermoelectric chips are not very expensive and not too hard to use. The same chip can be used for cooling or warming, simply by reversing the direction of current in the chip.

Technically possible to do yes, but for whatever reason it doesn't seem to have been done before? One lab using one of my beta machines to process exclusively B&W film runs all of their B&W processes at 24 degrees Celsius (75 F) because that's around what the temperature in the lab is all year around, they just adjust developing times to suit. Another option unique to the Chromabox is that you could keep your developer bottle in a small bar fridge and run a hose from the cold dev bottle out of the fridge into the machine, which could then warm the chemicals up as required. It's pretty common for beer home-brew people to drill holes into small fridges so that they can run hoses out...

 

[McDiesel]

@AndrewBurns Love your project! You may consider having a "Hero" video on the front page of your website. I bet new visitors get confused and simply assume it's just a random blog. The posts do not even have titles, it's like you're actively hiding what you're working on I am going back to see if I can find a post which explains how the machine works...

 

[AndrewBurns]

@AndrewBurns Love your project! You may consider having a "Hero" video on the front page of your website. I bet new visitors get confused and simply assume it's just a random blog. The posts do not even have titles, it's like you're actively hiding what you're working on I am going back to see if I can find a post which explains how the machine works...

Haha yeah I'm a one-man band so far so initially my goal for the website was just to give progress updates so that people could follow along with the development, but you're right it's definitely at the end of its life now and once I start selling these I'm going to have to put something totally different together.

 

[alanrockwood]

Sorry for the late reply, for whatever reason I never received a notification that you have replied to my post. The three beta machines have worked out well so far, I just got the keys to some commercial property today to start building my first production batch in today, stay tuned for more info!



Technically possible to do yes, but for whatever reason it doesn't seem to have been done before? One lab using one of my beta machines to process exclusively B&W film runs all of their B&W processes at 24 degrees Celsius (75 F) because that's around what the temperature in the lab is all year around, they just adjust developing times to suit. Another option unique to the Chromabox is that you could keep your developer bottle in a small bar fridge and run a hose from the cold dev bottle out of the fridge into the machine, which could then warm the chemicals up as required. It's pretty common for beer home-brew people to drill holes into small fridges so that they can run hoses out...

It is highly desirable to be able to run at 68 F for a number of reasons. One is that most development instructions specify that temperature. Another is that some developers, like HC-110 are quite active and it is preferable not to run them at 75 F because development times become too short. Of course one can run a more dilute solution to compensate, but then one runs into the problem of developer exhaustion. This is not a hypothetical issue. It means, for example, that if I take the dilution approach then I can only one run roll of film in a four roll tank of my phototherm. If I use more concentrated HC-110 solution so I can run more rolls in a tank the development times become too short. Being able to run at lower temperature would fix those problems.

There are, of course, work arounds, as you noted, but work arounds are seldom as good as a well-engineered solution.

 

[foc]

Sorry for the late reply, for whatever reason I never received a notification that you have replied to my post. The three beta machines have worked out well so far, I just got the keys to some commercial property today to start building my first production batch in today, stay tuned for more info!



Technically possible to do yes, but for whatever reason it doesn't seem to have been done before? One lab using one of my beta machines to process exclusively B&W film runs all of their B&W processes at 24 degrees Celsius (75 F) because that's around what the temperature in the lab is all year around, they just adjust developing times to suit. Another option unique to the Chromabox is that you could keep your developer bottle in a small bar fridge and run a hose from the cold dev bottle out of the fridge into the machine, which could then warm the chemicals up as required. It's pretty common for beer home-brew people to drill holes into small fridges so that they can run hoses out...

Thanks for the updates.