Mail Order processing for B&W (4X5)

I saw a post below about mail order slide processing, but most of the

places mentioned didn't do black and white.

 

I would appreciate any suggestions for labs that do B&W 4X5.

 

If anyone knows of a reasonable lab in the Bay Area (SF prefered), I

would like to hear about it as well. I am a novice and can't afford

$4.00 per

sheet for processing.

 

Thanks,

Chris

Calypso in Santa Clara does it for $3 a sheet. They do really good work.

Photo Factory in San Diego does nice work in XTOL, I think $1.50?

Chris-

This is exactly how I got started on my own darkroom. I couldn't find anybody to process it, and did not think I was smart enough to do it myself. In fact, it is a relatively inexpensive and simple process, although I am still not very smart. The bonus is that processing and printing your own negatives teaches you more about exposure and composition than any book. If you read through the archives here and the primer on the former large format home page, you can get an idea how to do it, and at least consider it as an alternative to sending it out. Good luck.

Chris,

 

Processing your own 4x5 sheet film is so easy and cheap that

you should really consider just doing it yourself. After owning

Jobos, all I now use are three 11x14 trays and a plastic tray

called The Cradle which is sold by Summitek

(www.summitek.com) for about $50. This simple device holds 6

pieces of film and is lowered into each 11x14 tray which you

simply rock using your regular agitation cycle. (I use PMK for 12

minutes, water stop bath and a non-hardening fixer). The results

for me are the best I've ever had - no scratches, very even

development. Since you don't have to shuffle, it's super simple

and you avoid scratches or fingerprints. Chemicals are dirt

cheap - probably costs pennies to develop a single sheet. Find a

pitch black room in the house like a basement room or

bathroom and you'll be good to go.

Thanks, Scott. I've given up on the Nikor, and after a stroke I can't feel whether my right thumb and forefinger are touching the film, so shuffling in a tray is out. This sounds GREAT!

Thanks to all who have responded.

 

The 6-sheet holder that fits in a tray sounds like a great way to go. Any suggestions on a good developer for Ilford Delta 100?

 

I used to do all my own 35mm developing, but got spoiled by Panda labs in Seattle who were doing my 4x5's for about $1.00 a sheet.

All I shoot is Delta 100 and I use the PMK Pyro formula. It delivers amazing

results, especially in the highlights. It is a staining developer which leaves an

amber stain in the emulsion. There are many posts on this forum relating to

Pyro - some are bordering on worship for this very old and often

misunderstood developer. However, my results have indeed been very good.

My advice would be to get Gordon Hutchings book "The Book of Pyro". Here's

the details: You mix two chemicals A & B in a 1:2 ratio with 100 parts water

and you're set. Pyro must be used very quickly after being mixed (within 10

minutes) so I just mix it right into the tray. With Delta 100, my normal

development is 12 minutes with agitation every 15 seconds. If you use the

Cradle device I recommended above, simply slide it back and forth in the tray

a couple times or just tilt the tray. I've pocessed hundreds of negatives using

this method and I've never once had a single uneven negative or scratch due

to processing. Sometimes the simple solutions are the best! (Be sure to wear

rubber gloves when using Pyro as it is very toxic and absorbs through the

skin.) Sounds worse than it is, but Hutching's book would be the place to start.

While we're on the subject, does anyone who uses a Jobo for sheet film development get little spots at the corners of the film ?

 

These appear to be areas where the film contacts the film reel, which blocks the chemicals from reaching the film. I find that the 2 sheets which are placed closest to the central axis of the reel always have these spots, while film loaded closer to the edge of the tank does not.

 

It has made me want to toss the Jobo and go back tray development instead.

To (mangle a) quote by Dr. Benjamin Spock: "Don't worry -- you know more than you think you do." Home processing is the way to go, and there are so many different ways to do it that you can choose the one that works best for you -- they're all easy. I use the Unicolor drum, but I might check out this Cradle tray.

 

As for Ilford Delta 100, I use it a lot and have used Ilfosol S, TMax, and Rodinal. Each gave good, widely different results. Half the fun is trying different developers and seeing what you like best. I find that Rodinal makes all BW films look cool, but hey, that's me. They're all so cheap you might as well try. (A small bottle of Rodinal costs about the same as processing one sheet at a lab, and you can process dozens of sheets with it. Other developers are similarly priced.)

I second the idea of processing yourself. Here's another alternative, inspired by the BZTS tubes (which are great, if you can afford them): go to Lowe's or any hardware store that sells ABS (black color) tubing. Buy a 5 ft length of 1.5 inch (inside diameter) tubing, a small container of cement, a roll of Teflon ® pipe thread tape, eight end caps, four 1.5 inch plugs (they have a 1.5 inch pipe thread), four 1.5 inch male adapters (they have a 1.5 inch pipe thread, similar to the plugs), and four 1.5 inch female adapters (these will mate with the plugs and the male adapters. Cut four six-inch pieces and four three-inch pieces from the five foot length of pipe. Cement an end cap on one end of each piece (8 pieces, 8 end caps). On the other end of the three inch pieces, cement a male adapter. On the other end of the six inch pieces, cement a female adapter. Allow everything to dry for 48 hours, rinse with water, and allow to air dry.

 

Before each use, put a short length of Teflon ® tape on the threads of the male adapters and the threads of the plugs. After each use, remove & discard the piece of tape.

 

In a completely dark room or changing bag, remove the film from your holder, curl it in your hand so that the emulsion side faces inward, insert it into the six inch piece of pipe, and screw in (finger tight only) a plug. Repeat with as many pieces of pipe/sheets of film as you have. Turn on the lights, fill the three inch piece of pipe with 100 cc of your favorite developer, and turn off the lights. Hold the six inch piece of pipe open end down, unscrew the plug, and screw the three inch piece (with developer) onto it (finger tight only). Invert, start your timer, turn on the lights, and roll the assembly back and forth continuously for the length of development desired ( depends on the temp. of your developer, etc.) At the end of development time, (this may be done under a 15 w safelite 4 ft. away if you act quickly), unscrew the pipes, toss the three inch piece with used developer into the sink, quickly pour 100 cc stop into the six inch pipe, and reseal with the plug. Agitate as before, 30 sec. to 1 min. Remove the plug, dump the stop, and pour in 100 cc fixer, resealing with the plug. Turn on the room lights, agitate as before, 5-10 min. I prefer a hardening fixer, but use what you will. When done, dump the fixer, and remove the film from the tube with your fingers. I wash for 3 min, give a 3 min hypo clear bath, and wash another five min. I've been using this method for several months, and have had consistent good quality negatives with no scratches or uneven development. If you want to change the temp, warm or cool the developer, or carry out the agitation in a tray of warm or cool water.

Chris,

 

Here are plans for a home made version of the cradle: http://www.philbard.com/panel.html. You can make a 4 or 6 sheet version using plexiglass sheets and stainless steel screws. I use this setup and it works great.

If you are still interested in mail order processing, I run a custom b&w lab in Cleveland, Ohio - Labwork - that does custom processing and printing. Check out our ads in B&W Magazine, or call us at 216/621-7567. We do fiber base and RC printing in sizes up to 20x24 and film up to 11x14.

A small modification to David Beal's excellent description of how to use tubes for developing sheet film. David says that when the development time is up discard the developer and pour stop bath into each tube. I think it's easier and faster to just fill a large pan with a gallon of stop bath and put each tube in the pan as the developing time for each one expires rather than trying to pour stop bath into each tube. This is particularly true if you have several tubes that are supposed to receive the same development time since you can dunk multiple tubes in the pan much quicker than you can pour the stop bath into each one of them. I also haven't found it necessary to use a dim light. I just keep a lamp with a 60 watt bulb in it on throughout the process with my body between the lamp and the tubes as they're being dunked in the stop bath.

John Sexton has designed a device called a "slosher" for 4x5 film development. Sounds similar to the "cradle" The design is published in one of Johns articles. These can be ordered from some one-don't have the info here at work. I have the design in my workshop notes, if any one is interested in building their own.

John Sexton has designed a device called a "slosher" for 4x5 film development. Sounds similar to the "cradle" The design is published in one of Johns articles. These can be ordered from some one-don't have the info here at work. I have the design in my workshop notes, if any one is interested in building their own.

 

He also has one for roll film.

Gene,

 

You are right. The Summitek product is very much like the Slosher. I think that it was originally marketed under the name "Slosher," and they subsequently changed the name. I saw it on their website as the Slosher, and later the same product was shown under its new name.

 

I originally intended to build a slosher, and then decided to use Phil Bard's version because it looked easier to build (no glue or cutting required).

To add to what David Beal said about homemade ABS tubes:

 

"Before each use, put a short length of Teflon ® tape on the threads of the male adapters and the threads of the plugs. After each use, remove & discard the piece of tape"

 

I added a semi-permanent O-ring at the base of the male threads. (The threads on the pieces from my hardware store seem molded to accomodate this.) Never a leak and no need to use tape.

Thanks again for all of the great responses.

 

I have purchased the summitek cradle and am going to give the PMK Pyro developer a shot. Working in a research lab, I have access to a "real" darkroom, so I figured there are no excuses for not doing this myself.

 

If any of the results are view-worthy I'll post them in my folder.