Two 120's on One Reel

[bvy]

If I tape the ends of two rolls of 120 film together in the dark, they will both fit on one Paterson reel. What could go wrong? They shouldn’t overlap or “crawl” as long as the taped seam is secure. I’ve done this with 135 (two rolls of 12) and not had a problem, but 135 is a better fit on the reel. My experience with the larger Paterson tank (that holds two 120 sized reels) was not favorable, so I’ve moved back to the small tank.

 

[Wayne]

What could go wrong?

Depending on your developer you could forget to make sure there is enough stock concentrate in there to develop 2 rolls. Or at least I could.

 

[Steve Smith]

Should be fine. I often do it.


Steve.

 

[piu58]

Films tend to move inwards during development. I bend the last half an inch of the second film, so it cannot slip inwards.

 

[David Allen]

I load one film into the Paterson reel and then use my fingers to move it to the centre of the real and then load the second roll as per usual.

Works every time for me with no problems.

Bests,

David.
www.dsallen.de

 

[R.Gould]

no problem, I often load 2 120 films into one Patterson pr Jobo reel. just move the first film to the reel as far as it will go with your fingers then load the second, and I find that 600ml of Rodinal at 1/50, or Rollie RHS developer at 1/12 will develop 2 films as well as one
Richard

 

[Steve Smith]

just move the first film to the reel as far as it will go with your fingers then load the second

I attach the second film to the first using the tape it already has holding it to the backing paper.

Another thing to bear in mind when considering developer volume (which I never do) is that 120 reels were also intended for 220 film.


Steve.

 

[MattKing]

I load one film into the Paterson reel and then use my fingers to move it to the centre of the real and then load the second roll as per usual.

Works every time for me with no problems.

Bests,

David.
www.dsallen.de

This is what I do, with the AP (Paterson clone) reels with the wide entry flanges, and it works great.

One caution though. When I tried to do this and then use rotary agitation (EDIT: on a Beseler Rotary agitation motor base) during the development stage without a pre-wet, the films sometimes moved a lot within the reels, and ended up overlapping.

So now I add a three minute pre-wet and use inversion agitation for all but the first 30 seconds of the development.

Stop, fixer, rinse and HCA are all on the rotary agitator - and the film seems to stay put.

I use HC-110 dil E replenished, and get good results developing four rolls in the Paterson tank that takes two 120 reels (1 litre of developer). This is very slightly less than my target of 6 ml concentrate per roll, but I rarely shoot four rolls of high key subjects at the same time.

 

[Steve Smith]

This is what I do, with the AP (Paterson clone) reels with the wide entry flanges, and it works great.

One caution though. When I tried to do this and then use rotary agitation...

According to the instructions which come with Paterson tanks (as if anyone has these or even reads them) the stick for rotary agitation should be used only for the initial agitation when you pour the developer in, to remove air bubbles. They state that inversion should be used from then onwards.


Steve.

 

[MattKing]

According to the instructions which come with Paterson tanks (as if anyone has these or even reads them) the stick for rotary agitation should be used only for the initial agitation when you pour the developer in, to remove air bubbles. They state that inversion should be used from then onwards.


Steve.

By "rotary agitation" I am referring to putting the tank on my Beseler Rotary agitation motor base. Sorry for the confusion.

I'll "enhanced" my original post.

 

[paul ron]

go for it! use a 220 reel so you have enough room for both rolls.

 

[MartinP]

go for it! use a 220 reel so you have enough room for both rolls.

In the last thirty-five years all the plastic (as discussed by the OP) reels that I've seen and used have been multi-width adjustable ones whether they were Paterson, Jobo or third-party branded. They will take a 36-exposure roll of 135, so 220 or 2x120 will also go on there.

 

[bvy]

Great then. I'll give it a try. I'm using XTOL 1+1, and 300ml stock for two rolls meets the 100ml minimum requirement.

 

[MartinP]

Great then. I'll give it a try. I'm using XTOL 1+1, and 300ml stock for two rolls meets the 100ml minimum requirement.

Ummmm, probably unnecessary - but you do mean 300+300=600ml? Obviously 300ml of 1+1 will only get halfway-ish up the reel . . .

 

[K-G]

I load one film into the Paterson reel and then use my fingers to move it to the centre of the real and then load the second roll as per usual.

Works every time for me with no problems.

Bests,

David.
www.dsallen.de

+1

Karl-Gustaf

 

[Steve Smith]

By "rotary agitation" I am referring to putting the tank on my Beseler Rotary agitation motor base. Sorry for the confusion.

I see.

My comment may still be relevant to some as I have read threads where people have used the twirly stick for all of their agitation needs!


Steve.

 

[bvy]

Ummmm, probably unnecessary - but you do mean 300+300=600ml? Obviously 300ml of 1+1 will only get halfway-ish up the reel . . .

Right. 300ml stock in a 1+1 working solution is 600ml.

 

[mpirie]

I regularly process two 120 rolls in a single reel.

However, if you are taping the ends together, you will need to be careful to align the edges correctly otherwise the first roll will go in and the second one may catch on the reel at some point.

 

[Steve Smith]

However, if you are taping the ends together, you will need to be careful to align the edges correctly otherwise the first roll will go in and the second one may catch on the reel at some point.

Yes... but you can push the second film in a bit then tape it. That way it has to line up.


Steve.

 

[bvy]

Yes... but you can push the second film in a bit then tape it. That way it has to line up.

Can you apply enough pressure to the tape to get it to stick once it's on the reel (not having a solid surface to press it against)?

 

[RalphLambrecht]

If I tape the ends of two rolls of 120 film together in the dark, they will both fit on one Paterson reel. What could go wrong? They shouldn’t overlap or “crawl” as long as the taped seam is secure. I’ve done this with 135 (two rolls of 12) and not had a problem, but 135 is a better fit on the reel. My experience with the larger Paterson tank (that holds two 120 sized reels) was not favorable, so I’ve moved back to the small tank.

Should be fine;I do it on Jobo reels,which can take two 120s on a reel.You need to make sure to have sufficient amount of stock sulution