Interesting..... This would also solve a "lack of space" problem...... I'm wondering how good of a rinse after fixing would be required to clean the tray out enough to avoid contamination of the developer when poured back in for the next print.
Tim
Single tray is great for space issues. I think it is also cleaner with less cross contamination of chemicals. I have a hose attached to my faucet and use that to rinse/wash trays.
If I am processing a single print, I drop the exposed paper into the tray (no need to dry between prints) and then pour in the developer while stepping on the timer's footswitch. As the time expires, I lift the tray and pour the developer into its beaker. The print sticks to the bottom of the tray. Then I pour in stop bath. I swirl it around a couple of times to make sure the print is submerged and then pour the stop bath back into its beaker. Then I use the hose and circle the rim of the tray and then the inside. I pour out the water and repeat once or twice. Does not take long and I don't use large volumes. Then I do two fixer baths consecutively, rinse again, hypo clear, rinse. then the print goes to the washer. No tongs, nothing touches the print, no creasing a wet print dragging it from tray to tray.
After I arrive at a final printing sequence, I usually expose several sheets the same way so I have copies. I store them in a paper safe. Then I batch process. For that I use up to 8 (8x10) or 4 (16x20) at once. I fill a separate beaker with water as a hand wash. I wear latex gloves and dip them in the wash beaker between steps. I fill the developer tray with solution and then insert the exposed paper one by one in rapid succession and kick the timer. I develop to completion for 3 minutes with fresh developer so I don't see much variation. I continuously interleave the paper sheets as they are processed just like tray processing film. Fiber based paper sheets glide over one another and separate easily. RC paper is a nuisance to batch process because the sheets tend to adhere to one another. After the Hypo Clear stage I use selenium toner (but I usually tone just one sheet first to verify the time before doing a whole batch).
By working this way, I can be fairly efficient with time and chemicals.
For 8x10 and 11x14, I use a Patterson 14x17 tray with 2000 ml of solutions.
For 16 x 20 or 20x24 I use the same size tray with 4000 ml of solutions.
In terms of cost, beakers can cost as much as trays. I get mine from US Plastics and they are reasonable but the 4000 ml beakers (hard to find) start to get pricey. I think the 2000 ml beakers are ~$5-6. They are plastic and graduated so I mix the solutions from stock in the beakers.
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