Nova print processor question

[jrong]

Question for all those people with the Nova print processer... I've got a 4-slot colour print processor but use it for B+W processing. It's 16x12" and so, takes about 2 litres of chemicals.

The instructions say that you can keep the chemicals in there for a couple of months - but how many prints do you make with these before replenishing? And when you replenish, do you drain the old developer completely, or just partially, and then replenish with a fresh solution?

Any help appreciated, cheers.

Jin

 

[markinlondon]

Hi, Jin,

I just follow the chemical manufacturer's capacity reccomendations. So in my 16x12 Nova monochrome that's about two litres of Ilford Multigrade. Ilford suggest about 50 10x8 sheets per litre of working solution, BUT you can draw off developer and replenish without draining the whole tank. Also you will have to top up from time to time as you carry developer into the stop tank on the print, so in practice you're replenishing as you go. I haven't exhausted my developer in the tank yet, but change it every 3-4 weeks anyway. And with 5 tank fills from a litre of Multigrade concentrate, that's pretty economical. I'm sure I've saved the 80GBP the tank cost me used in developer over the year and a half I've had it.

Mark

 

[markinlondon]

PS I envy you your heated tank as mine is too cold to print at the moment unless I leave the heating on all the time.

Mark

 

[jlw]

Ditto. Mine holds about 1700ml of solutions, so if I mix up a full two liters, that gives me a bit extra for topping off the developer carried away by prints.

By using the solution capacities (50 8x10s per liter, for example, as quoted in Mark's post) you can work out how much to use if you want to follow a replenished workflow. The example indicates that you'd get 100 8x10s from two liters -- so in theory, at the end of a session, you'd drain off 1/100 of the solution (20 ml) for each print you had made, then top up the tank at the start of your next session. In practice, you might want to replenish at a somewhat higher rate, to allow for the fact that the new developer will be somewhat weakened by the old.

In practice, I prefer to use one batch of solution until I've reached its capacity (or until blacks start getting weak, which sometimes happens before I reach capacity) and then drain the whole thing and start over. This has three benefits: (1) cuts down on the amount of "accounting" I have to do; (2) avoids the inconvenience of having to mix fractional amounts of chemistry; and (3) gives me a chance to rinse the developer slot frequently, which cuts down on how much crusty brown crud builds up in it.

 

[eric]

The instructions say that you can keep the chemicals in there for a couple of months - but how many prints do you make with these before replenishing? And when you replenish, do you drain the old

I guess it depends on what chemicals you have in it. My fixer, for some reason, I have to mix it to the film ratio or 1:3 instead of the usual 1:7 that Clayton chemicals is asking for. For stop, sometimes, I use h20 or a little acetic acid. Developer, I use Ansco 130 cause it is pretty good and it lasts forever in the Nova

I am EXTREMELY scientific with my Nova Quad 16x20. I use Ansco 130 developer. Lasts about 6 months. When prints start taking too long to develop or doesn't have a punch when using my usual filtration, I drain about 1/2 of it. I then eyeball pour a bunch of developer, and then I pour some H20. In hot months, of couse, you'll have evaporation, so I'll pour a little more ansco130 and a little more h20. See? Purty scientific eh?

 

[Solinar]

I normatlly use two sets of 8x10 Nova Print Pods and save the big quad for special occasions.

I'm a whimp, as I usually change the developer once my fixer in slot 3 is shot. I use two slots for fixer and change both when the fixer in the first slot is used up. Also, if I'll change the developer, if it has been in for more than a week.

I guess I could be a bit more scientific and follow Novas recommendations for drawing down and replenishment.

 

[Fred]

As your processing moving the print frm the dev to the stop a small amout of dev is drawn into the stop and on to the fixer. As the dev levels drop I tend to top it up using double strength dev to water solution. I've had chemistry last for months by doing this. When the fixer is shot I drain off the lot, clean the slots and start a fresh.

Remember to keep the water tanks full as these evaporate. Without the water there is too much strain on the slots that 'could' damage the processor. Also a small amount of bleach in the water tanks stops stuff growing.

I use a three slot 8 by 10 Tri Mate heated for colour and a 16 x 12 Monochrome for B&W.

Mark, don't worry too much about not having a heated tank for B&W, if the dev has gone very cold, draw some (no more than a third) off into a clean empty milk bottle and zap it in the micro wave for a short while and put it back in and mix.

 

[jrong]

Some good ideas, thanks everyone!
I am asking about this because for some reason, I occasionally get some streaking marks on my prints - i.e parts where the print is slightly lighter than others, occurring in a streak. I was wondering whether it was because one of my chemicals is exhausting, but I've barely run 12 8x10" prints through this print processor. But I'm still finding my way in the darkroom, so, if I've done something stupid, I hope someone will point it out to me. 😉

Jin

 

[jlw]

About those streaks: Exhausted developer is a possibility, but poor agitation seems more likely. You've got to move the print around fairly frequently to reduce the chance of it getting stuck in contact with the sidewall of the slot. If that happens, the bit of developer in contact with the paper will get exhausted quickly, and with no way for more developer to flow in, you'll get a light area.

Another possible cause is carried-over fixer running down off the developing clip onto the next print. The tipoff for this is that the streak always runs crossways, down from the place where you attached the clip. The way to avoid this is to follow Nova's recommendation to rinse the clip in water and then shake it dry.

 

[markinlondon]

Thanks for the tip, Fred. why didn't I think of that :bang:

Jin, I've had those streaks and it seemed to be inadequate rinsing of the print clip such that fixy water dripped onto the print before dunking in the dev slot. I have taken more care with rinsing and shaking off the clips since and have not had a problem again. It was a bit of a waste of my last box of postcards, though.

Mark

 

[jrong]

Jlw, Mark, oops - yes, that is a good reason for the streaks! I've become a lot more careful now and make sure the clips are dry before starting on a new print. Now, with potentially 100 8x10" sheets for my 2 litres of developer.... I am amazed more people don't use these print processors! You miss the thrill of seeing an image appear (or at least, my processor has completely opaque sides) but that's a tiny price to pay for the sheer economy of it.

Jin