How many rolls you develop in one sitting?

chut

chut

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I have a Paterson tank that fits 2 rolls of film. I usually only shoot two rolls in a regular weekend. But if it's a big photo weekend, I may end up with maybe 4 to 6 rolls.

If you have 6 rolls to do, do you do 2 at a time, 3 times? Or do any of you use those multireel tanks? They seem to be a bit ungainly.
 
I have a steel 5-reel tank, and I have been known to use it, occasionally. Usually I do one or two at a time though, because I use the zone system (to the extent I can when using rollfilm) and this means the film has to be pushed or pulled.
 
FallisPhoto said:
I have a steel 5-reel tank, and I have been known to use it, occasionally. Usually I do one or two at a time though, because I use the zone system (to the extent I can when using rollfilm) and this means the film has to be pushed or pulled.
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I remember seeing those multi reel tanks. Do I recall that development times had to be adjusted, or was it agitation?

For myself, I seldom have more than one reel at a time. I have two tanks. That means a max of 4 35mm or 2 120. If 9x12 or 4x5, I can go to something like 10 or 12 if it is straight development, but I have yet to have that many to develop at one time. In fact, I think I would be afraid to. 😀
 
Are you talking about hand tanks, or JOBO? I have never used the latter, and have several all steel tanks of the former in one reel, two, or four 35mm (or 1 or 2 120). With four stainless steel reels (The kind with teeth, not springs, the BEST kind) Ideally, I'd like to have another four reels and a tank to hold them. Which would make it very easy to do anything from one to eight rolls, or more! It works well with the way I shoot (not enough lately) because I rarely shoot less than 2 rolls at a time (2 reel tank), and usually around 4-6 (2 reel+4 reel). Sometimes I've shot as many as 12 (3x4 reel) and once I shot 28. For that I alternated two 4 reel tanks, one while the film from the other was in the washer, and it still took all day. Most tanks take about 8 ounces of chemical/reel, making mine 8+, 16+, and 32+ ounces when full.

I've used 8 reel tanks before, but that gets unwieldy, and tiring. They are also prone to losing lids, or chemistry, if not used carefully. Which brings up a particular quirk of all steel tanks, make sure both lids (tank lid, and chemistry cap) fit well, with no dents or out of roundness. Otherwise you will lose chemistry, and it will get all over everything but your film. The easiest fix is to get a steel tank with a plastic lid, like most new tanks. They fit better, and won't get bent or leak at higher chemistry temps. The only caution with plastic lids is that they can crack, usually along the line of the tank wall, and the caps have the annoying tendency to snap off the little tab that makes taking them off easier.

That was probably more than you wanted to know, but I hope it helps!

Edit: A note about SS reels. People seem to hate them, or love them with no in-betweens. I have four (patterson?) with the little teeth that engage the film sprockets and are a joy to use. I also have a pile of several decade old ones that used springs to hold the film, and are less enjoyable. With practice, and a good layout in the darkroom, you can load the toothed reels very very quickly if you need to. The trick is to make sure you get the film started straight. The way I learned in basic photography was to practice with some outdated film, in the light, until I got used to how it worked. Then you practice some more (still in the light) with your eyes closed, or your hands under the table until you get used to how it feels when you do it right. And then once you can get a whole roll on without kinks or grabs, you move to the darkroom, and real film.
 
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I have an 8 reel tank which I usually use with 8 rolls of film. It's fun looking through 8 rolls of negatives as you gang them to dry.
 
I have an 8-roll Paterson tank that I use every once in a while when I have a big stash of 120 or 35mm. My main problem is usually that over a certain period of time, I shoot different films, which I process in different developers.

I have a number of Paterson and stainless steel tanks, and I can easily process a dozen roll in an evening with careful planning.
 
Jobos: 5x 135 or 6x120 at a time with reduced dev time to compensate for constant agitation.

Nova hand line: 4x 135 or 4x 120 at a time for more agitation control.

Usually no more than two runs a day (8-12 films) but occasionally three runs (12-18).

EDIT: As dof says below, you need two sets of tanks and reels, or at least, 2-3 sets of reels.

Cheers,

R.
 
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I use a Jobo and as Roger says regularly process 5 rolls of 35mm or 6 rolls of 120 at a time.

I'm in a moment of dealing with a backlog of film at the moment and as I have in the past, am considering getting a second tank and set of reels. 10 rolls in a night would be exciting!
 
I have two Patterson 8 reel tanks and usually develop 16 rolls at a time. For me the most tedious part is the loading which takes about 20 minutes but if you put some music on the time flies by!
 
I have Paterson tanks in sizes that will take up to 1, 2, 3 and 5 reels, so 5 is the maximum I develop in one sitting. I did have an 8 reel tank, but wasn't using it because my limitation is space to hang films to dry - 5 is the most I can handle in a day.
 
I never use tanks to full capacity if doing manual inversion agitation; need the air space during inversion to drain the film reels, mix properly and then plonk back down to ensure even development. Of course if I need to do large number of rolls I use modular Jobo kits for rotary processing where I can use the tanks to full capacity, and with reduced quantity of solutions.
 
I have two patterson two reel tanks, and about 12 reels. The most I've ever done is 4 rolls in a night. Mainly just because I'm lazy. Tonight I did only two for that very reason, despite having a backlog of rolls I shot over the last few days to get through.
 
My biggest stainless steel tank holds 6 MF or 12 35mm rolls, and I usually shoot medium or large format. I have occasionally come back from traveling with 40-50 rolls of 120, and I try to process them over a period of a few days. My limit is usually 4 batches at a stretch.

When I have a large load of sheet film to do, I'll usually set up a tank line for 5x7" or smaller and use hangers or my Nikor sheet film reels that hold 12 sheets a piece in the deep tanks. 8x10" and larger I process in trays, which is pretty efficient actually. The limiting factor is drying space usually. I've got 40 Jobo sheet film clips, so that's usually where I stop, but if I had to, I suppose I could string some temporary lines somewhere and use clothespins. The Jobo clips hold the film perpendicular to the line, so I can fit a lot of film on a short line.
 
The most I ever do is 2 rolls of 120 (two stainless tanks) because otherwise I get so backed up with negatives to scan. I am always in the hole with regards to scanning so I don't want to develop any more than 2 rolls of 120 at a time.
 
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When I develop, I try to run four rolls in two consecutive processes. How? Using two tanks that hold two rolls each. First I develop two rolls, then, the other two. Hang to dry... and then forget. Must improve that last part.

I don't even want to think about larger tanks. Two rolls is more than enough for me.
 
I've aquired two 1 roll (35mm) tanks, two 2 roll tanks and two 4 roll tanks. along with I don't know how many 35mm and 120 reels over the years. A weird assortment of Kinderman, Nikor, Accura, Spiratone with half a dozen types of center clips, or lack there of. It's all done by feel...LOL And then there are all the slightly bent reels, still useable once you get the knack of push-pull film feeding. I guess the most I've ever souped in one session is 12 rolls.

I've been told that W. Eugene Smith would often wind two rolls back to back on the reel
when he was backed up and in a rush for a deadline.
 
I like stainless steel. I college I was blessed with two double 35 tanks and a single tank for a capacity of five rolls. Working for yearbook and newspaper I would frequently put two rolls of 35mm on one reel. You get the rolls out (in the dark ) and hold them back to back, emulsion side out, and roll them both onto the reel at the same time. Develop and fix as usual but the reels must be unloaded for proper washing. So ten rolls at a time was not uncommon. One trick to loading stainless steel reels is your hands must be very clean and dry as even a little moisture on your hands will keep the film from sliding smoothly thru your fingers. I haven't done double loading for years but if you're in a big hurry and not doing fine art, try it. Joe
 
I can do 4 rolls of 35mm at a time, but have learned that is way too many negatives to deal with at one time so I try to limit to 1 or 2 rolls...
 
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