"Patrick Gainer" wrote in message
...


Phil Glaser wrote:

Hi,

For the first time this evening I developed a B&W print in my
Uniroller drum on a motorized Uniroller base. I am using Ilford
Multigrade IV RC "Deluxe" with Ilford Multigrade developer. Having
never used a Uniroller before (and being unable to find directions for
B&W print processing with it on the web), I just followed the paper's
instructions for dish developing, using a dilution of 1:9 for one
minute.

This first print was a series of test exposures starting with 2
seconds at f/11. Now I realize that agitation and development time do
not affect paper in the same way as they do film, and that saying 2
seconds at f/11 is completely relative to the density of the negative.
Nonetheless, I was rather shocked to find that the the print came out
absolutely completely black -- absolutely nothing came through, not
even a hint of that 2 second exposure. So I experimented with the
development time for the uniroller, and found that if I developed for
only 20 seconds with constant drum agitation, I got relatively more of
normal image (normal given that I was still over exposing the print by
two stops -- see below).

Now this is all very disorienting to me (I feel as dizzy as I myself
were spinning in that drum!). I mean, it seems like I eventually got
an ok print when developing it for 20 seconds (the final exposure time
for this particular print turned out to be two stops less than where I
started, half the time, and down from f/11 to f/16). But I'm working
with a questionable negative, and am unsure if what I don't like about
the final print is the negative, or whether something about the print
process is mudying the print. Given my set up, I don't have a way of
developing in trays and comparing the results with what I'm getting
from the Uniroller.

I AM SO CONFUSED!!!

Is there a rule of thumb for print development time with a Uniroller?

Should I try working with the multigrad developer in a more diluted
form (ilford suggests 1:14 as an alternative to 1:9)?

And does anywone know where I can find information about using a
Uniroller for B&W processing on the web?

Thanks!

--Phil
I am never comfortable with reducing development time to compensate for
overexposure of paper. I use a tray, but I develop to completion,
meaning until no more image comes up. There is some leeway between that
point and the point at which fogging begins if exposure is correct.
Ordinarilly, 2 minutes are sufficient, 1 minute is not enough. Higher
concentration will decrease the time. More vigorous agitation will have
less effect.

I do not see how you could get pure black without a very long developing
time unless the exposure was too long. If that is the case, less
development will not give the best print.

Those are really out of the ordinary times. Could you, by chance, have an
extra pright bulb in your enlarger? Is your negative REALLY thin? Could
you have reversed the directions for diluting the developer so that you
mixed 9 parts of developer with one part water instead of the other way
around? Could your paper be fogged (are the white borders really white?)
Charles Portland Or