Precautions to heed when developing a lot of film

[RJMLuke]

I've been enjoying my very lo-fi B+W film processing setup and have practiced with it for about two years. Usually I process one or two rolls at once. When you develop a lot, you get used to the process and learn how to make it more efficient (i.e. test hypo before any chemical touches the film, load film on reel in direction you want to dry it, etc). I rarely develop 3 or more rolls, but I have need to process eight in my big steel tank. Can anyone share any about what they do when processing a lot of film with care. Thanks a lot.

-R

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

If your film loading area isn't perfectly dark, be sure to put the reels in the tank as you load them and you can cover the tank loosely to reduce fog, since the first reels you load will be exposed to whatever light may be in your darkroom for a longer time than usual.

Pour the developer in the tank in the dark with the lights off, cover the tank, and proceed as you normally would with the lights on. You could remove the lid again to dump the developer, if the development time is very short, or if you're using a very active developer. If you're using a dilute developer, like Rodinal 1:100 or PMK, then the dump time isn't as critical as the fill time, because the developer should be fairly exhausted by the end of development.

A lift rod is handy for taking the reels out.

 

[Konical]

Good Evening, RJMLuke,

Having a film washer big enough to handle all the reels at once is very helpful. As David suggests, the lift rod comes in very handy. Lift all the reels from the tank at the end of the development period (all lights off, of course), drop them into the film washer and let them rinse while you dump the developer and pour in the fixer (at least most of it--remember that a competely full tank will overflow when the reels are dropped back in). After you replace the tank top, the fixing and hypo-clear can proceed in room light. Large tanks are somewhat awkward to handle, so plan ahead and have a clear work space, know where everything is (very helpful in complete darkness!), and don't try the procedure at the end of a long hard day, especially the first time.

Konical

 

[Neal]

Hi R,

Keep focused (pun intended) on the job at hand. A screw-up will cost 8 rolls instead of one.

Neal Wydra

 

[ic-racer]

I have occasionally noticed less development with 8 rolls compared to one or 2 rolls. Could be related to the time it takes the tank to fill and empty or small changes in volume-per-roll in the Jobo system. The changes were small (picked up as changes in gamma from say 0.65 to 0.6). Just something to keep in the back of your mind if you negatives seem thin.

 

[Tom Stanworth]

ic-racer, I think this is fill times plus agitation. Each agitation (allowing for air to come up) with a big paterson tank takes longer to do as thoroghly as with a small tank. I have noticed this too and increase agitation with the bigger tanks.

 

[PHOTOTONE]

When I develop 8 rolls of 35mm film in a tall stainless steel tank, I do a water presoak for a few minutes, with agitation. This will help the developer get to the film evenly when you pour it in. I turn off the lights, take the lid off the tank, pour off the water, using my finger to hold the reels in, then pour in the developer as quickly (in the dark-with the lid still off) as I can, and then put the lid on, turn on the lights, and agitate for at least 30 seconds with inversion agitation, and rapping the tank against the darkroom sink multiple times to dislodge air bubbles...I then agitate every 30 seconds, or more frequently if using Pyro (Wd2d) developer. At the end of the development cycle, I turn off the lights, take off the lid from the tank and pour out the developer...if you are using a developer that you use over and over (not 1-shot), then you could pour into a bottle with a wide-mouth funnel. I then fill with water and dump several times before pouring in the fixer, putting the lid back on, and switching on the lights for the last time, while I fix the film. After fix..I take the lid off, pour off the fix, and fill the tank with water several times before I transfer the reels to the washing tank.

 

[ic-racer]

ic-racer, I think this is fill times plus agitation. Each agitation (allowing for air to come up) with a big paterson tank takes longer to do as thoroghly as with a small tank. I have noticed this too and increase agitation with the bigger tanks.

On my Jobo, the rotation speed is nearly the same from 2 to 8 rolls, and I suspect you are right that agitation effects come in to play.

What I have been doing is always recording the number of rolls the were processed along my test wedge exposure. So, if I want to duplicate results exactly, I'll process the same number of rolls together.

 

[Monophoto]

ic-racer, I think this is fill times plus agitation. Each agitation (allowing for air to come up) with a big paterson tank takes longer to do as thoroghly as with a small tank. I have noticed this too and increase agitation with the bigger tanks.

This is a very important point.

My standard agitation in my standard two-reel tank is rather vigorous. When I shift to a four-reel tank, it is simply not possible for me to achieve the same level of agitation. The result is that negatives processed in a four-reel batch inexorably have lower contrast unless I remember to do something else to improve contrast - perhaps extend the processing time.