Developing Film in Cibachrome Drums

I bought a Cibachrome daylight print processing drum a few years back when I experimented with Cibachrome using expired film and chemicals I bought online. Since then I have used the drum to process 8x10 and 4x5 large format film. It works well; already dimensioned for 8x10 print film, it has a light tight top where chemicals can be poured in an out without losing the light tightness. This means once the film is loaded it can be processed in normal room light which is a huge advantage. I have seen them sold for as little as $8.00.

Drum-based developing has other advantages in that it is less likely you will scratch the emulsion compared to tray developing and can achieve more uniform development compared to tank developing. They can also be used in a water bath to regulate temperature if needed. The nature of the tank is also such that it does not immerse all the film all the time and so uses less chemicals.

The lid is unscrewed and in the dark the film is loaded on the inside wall of the tank emulsion-side-inwards. The 8x10 tank can accommodate one sheet of 8x10 film. (There is a 16x20 version of the tank as well,) I have also used it for 2 sheets at a time of 4x5 but believe 4 should be entirely possible. The flex of the film keeps it stuck to the wall of the tube. The lid is screwed into place and the lights may now be turned on.

Cibachrome Daylight Print Drum (8x10")

The lid to the tank has a small reservoir to hold developer and other chemicals. By my measure it holds about 250ml. This means the tank can be filled with this much developer while upright and the chemicals do not reach the film. Once you are ready to start developing you lay the tube on its side on a flat surface and the chemicals now fill the main body of the the tube. You now need to roll the tube back and forth on the flat surface for the entire development time. Make sure that you roll it one entire rotation. I use the 'Cibachrome' label as a clue watching it appear on the top at each end of its travel.

Print Drum Lid with Chemical Reservoir

Agitation is Different for the Drum

Here is where things can differ a bit. Most developing instructions have you agitate the film for the full first minute and the 10 seconds at the start of each minute for rest of the development period. Since the film in the tube is not completely immersed then the drum needs to be in near constant motion. This means the agitation is continuous and this will require a reduction in development time. I reduce the development time for the normal agitation by 10% to compensate for the greater agitation.

After the developer is done then it is poured out as with a Paterson tanks the stop and fixer are used as one would expect. Now the film can be washed with the lid off if desired.

Thoughts on Developers

There are many choices for developers and lots of different schools of thought about film developer combinations. I started with Ilford LC29 for reasons I no longer recall. As I run out of stock I will switch to HC-110. I have used it on some large format negatives already and it has a solid fan base.

My mind has moved towards one-shot development. Once you accepted that a given strength of developer develops only so many sheets of film then the reuse of concentrated developer while seeming economical is actually the same amount of chemical. For instance HC-110 has a recommended a minimum of 6ml of developer per roll of 35mm (36exp), 120, or four 4x5 films or one 8x10 film.

HC-110 also has many dilutions that are well documented from A-H. That means I can set a dilution based on 6ml of developer for one sheet of 8x10 or 4 sheets of 4x5. By extension I can use 3ml for 2 sheets of 4x5 if I desire.

Since the drum holds about 250ml of developer in the reservoir I would aim to find the dilution at 6ml of developer that fits that. The table below supplies that for 240ml of developer. (E through H cannot supply the 6ml of developer required for one sheet of 8x10 film.) Dilutions B or D suit my requirements for one shot dilution best as they are closest to the 6ml minimum. Dilution B has common times in Massive Dev Chart and elsewhere. D can be estimated at +25% longer. (Dilution B can be used at 6.3ml to make 200ml of developer as well.)

Dilution Developer (ml) Water
1+
A 15         15.0                          225.0
B 31         7.5                          232.5
C 19         12.0                          228.0
D 39         6.0                          234.0
E 47         5.0                          235.0
F 79         3.0                          237.0
G 119         2.0                          238.0
H 63         3.8                          236.3

ml dev (ml)                 6
Dev Ammount (ml) 240

As I move to this developer and method for large format I have calibrated my exposure and development for the zone system as discussed in this later post. This is a big commitment in terms of time and effort and usually requires a densitometer. I created a method that uses a scanner however as a densitometer.

Motorized Agitation

For me the next step is to make the agitation or rolling easier and less tedious. Fortunately Ilford thought of this and makes electric drum rollers. I picked this one up along with 2 additional drums on eBay.

Electric Drum Motor

Cheaper Alternative for 4x5 Film

There is a cheap alternative I have used with great success for 4x5 developing. Once I tried the 'taco method'  but realized there was a simpler method for Paterson developing tanks. If you are like me and started with medium format film developing you probably already have a Patterson development tank.

I found it simple to merely place the negative emulsion-side-inwards, against the wall of the tank I can develop 2 films at a time. Remember to make sure the central column is inserted in the tank (without the film spools) before closing it as this makes it light tight. The lid goes on as normal then the lights can come on. Once filled with developer  I agitate at the same intervals as the I would with spooled film but make a gentle swishing motion with the whole tank. (Make sure it fills the tank enough to cover the top of the film which I judge by looking at the funnel hole in the lid). The chemicals can be poured in and out as with spooled film and the film stays in place with gentle agitation.