Help with Jobo processor and 4x5 Provia processing at home.

[parasko_p]

Hi all,

 

I wish to process 4x5 Quickloads (Provia 100) at home and so I am going to

purchase a CPP-2 processor and use an Expert Drum (probably 3006).

 

I don't have a darkroom, which I assume is ok as I can use a changing tent to

load film to the drum.

 

I need to know whether the Cpp-2 processor (or the CPA-2) needs access to both

cold and hot water faucets in order to function. I have access to a cold water

tap but not hot water. Can I still use the Jobo processor with this setup?

 

In addition, I will probably purchase the processor from the US and I am

concerned that I cannot convert the voltage to Australian 240V. Can I just

purchase an adaptor to do this?

 

Lastly, how dangerous are E6 chemicals? Is processing E6 any more dangerous

than mixing or smelling B&W chemicals (that Ilfospeed fixer seriously

smells!!)? I may try to setup the processor outdoors on a table with wheels

and store it indoors when not in use.

 

Any help or comments are appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[jim philopena]

I'm pretty sure the CPP-2 needs, or rather has, only a cold water tap connection. The heater is built-in, so hot water - it makes itself.

 

The CPA-2 has neither. You can either add or remove hot/cold water as necessary.

 

I use a CPA-2 for years the other way around. A 110 on 220. You will need a stepdown transformer. If you plug it into 240, you will let the magic smoke out (it will burn up). Try you local electronics retailer. A simple Travel Adapter will not work.

 

I've been processing E-6 and earlier E-4. Other than the horn out my forehead, no problems! (Just joking) Most of them in both the 3 or 6 step kits are pretty low on the harm scale. If you are concerned, download the Manufacturers Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and review them. The give a LD-50 rating. It's how much volume a rat must consume to cause death in 50% of the test subjects (LD-50 is Leathal Dose in 50%). Remember, if a 500G rat must eat 2500G to die, well, he really exploded and the chemicals didn't poison him...

[parasko_p]

Hi James,

 

Thanks for your help. I will look into the voltage transformer for the electrical conversion. Looks like the Cpp-2 is the way to go.

 

Re: the E6 process, is there much of a difference between the 3 and 6 step process? Is one better than the other?

[jim philopena]

In standard resilts, no. The 3 bath is much simpler and the results are as good as anything commercial. As long as you adhere to the manufacturers recommendations.

 

The difference in the 3 and 6 bath come when you wish to adjust contrast and place more control over the process. The 6-Step is useful when you use control strips and an densitometer to adjust your process for chemical changes. For casual amateur processing, not sure it has any utility.

 

I would recommend the 3-Bath especially for a new user of the process. It's simplicity is helpful in building confidence in the process and gaining practice. Temp control is important. So just be careful. The Jobo will take care of this for you.

 

There is nothing like a 4X5 slide. When you take them out the first time, it almost takes your breath away.

 

Have fun.

[parasko_p]

Thanks for all your help with this James.

 

You're the only one who has responded but you've provided heaps of relevant information.

 

I appreciate it.

 

Cheers.

[jim philopena]

Any time, and if you need more info, you can always click on my name and get my home E-Mail address. I've been doing slides since I was 15, and now fifty is closer than anyone likes.

 

Cheers Mate.

[g._armour_van_horn]

I have to take exception to the 3-bath recommendation, but I'm hardly alone on that. You'll find negative comments about it throughout the archive of this forum. The main thing is that you gain very little in the way of convenience and it costs a bloody fortune.

 

Remember that the when you count rinses and the final-wash, the 6-bath process has more like ten steps, cutting three steps out doesn't mean a whole lot. In exchange for that minor reduction in complexity, the chemistry costs more. And, on top of that, you can't save your bleach with the the 3-bath chemistry because you don't have a separate bleach to save.

 

If you price the individual chemicals for E-6 you'll find that slightly over half the cost is for the bleach. But if you use a ten-dollar aquarium airpump to bubble air through your bleach jug for an hour or two a day, it will last for ten times longer than any of the other solutions, and if you replenish it the bleach will last just about forever.

 

The last time I looked, a 5-liter 3-bath Tetanal kit cost about $80. The 5-liter Kodak kit (standard 6-bath) was $50. If you aerate and replenish the bleach, the final equivalent cost is under $30.

 

Because the first three solutions (First Dev, Reversal, Color Dev) are rather unstable I throw them out after ten days. Even with that, using the Kodak 5-gallon size units of each concentrate my actual historical cost of chemicals is under 90 cents per 36-exposure roll. As I recall, that's the same as four 4x5" sheets. Using 3-bath chemistry would almost triple the cost.

 

As to hazard, I find that I've got rough scaly skin on my fingers a lot, but I can't really say that film processing is worse than washing the dishes in this regard. Part B of Color Dev has a really nasty smell to it, it seems like it's certain to burn all the little hairs out my nose, so I try not to inhale suddenly when I'm measuring it. But even that one doesn't seem to bother my skin if I occasionally spill some on myself. (I am pretty good with handling the concentrates and very rarely spill any at all, but it has happened.)

 

You could wear rubber gloves during mixing and processing, and of course you don't want to do anything chemical in a small enclosed space, but other than that I don't see any safety issues that wouldn't apply to handling most household chemicals.

 

I do have a funny little growth on my forehead, but it showed up several years before I got back into processing film!

 

Van