Paper development 50x60 in Jobo 4551

EJG · 2009-07-09T17:01:33+00:00

Hallo, eine CPA und die Trommel 4551 habe ich mir zugelegt um gelegentlich auf 40x50 oder 50x60 zu vergrößern. Um Fehler bzw. um nicht unnötig Papier zu v...

EJG

Hello, I’ve bought a CPA and the 4551 drum so that I can occasionally enlarge images to 40x50 or 50x60. To avoid mistakes and wasting paper unnecessarily, here are my questions: What’s the best way to go about this? 1. Determine the exposure time (then automatically expose test strips using Wallner Report, e.g. to 50x60). 2. Load the paper into the drum 3. Add 500 ml of developer 3. After the development time (how many minutes?), should the developer be drained as a single-use solution or kept for reuse? 4. Stop bath 500 ml 5. Fix (for how many minutes?) – drain as a single-use fix or for reuse? 6. Rinsing, e.g. in a shower tray Is that OK? Is there anything else I should bear in mind? Perhaps someone on the forum has experience with these drums. Regards ejg

cfb_de

Hello EJG, Do you have the format holder for the drum? Otherwise, does the 4551 only go up to 40x50? With the format holder, the procedure would be as follows: - Place the test strip into the drum as normal and rotate it. - Insert a "sharp print" into the format holder, with the emulsion side facing away from the plastic, of course. - Let it rotate. Contrary to the instructions on the drum, I recommend using about 500ml of chemical. I use a development time of 2.5 minutes with Agfa-MCP. The Adox Vario Classic FB rotates for 5 minutes in my setup (using Paper Dur or Eukobrom). I always prepare the fixer at a 1+7 ratio and use it several times with process control. At least with the Amaloco X55 I use, there is sufficient documentation on how many square metres it can fix per batch. You can rinse in the drum using the Ilford method. It’s convenient, and afterwards the drum is clean again straight away. And one more thing: although I now have two of these machines (and a 3063, which can handle 50x60 without a format holder, though it’s usually quite expensive), I don’t let them dry out; instead, I pop the next sheet of paper in straight away. Best regards, Franz

EJG

Hello EJG, Do you have the format holder for the drum? Otherwise, with the 4551, the maximum size is 40x50, isn’t it? With the format holder, the procedure would be as follows: - Place the test strip in the drum as normal and rotate it. - Insert the "sharp print" into the format holder, with the emulsion side facing away from the plastic, of course. - Let it rotate. Contrary to the instructions on the drum, I recommend using about 500ml of chemical. I use a development time of 2.5 minutes with Agfa-MCP. I rotate the ADOX Vario Classic FB for 5 minutes (using Paper Dur or Eukobrom). I always prepare the fixer at a 1:7 ratio and use it several times for process control. At least with the Amaloco X55 I use, there is sufficient documentation on how many square metres it can fix per batch. You can rinse in the drum using the Ilford method. It’s easy to do and the drum is clean again straight away afterwards. And one more thing: although I now have two of these (and a 3063, which can handle 50x60 without a format holder, though it’s usually quite expensive), I don’t let them dry out; instead, I pop the next sheet of paper in straight away. Best regards, Franz

EJG

Hello Franz, Thank you very much for your quick and detailed reply. Best regards, Ernst Jürgen

Urnes

Hi Franz, Are there any significant advantages to drumming the paper compared to the shell method? And if I do decide to drum the paper, can I just roll it up and pop it in, or will I definitely need some sort of spacers? I reckon if I stack all the tins with the extensions, I’ll definitely end up at 1.80 metres <_< . Ah, and with baryta paper, you can skip the fiddly washing process in favour of three water changes... do you just agitate the water by rotating the drum, and if so, for how long each time? Regards, Sven.

cfb_de

Hi Sven, For me, the biggest advantage of the drum is that I can’t fit 50x60 trays in my bathroom... The biggest disadvantage, of course, is that you’re carrying out the process ‘blind’. I actually quite like seeing the image develop. For me, that’s the most exciting moment in the darkroom. I wouldn’t stack too many trays on top of each other: you’ve got to be able to tip them over somehow when changing the chemicals. Besides, it’s only suitable for panoramic formats: 180x50cm? would be the maximum. You develop large, long sheets in a flower box: two people pull the paper through the box in a U-shape. If you do it carefully, hardly anything drips. And I actually rinse baryta paper 5 times for two minutes each. My tests have shown that the paper is actually rinsed out after 4 times, but it’s only with the 5th in-and-out cycle that the tank gets clean. Best regards, Franz p.s.: And you develop really large sheets on the lab floor. That’s how we once made a 3x4m print: heated the Duka to 38°C for three days until even the floor was warm, laid the paper on the floor, poured the chemicals from the bucket and then spread them with mops. Then we dragged it into the drain (using a scraper from the toilet cleaning supplies – ‘environmental’ hadn’t been invented yet in the early 80s), next bath... It wasn’t much fun in terms of temperature and stench, but afterwards we could all clean the Duka even in pitch darkness.