I'm going to be using 4x5 sheets for the first time in years, and would prefer not to develop in trays or in my old FR daylight tank. I'm spoiled by decades of fast chemical changes with Paterson tanks, and would like to use something similar for sheets. I gather that the HP Combi tank is a fairly slow fill (in the summer my processing temperatures can reach 80F, with developing times of 6 minutes at that temperature) and I know my old FR is even slower.

Paterson doesn't make reels for developing sheets in their tanks. Jobo does make such a tank, and while I gather it isn't made for inversion agitation I understand that it does fill and empty rapidly, and can be used by just rolling it back and forth on a surface. I don't have the space or budget for a full Jobo motorized system, wonderful as it may be, and I'm wondering if any of you have experience using the Jobo 4x5 tank for non-motorized processing? Your thoughts and experiences will be appreciated.

-- Kip Babington (cbabing3@swbell.net), February 25, 2001

Answers

You can find Jobo instructions at http://www.jobo-usa.com/jobofoto/ just fwiw.

I use Unicolor 8x10 print drums; they work great and they're cheap.

-- John Hicks (jbh@magicnet.net), February 26, 2001.

I've been using the Jobo 6 sheet unit for over a year now. I also use it for 120 and 35 mm film when I use PMK. The tank fills and drains quickly (regular capped lid, not the cog lid). Since I hand roll on the counter top, I made a sleeve out of 5/8" blue foam that slips snugly over the tank. This makes the diameter of the tank/sleeve about the same diameter as the lid and allows the tank to sit level. It also insulates and keeps the temperature more stable. 500ml fills the tank about half way and this is about the max that works well with rolling. I recently tried inversion agitation with 4x5 film with this tank and it worked quite well. 1.3 liters of developer just covers the top of the film reel and there is enough air space above that to permit the developer to move around during inversions. I used 10 sec/minute agitation (6 inversion cycles in 10 seconds) and the negatives came out perfect (FX15 diluted 1+2). For the stop (I use water) and fix processes, you can use roller agitation and use only 500 ml of solution.

-- Jim Snyder (jim.snyder@uaa.alaska.edu), February 26, 2001.

I've also used the Jobo 4x5 tank (capped version) with the reel to process 4x5. I roll and invert it and works great for me. Kind of expensive for a hunk of plastic, but it does the job nicely. I've never used the unicolor drums, but a lot of folks really like them, and much cheaper than the Jobo.

Dave

-- Dave Willis (willisd@medicine.wustl.edu), February 26, 2001.