hoshisato Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 <p>My dad picked up a Unicolor drum ages ago and now that I want to start dabbling a bit with 5x4 format, developing the negatives myself, I'm trying to figure out what I'm having and what is missing. The drum is 34cm long by 14cm in diameter but the only marking is 'Unicolor'. I know that I'm missing the roller machine and I have seen the mention of 'spacers' in the context of Unicolor drums but I do not know what there are. <br />My first question is: do I have a Unicolor film drum or a Unicolor paper drum? I guess it is a paper drum but that is good for LF negatives.The follow up question is: do I need anything other than a roller machine?</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin_dake Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 <p>I have several Unicolor drums and they are all marked Unicolor on the non spout end as well as below the spout on the leg portion.</p> <p>It looks like you have the larger size one meant for 11x14 or 2 8x10 prints and I don't think you will be able to do 4x5 or 5x4 even in it.<br> You need to find the smaller drum that measures approx. 22cm x 11cm for 4x5.<br> The smaller drum can do 4 4x5 negatives at a time. They came with spacers to stop the sheets/negatives sliding over each other but they are nearly always missing, you can fashion some new ones easily but I just process 2 4x5 negatives at a time and don't bother with spacers.</p> <p>The roller base is nice to have but not absolutely needed as you can kind of roll it by hand.</p> <p>By the way, I believe Unicolor drums were intended and marketed as print drums but they can be used as negative film drums successfully.</p> <p>Good luck</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoshisato Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 <p>Thanks Martin, very helpful!<br> I see what you mean: with the circumference being 2πr, and r being 7cm in the case of my drum, half de circumference would be a little over 21 cm, 8 inches in other words.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbcarter Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 <p>You can get creative. 2 4x5 sheets make an 8x10...... A bit of tape on the back side is all it would take....</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertChura Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 <p>I have processed 4x 5 negatives in the 16x20 and 11x14 drum size and they work fine.It is easier to load an 8x10 though. Be sure and load the negs emulsion side out and in a dry drum. Once water hits them they stick to the sides nicely.Be sure and use a water pre-rinse to coat the negs before the developer.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoshisato Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 <p>Thanks you all, I will give it a try and make it work once I've decided on a camera :-)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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