JOBO processing of c-41 and E6

[thomas_griffin1]

Hi, I have a complete JOBO with LIFT color lab.

 

I have the instructions and all, but I wanted to tap into your brains

a bit before I tried anything.

 

How much more difficult is it to process color over B&W?

 

Could you just talk about the process, point me into the right

direction..??

 

 

Thanks

[jeff_stuart]

Thomas,

 

Congratulations. May you enjoy many happy rolls with your Jobo. You don�t say which model you have, but since you have the lift I guess it is one of the CPx guys. I�ve done lots of roll film with the CPE2+, all color (where I live the Jobo would need a refrigerator to maintain B&W temps.)

 

Here are my suggestions: Get some chemical kits (Tetenal, Kodak, etc.) and read the instructions. Use distilled water to mix your working solutions. If your tap water is hard you might want to use softened or distilled water for you final rinse. I use tap water for rinses. Get a stop watch and a good color thermometer. Be consistent. Despite what anyone says, you are way ahead of the game using one-shot chemistry.

 

The Jobo reels load nicely unless they, or your film, are damp. Always make sure things are dry. Similarly, never put color stabilizer solutions into your tanks or your reels into those solutions. The wetting agents will glom onto the plastic (stainless steel too) and make your reels sticky.

 

Pre-heat your tanks per instructions. For E6 temper your 1st dev and 1st rinse precisely. Did I mention, be consistent?

 

Find a way to dry your film away from dust. Jobo makes a splendid dryer. Too splendid for me, I made my own from PVC pipe, some filters, and a junk chassis fan. There are other dryer suggestions on this site.

 

Don�t make any judgements about your film until it is dry. Wet film is a lot like a wet new born. Don�t panic, give it an hour or so..... Sometimes years....

 

Did I mention, be consistent? And have fun,

[chris_eve]

I've got an early Jobo rotary processor and do most of my C41 processing with it.

 

Things to remember :

 

1. Pour in/out times become a significant part of the processing with only about 3min total dev time ... practice with just water and an empty tank 'till you're relatively confident of your timings.

 

2. Temperature is critical. Double check your dev temp just before your pour it in ... adjust your timing to compensate if necessary. 1 degree F does make a difference !!

 

I always pre-wash at dev temp ... mostly because I've always done it and I get good results, so why change. If you have problems with streaking, uneven development etc it's worth a try, but as previously posted, consistency is the key word.

 

Good luck.

[leo]

I too just started processing c-41 in my jobo. By using the tetenal c-41 press kit, it takes about eleven minutes to process my film (regardless of what the film speed is). The only hassles (so far) are: 1) mixing the chemicals (which are nastier than b+w) and 2) pre-heating the processor which takes up to forty minutes.

[thomas_griffin1]

Thanks guys...

 

A few more questions.

 

1- Where is the best place to purchase the chemicals? It's my understanding that they do not have a very long life. If that's the case then money would come into play.

 

2- Storage. What's the best containers to keep c-41 in?

[leo]

I get everything at bhphoto or adorama. In regards to storage, so far, I have kept the developer and bleach fix in the the jobo 6ooml containers with no ill effects (two weeks and 7 rolls).

[jeff_stuart]

Thomas,

 

Tetenal Press Kit C41. Powder keeps a long time, makes 1 liter working solution. I�ve bought it from B&H. Maybe cheaper sources, but I don�t do much C41 and piggy back the chemicals on the shipping for other stuff. 1-liter plastic soda bottles (suitably cleaned) are nice for the working solutions because you can squeeze the air out of the color developer, crank the lid down tight, stick it in a dark place and it will keep pretty well. If I have important film to develop I�ll always use fresh chemicals.

 

BTW, I add 1 drop of Kodak Photoflo concentrate to the Tetenal C41 stabilizer. With my rinse water the Tetenal will leave spots.

 

Cheers,