Modifying the Paterson Orbital Processor for 5x4 film

Steve Bell · Post by **Steve Bell** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 12:39 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00

Does anyone use a Paterson Orbital Processor for developing 5x4 B&W film? I should soon have one in the post if all goes well. The last one I bought through eBay was poorly packed and arrived in peices, hopefully I'll have better luck this time.

I'm aware that as they were designed for prints, film will stick to the base unless they are modified. I've heard you can score the base, but this concerns me as the edges of the cuts could mark the film. Another option I've heard of is to stick a few thin strips of cut up film to the base, and another is to apply a few small blobs of silicon rubber sealant to the base. If anyone uses one of these for film, how did you mod yours and did the mod work satisfactorally?

gari · Post by **gari** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 8:05 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00

Hi Steve, I had a Paterson for 5x4 film until I got a Jobo. I simply put small dots of epoxy on the base and sanded them smooth, worked great.
The only problem I had was that as I process E6 the temp regulation was a problem, B+W will be much easier I imagine
Gari

Post by **masch** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 6:05 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00

I thought the Paterson orbital was for 8x10 and 5x4 film...?
Or have I mixed something up?

Marc

Steve Bell · Post by **Steve Bell** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 7:58 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00

The orbital processor was made for 5x4 and 10x8 print processing. If used for film it can stick to the base if not modified.