how to do you develop 120 film?

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Hi,

I may have asked this before....not sure....but here goes anyway: how exactly does one develop 120 film? It has a backing on it, I know, but does the backing extend thru the entire roll or part of it? Do you somehow separate the backing from the film and load it onto the reel? I've never done this before and would like to develop my own 120 film.

Thanks in advance.

Erin

-- Erin C. (ericon_22@hotmail.com), July 18, 2000

Answers

Yes .. you must remove the paper backing from the film. It is attached with tape at one location. Simply turn out the lights, unroll the film and suddenly you will feel the film and the paper, they will seperate quite easily. Roll the film onto the spool and CUT the film where the tape is.

Ken

-- Ken Heflinger (khefling@ichips.intel.com), July 18, 2000.


Before you try on an exposed roll, buy a fresh roll and practice in the light. Always spread newspapers on the darkroom floor before loading 120 film, and don't move your feet while searching in the dark for the rolled up roll on the floor. Wear a sweat band. Have a light-tight box handy to store the film between tries to load the reel. I kid you not! There will be days when everything goes snicker-snack, but there will be others when you swear that the Devil is in the darkroom with you, turning all ten fingers into thumbs. That's 120 for you.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), July 18, 2000.

If you have a dark-dark room (negative dark) then you can also tray process it using the "see-saw" method. I like it, but I've got used to tray processing sheet film so it seems easier. It is only 2 feet long so it isn't difficult to handle. Dean

-- Dean Lastoria (dvlastor@sfu.ca), July 19, 2000.

Erin, I would agree with the post above that urges that you practice with a roll in daylight even if you have to waste a roll. You can see how the film is put togeather and practice loading a reel. When I replaced my old tank and reels I bought a Patterson system and had trouble loading my first reel. I found that cutting two strips of thin cardboard about 1 1/4 inches by 3 1/2 inches and inserting them through the reel slots just below where the film is inserted would help stabilize the reel and, at the same time, help guide the film into the correct groove. I remove them after the film is started. (I hope this makes sense!)

I would have to disagree with the above post that recommends the see- saw method. I used it years ago in a situation where there was no other option and would never do it again if I had a choice. (I use Xtol at 1:3 for almost sixteen minutes. Can you imagine see-sawing the film that long?)

-- Joe Miller (jmmiller@poka.com), July 19, 2000.


See-sawing in the dark has its hazardous. It worked ok for the old ortho films because you could leave on the red safelight and see what you are doing. You have to develop panchromatic films in the dark. That's why daylight developing tanks are so popular.

I'd recommend that you get a decent metal tank and a 120 SS reel(s). You will need to practice loading a dummy roll on to the reel. When you get the hang of it, I would recommend the following procedure:

Unroll the exposed film until you can feel the loose end of the film. Then take this end and put it into the spring retaining clip. Feed the film onto the reel, checking each side of the reel for any film that you can feel is sticking out of the reel. This will quickly reveal any misloading and you can back up and get the film into the proper spiral before continuing. When you get to the taped end of the film, just pull if off. 120/220 came easily be crimped and you get black half-moons usually in the middle of the best negative.

I use this technique for both 120/220 and 35mm. Doing it this way minimizes any contact with the emulsion from your hand or other surfaces. With 35mm, I leave the leader out on the exposed cartridge and cut off the leader and make a couple of corner cuts at the end of the trimmed film. I start loading in the room light and as soon as I have established that the 35mm film is feeding correctly, I kill the light and finish loading in the dark. I save a lot of effort getting the film started right with this method. You can't do this(start loading in the light) with 120/220.

-- Gene Crumpler (nikonguy@worldnet.att.net), July 19, 2000.



I also recommend learning to use stainless steel reels rather than autoloading Patterson reels. I've had uneven agitation problems with the Patterson tank, which I've never had with SS.

-- David Goldfarb (dgoldfarb@barnard.edu), July 19, 2000.

HP5 -- 7 mins, FP4 5 1/2. You got to put the time in either in the dark or light and you save the spooling time. If you get good results with tanks, great, the other is just an option. Dean

-- Dean Lastoria (dvlastor@sfu.ca), July 19, 2000.

I do Gene's 35mm method too.. works great.

With 120 and a Paterson System 4 plastic tank, I do this... Place tank bits and scissors on change bag. Grab the roll of film and undo the sticky fastener that you use to keep it rolled tight, ensuring that you keep it rolled up. Stick arm in change bag (or turn lights out) and unroll the backing paper until you can feel the start of the film. Snip the backing paper off leaving 1" of film poking out past the backing paper. I do this so I can hold the roll without touching the film on the spool while triming the corners and feeding the film into the spool. Once it's started, I let the film go and use the see- saw motion to load, with my thumbs on the point where the film enters the spiral. Once I get near the end I pull the backing paper and tape off the film and finish loading the last couple of inches into the spiral. Bung the spiral into the tank, start mixing up some developer...

-- Nigel Smith (nlandgl@eisa.net.au), July 19, 2000.


The reel you use makes a tremendous difference. Spend $20 now and get a Hewes so you can bypass all the horror stories. Look closely at a $5 reel and you'll see why they're so hard to load: the sides aren't parallel!

The Hewes reels don't have that problem and they have a better loading system. Once you stick the film end under the clip, the sides are already starting to enter the spirals. It is so nice not to have to worry about ruining your film in the darkroom.

-- Brian Hinther (BrianH@sd314.k12.id.us), July 21, 2000.


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