Unicolor print drum

mark · Mar 15, 2004

A few years ago my dad gave me a Unicolor print drum he said he processed 4x5 negs in.

He said you put the chemicals in it and slosh it around in the tub. I tried it and it filled with water. He said without the water dummy so I tried it and came up with the worst processed negs in the world. I got streaks of uneven development. What I want to know is if anyone has had any luck with this and if so how. He said there was never a rotary base with his. And can I use it for 5x7 negs?

How necessary is the base?

BobF · Mar 15, 2004

Mark, go here: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/unicolor/ for an excellent article by Greywolf on how to use it this drum.

I have heard that you can do 5x7 if you can find an 11x14 drum.

Motor base makes it a lot easier and the whole system works very well when you get the bugs ironed out. Preferred system of many.

Donald Miller · Mar 15, 2004

mark said:
A few years ago my dad gave me a Unicolor print drum he said he processed 4x5 negs in.

He said you put the chemicals in it and slosh it around in the tub. I tried it and it filled with water. He said without the water dummy so I tried it and came up with the worst processed negs in the world. I got streaks of uneven development. What I want to know is if anyone has had any luck with this and if so how. He said there was never a rotary base with his. And can I use it for 5x7 negs?

How necessary is the base?

Mark, From what I gather that your dad said, he was basically using the Unicolor drum in the same manner that BTZS tubes are used. They have been used by many over the years with good results.

mark · Mar 15, 2004

How come I got such uneven development. The negs looked like one stripe dense, one stripe super thin, one stripe dense and so on? Was I just rolling it too fast.

I read the link thanks. It didn't explain the uneven development though.

brimc76 · Mar 15, 2004

Mark did you presoak your negatives first? I've been using these drums for a while and have never had a problem with the negs. I presoak them first (in the drum) for a couple of minutes in distilled water (the same temp as my developer) before pouring in the developer. Also make sure that the emulsion side is out.

Donald Miller · Mar 15, 2004

brimc76 said:
Mark did you presoak your negatives first? I've been using these drums for a while and have never had a problem with the negs. I presoak them first (in the drum) for a couple of minutes in distilled water (the same temp as my developer) before pouring in the developer. Also make sure that the emulsion side is out.

In my tube processing the emulsion goes toward the interior of the tube. Maybe the Unicolor drum is different in this respect.

SteveGangi · Mar 16, 2004

I use Unicolor drums for 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10. With and without pre-soak, all on the motorized base. Before I got the base, I used to roll the drum GENTLY back and forth on a hard surface floor.

brimc76 · Mar 16, 2004

In my tube processing the emulsion goes toward the interior of the tube. Maybe the Unicolor drum is different in this respect.[/quote]

Sorry, that is what I meant to say. Away from the wall of the tube - towards the interior.

mark · Mar 21, 2004

I was playing with the unicolor drum and found out that two 5x7 negs fit perfectly. There is maybe a MM or two between the film and the wall. Now I am wondering if there would be enough chemical in the drum to properly process the two negs. SOmewhere a person said they used 100mm of chemicals to tube process one 5x7 neg so if it holds 200mm I should have enough right?

brimc76 · Mar 21, 2004

I have always used 250ml of chemicals and have never had a problem with my negs. You could try less - let me know if it works out.

Unicolor print drum

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