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ksmattfish said:
This is a new question, but I thought I might as well just stick it in this thread...

How do you develop sheet film? Meaning, which technique/method do you use.

I've only been tray developing. Shuffling 4 sheets in trays filled with the chems. This works pretty good for me, but I still scratch the film sometimes.

I too use a tray filled with chemicals and shuffle the negs very gently. At first I was scratching them, then I got more used to it, now it's an easy task. Practice makes perfect... :D
 
Yeah, practice makes perfect, or almost perfect. I used to scratch them all the time, now it happens only rarely. Unfortunately, when it does happen it's always on the really good pic.

The idea behind the PVC tubes is once they are inserted you wouldn't have to handle them until they came out, and each sheet would be seperated from others. Assuming no burrs on the PVC pipe, they should be safer. I've always felt that it's the corners of the film itself doing the scratching.
 
ksmattfish said:
I've always felt that it's the corners of the film itself doing the scratching.

Also, sometimes the culprit is the processing tray. Some trays have profiled bottoms pointing upwards, I personally prefer the ones pointing down (negative), although they're hard to find. That way I minimize the negative's contact with the bottom of the tray, at least with the profiled bottm. The best would be glass trays, or even some Corning ware dishes large enough for the negatives. That's my next project... Until then,

:cheers: Bottoms up!
 
I was taught to tray develop emulsion side up to avoid pressing it against the tray bottom. Although this means I am handling the emulsion side, I always make sure that my hands are clean, and if they feel rough I use rubber gloves.
 
ksmattfish said:
I was taught to tray develop emulsion side up to avoid pressing it against the tray bottom. Although this means I am handling the emulsion side, I always make sure that my hands are clean, and if they feel rough I use rubber gloves.

Absolutely! Although sometimes I just don't realize whether the negs are face up or face down, I guess I'm lazy in checking the notches...

With a glass tray scratches on the bottom are minimized though.

And now, back to :cheers:
 

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