I am so cheap on chemicals

Yeah, I am a cheap monster on photo equipments these days, but I really want to

develop two 120 films on one reel because that is how much reel the tank can

hold. Did anyone develop like this before, inserting both 120 films together

into the film reel?

You could get a 220 reel and carefully tape the two strips of film end to end.

 

With a 120 reel the only way to minimize the risk of both strips sticking to each other and hindering the flow of chemistry would be to agitate very aggressively - literally, shaking the tank like you're making a martini. Not a good idea.

 

If your supply of developer is really low and you must develop two rolls, develop 'em one after the other in the same developer. Extend the time for the second roll. This will work better with less dilute solutions, so if D76, use it full strength, not 1:1. This is guesswork and won't guarantee optimal results.

Many plastic reels come with a little separator clip for this very purpose. Jobo and Paterson reels both have this facility.

 

Jobo's reels have a little red plastic tab. You pull the tab out and load the first film, right into the centre of the reel, then close the tab and load the second film.

 

Two 120 films could possibly be loaded onto a 220 stainless reel by taping the ends together, but the films would have to be straight in-line with each other. Try doing that in the dark!

William, as Lex suggests, you will still have to use enough chemical to get full development

per sq. in. of film you are processing regardless of how many rolls you can cram in a tank.

I use my Microdol-X about 8 times before I throw it away. And this isn't even on the same day, this could be over a period of a month. I extend the dev time a little with each roll starting at 9min and going up to about 16min. It is a little bit unpredictable and inconsistent but still the film is never more than about a stop off.

 

Mind you this will be for my own rolls only and only ones without anything too important on them. If I am doing a wedding I will use fresh dev (and then save it to reuse myself later).

I'd forgotten about the plastic reels. I was thinking of 120 stainless reels.

 

Out of curiosity I've tried developing two consecutive rolls in a single batch of developer (I think it was Rodinal, 1:50 or is it 1+50?). It worked. Wouldn't recommend it for important negatives but if money is really tight it can be done.

 

You might try a reusable developer like Diafine. Economical and very low hassle. Not ideal for every film, tho'.

I have tried the SS tape 2-120 strips together and it was not pretty--- I even did some run-throughs in daylight. Makes a mess-- previous poster was right- you have to get them straight. You could make a small plexi template to line them up, but there goes the battle with dust. I bagged the idea.

You can load two rolls of 120 onto a 220 plastic reel.

I used to roll 2 rolls of 35 onto a single stainless 35 reel with the films being back to back to save time when working fast. It should be possible to do this with 120 on a 120 reel but I'm gonna guess that this will be pretty tricky. Better be prepared for the dreaded half moons! It might be better to just develop it one at a time as I don't like having all of my work spoiled in a single developing session.

In High School we sometimes had to develop more film right away than we had tanks and reels for. With 35mm film and stainless steel reels I would sometimes load two rolls shiny side to shiny side into one reel. It was prudent to increase the developing time a little and as soon as the fixer was out I had to separate the two rolls for rinsing so no chemistry would sit between the films. This would be more difficult to do with 120 film because of the curl of each roll.

 

Your best bet for avoiding trouble would be using more economical chemistry. You might consider HC-110, PC-TEA, Rodinal, Clayton F60, Microdol-X (1:3), D-23 or Diafine.

thanks

Why push things and possibly ruin what would have been an excellent photo? Buy another tank that will take two reels. Darkroom gear is now so inexpensive that there is no excuse for not getting what you want. $5000 enlargers are to be had for $2-400, Great lenses for $20-50.

Why scrimp when you don't have to?

 

If it is developer you are worrying about, mix your own. It is easy to do and easy to use. It costs much less than store bought developers.

If you want cheap and highest possible quality use D76, UFG, Acufine, ID11, etc with their appropriate replenishers. You simply add a few milliliters for each roll of film. Except for Acufine, it can last virtually forever if you occasionally filter the colloidal silver out (you can use coffee filters). In the case of Acufine, after about 20 rolls per gal of replenished developer then dump and replace.

 

In the case of D76 and UFG I have used upwards of 30 gals of replensiher with perfect results ( in fact, it is better in quality than fresh developer), much more stable. I have never dumped either of them except when I moved or occasionally when too sleepy put fixer in the developer, that will wreck it!

 

Lynn