paterson tanks and reels

rmolson · Oct 6, 2006

Paterson
I have used stainless steel tanks and reels all my life, except when the only thing available was bakelite plastic. I have never had a problem loading the reels until lately. Now my fingers are not as nimble ( Im 77) and loading is getting more and more difficult. I understand the Paterson system 4 loads from the outside and is more or less self threading. Any one have much experience with this system.
R Molson

ann · Oct 6, 2006

i use both, ss and paterson, doesn't make any difference to me.

My students like the paterson as they do load from the outside in and they have less errors when learning, if any.

you will probably get a lot of different replies, do what you need to continue to enjoy making images.

you need to be sure that the center core is in place or you will fog your film.
that seems to be the most common learning error.

the newer reels can be loaded "damp", but not wet as the ss ones.
the tanks require a bit more liquid volumes than you are used to with ss.

Konical · Oct 6, 2006

Good Morning,

While I much prefer SS, I did use Paterson tanks and reels decades ago and found them to be OK for the most part, especially for 35mm. I did have some uneven/incomplete development near the edges of 120 film, but that may have been attributable to my agitation technique. The tanks can be somewhat fragile (I once cracked one full of solution), but the Paterson system is well-designed and, with care (proper cleaning and drying), it is very functional.

Konical

reellis67 · Oct 6, 2006

My uderstanding from helping the photography students here at work is that the Patterson reels 'walk' the film on by rotating one side back and forth, but as stated above, they need to be really dry or the film sticks. I believe that the JOBO reels load in a similar manner, and you can do manual agitation with them as well as sticking them in a unit for development. I have one somewhere that has the rubber cap rather than the geared top, but I've never used it so I can't offer any more insight than that.

- Randy

Neal · Oct 6, 2006

Dear R,

Before I went with the Jobo system, the nicest little tank I ever used was the "Adorama Ultra Universal Plastic Daylight Film Developing Tank". Very inexpensive and it has a nice little agitation mechanism. The two reel size comes with two reels.

Neal Wydra

Dave Miller · Oct 6, 2006

As it's the only system I have ever used, I'm not sure I can be of much help, except to say they work for me.

Mike Wilde · Oct 6, 2006

a tip for the paterson reels

I have used both ss and paterson 4 (or maybe 3) system reels off and on for 20 years. These days I use SS mostly, since they pre warm and change temperature easier for the colur work I do.

I do use the plastic paterson reels when I shoot an old roll of 120 B&W and it is curled up so tight that loading it on a s reel would be a sheer exercise in frustration.

The one thing I never do is soak the film in photo flo while still on the plastic (or ss for that matter) reels. I find that residue tends to build up from the different solutions once they have seen photo flo, regardeless of how well I think that I have rinsed them after the phot flow dip. Then they start to
bind.

A trip through the automatic dishwasher with the rest of the dishes gets them back in shape. But if you cant get the damn curly film on the ss reel, then go onto the plastic reel to find the film binding there too, the last thing you want to do is stuff the film in a light tight bag, and run the dish washer before proceeding.

srs5694 · Oct 6, 2006

A couple more thoughts:

I vaguely recall hearing about some sort of widget that's used in conjunction with SS reels to make them a bit easier to load. I don't recall the details, though. It might be worth investigating this as an alternative to replacing your current reels and tanks. I can't promise it would be any better, though.
In addition to Paterson-style plastic tanks and reels, there are apron-style "reels." I don't know if these would really be any easier for somebody with less-nimble fingers, but you might want to at least look into them as another option.

FrankB · Oct 6, 2006

I use Paterson and have no problems as long as they're completely dry. I also rinse them in warm water as soon as I've hung the film up to dry and I have no problems with wetting agent residue.

Most of the reels and two of the tanks are secondhand and have been in my possession for well over five years.

I've used SS in the past and don't have a problem with them, but the Paterson ones came with the rest of my darkroom kit so they're what I use.

MattKing · Oct 6, 2006

srs5694 said:
[*]In addition to Paterson-style plastic tanks and reels, there are apron-style "reels." I don't know if these would really be any easier for somebody with less-nimble fingers, but you might want to at least look into them as another option.
[/list]

As I have mentioned in other posts, I have limited strength and dexterity in one hand. I can use 35mm steel reels easily, but neither plastic nor steel 120 reels work well for me. The aprons used in light tight tanks designed for steel work well for me. The old Kodak aprons are best, but the thinner Freestyle ones referred to here are quite functional.

Matt

Konical · Oct 6, 2006

Good Afternoon,

The "widget" referred to above by SRS 5694 is a simple feeding device which may help get 35mm film started straight on a SS reel. There may have been such devices for 120 film also, but I don't recall ever seeing one. In my opinion, a minimal amount of loading practice will suffice just as well as the auxiliary loader. That's especially true with either the well-designed Kinderman or Hewes reels, both of which are difficult to mis-load.

Konical

paterson tanks and reels

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