Gast
I own a Doran flat-bed film tank. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet managed to achieve perfect results with this tank. Problems such as uneven development or films sticking together have been a source of frustration.
Can anyone help me with instructions that are as foolproof as possible?
Regards, Matthias
Gast
Matthias,
Did you use the loading aid?
Films really only stick together if two films are stuck in the same slot, or at least half in the wrong slot.
As for the movement, we’ve had the best results with a figure-of-eight sliding motion.
This means you move the tank in a figure-of-eight pattern in front of you across the table. This also ensures fresh developer reaches the corners and rails.
It goes without saying that it must be filled sufficiently. Which developer do you use? R09 is very good.
Moving forwards helps a lot too.
Best regards,
Mirko.
www.fotoimpex.de
Gast
I used the loading aid. I moved the can back and forth as I understood from the instructions. Result: uneven development. Then I tried tilting it as far as possible, but this resulted in uneven development and films sticking together.
Question regarding the figure 8. I assume that I am describing a figure-of-eight movement with the can, during which the can does not change direction (Paternoster principle). Is that correct?
Many thanks
Regards, Matthias
Gast
Yes, the ‘8’ should be ‘driven’ as if it were drawn on the table in front of you.
I still don’t understand how the films could have stuck together.
For that to happen, they must have jumped out of the guides.
Did you use the metal clip to secure the films?
Did you use a balancing developer?
Xtol or other modern developers are more prone to forming turbulence clouds than R09 or other classic flat-film developers.
What exactly did the “unevenness” look like?
Best regards,
Mirko
