Nova Processing Tank

[Warbler]

I just bought the NOVA processing tank. I have the developer and the fixer mixed and they are replenishable. My queery is, - I have Ilfostop and I'm wondering if it can be replenished as well. any advice would help..
Thank you.

 

[Blighty]

Yes, Ilfostop is replenishable - at least that's what I do and I've never had any issues whatsoever with the stop bath.

 

[Warbler]

That's great, 1-19 is correct I think.
Next queery- What temprature do you usually keep the Nova at? It recommends 32degrees C and 20second print time. But I'm having a little trouble with that. I use fotospeed CD11 Dev.
Also. The centre slot is always a few degrees higher that the two either side.
Would that make a difference? To be honest, I'm finding it hard to get used to.
I was using the Jobo CPE 2 until Nova was recommended to me.

 

[MartinP]

The heater elements are between the tanks, so the outer ones have a wall next to the air. If the air is much cooler than the chosen temperature on the thermostat then the outside of the processor will cool quicker than the middle. One simple solution in cold ambient temperatures is to wrap a couple of layers of bubble-wrap round the outside of the processor -- the "tea-cosy" effect.

For black-and-white materials choose 20C, or possibly 24C for resin-coated paper if you want to save time. With RA4, the unit should enable you to select and maintain 38C, which is the standard temperature for the colour process. With a lab at 18C (Winter is approaching . . .) and the chemicals at 38C, the bubble-wrap idea can be useful.

 

[Warbler]

Thanks Martin. I'm just a B&W man so 20C is the better temp. I'm just having problems with exposure. There's a lot of hazing and bluish hue on the final print.
Im trying to use the trialux exposure metre with my Leica V35, is there a site I can visit to see a demo? It would be very helpful.

 

[MartinP]

If there is a bluish or purplish colour to the final dry print (and you are using black-and-white paper, not some bizarre ebay substitute) then it suggests a fixing problem, as the emulsion colour is purplish-blue in daylight. Are you using Rapid Fix at a 1:4 dilution, for two minutes and with replenishment (same volumes as developer)? This is needed in the Nova. You can use an eye-dropper and a small piece of film (yes, film) to check that the fix is active, in the same way you would do this before fixing film.

There is no need for an exposure meter really - they just complicate things. Make a 10x8" contact sheet to show almost-but-not-quite black in the clear edges of the negatives and that will give you a decent starting time for a 10x8" print. You need to be only-just able to tell the perforation from the film-base in the contact print. If the negs don't look right when the contact-print exposure is set to give almost-black through the film-base, then you need to check your exposure and/or film development.