hi, does anyone has any experience about Ilfochrome CAP40/ICP42? where can i find the source about them? thanks...

-- jeff liao (jliao66@aol.com), December 19, 1999

Answers

I had a CAP40 ten years ago. Otherwise it was a good machine, but the prints had a tendency to stick on the pinned bottom plate. I solved the problem by cutting the corners from the leading side. Maybe newer machines are improved in this way.

-- Jan... (jan.eerala@itameri.net), December 21, 1999.

It is true that the early model had pins which led sometimes to jamming the paper and contaminating the chemicals. It is better to find a later one with steps instead of pins.

-- Paul Schilliger (pschilliger@vtx.ch), December 21, 1999.

The plates are called "turbulators." The ones with pins can be replaced with the newer model that uses a stepped surface. The turbulators with the pins can cause uneven development that appear as horizontal bands of density changes (dark/light). They are most apparent in large flat, textureless areas like skys. The stepped plates eliminate this problem. I have also found that running the chemicals about 3-degrees warmer helps both color balance and development. I also like to add an additional 10cc of DEZ-30 additive to the developer, it seems to make the colors appear a bit cleaner. I have had a machine since 1988, and it has processed thousands of prints without a hitch. I am very careful with it and clean it regulary. This is easy to do. You just drain the chemicals out. Fill all the tanks with warm water, and then let it run for about 20 minutes. Drain the water out. Remove the turbulators and run them under water, rinse the tanks by pouring water in from the top, and letting it drain out. If the machine is going to sit for an extended period of time, you might want to remove the cover (easily done), and drain the pumps. Turn the machine upside down, remove the screws, and then carefully separate the housing. The pumps come apart by removing the small spring clips, and then the side cover of the pump just pulls off. Since the pump impellers are run by magnetic induction and don't have a direct drive with a lot of torque, you may find they are stuck if after sitting for a long time. This happens because there are chemicals that will dry out and stick between the impeller and the impeller shaft. All you have to do is clean the impeller shaft and the inside of the pump with a wet paper towel to remove the "goo" that has caused the impeller to stick. Reassemble, and turn it on. Also, don't run the machine "dry" for longer than about 15 seconds. The impellers need a liquid to act as a bearing between the impeller and the shaft.

-- steve (s.swinehart@worldnet.att.net), December 23, 1999.