Re: [Rollei] OT: B&W Development- JOBO Advice?

[TrueBadger]

I responded to the original inquiry off-list, but here are some general comments re Jobo.

There are indeed plenty of CPE's, CPP2's and some ATL's showing up on ebay, some of them quite new. Apparently a fair number of pros made/are making the complete switch to digital not too long after buying one.

I bought a CPP2 with lift and a mistral drier as a package deal from military officer who had just bought it a few months earlier, then found his wife was pregnant and needed cash.  I paid $1200 for both, and both are indistinguishable from new. An assortment of tanks and so on beyond the pair that came with it added perhaps another $250.

For processing B&W film it is not faster than manual processing, however, it organizes the process in a very nice fashion and gives tremendously consistent results. I use a homemade slot line for B&W prints of 8x10 and smaller, and this is more convenient than the Jobo.  For larger prints, which are less frequently made, the Jobo takes less space than trays, and works well.

I really justified the purchase so that I could do a bit of color work in the future.  So far, I have not.

The mistral drier was sort of a surprise.  Originally I figured it was just part of the deal, otherwise I'd never have bothered to get one, but in fact, it works very well and now I'd really miss it if I didn't have it.

I only rarely process more than 3 rolls of 120 (or equivalent) a week, but I shoot everything from minox to 4x5, including some uncommon sizes like the european 6x9 cm sheet film and the nearly extinct US 2.25x3.25 sheet film.

I haven't yet figured out how to process minox film in it, but am working on it.

If I were processing a higher volume I'd definitely think in terms of an ATL, but realistically, for me at least, the CPP2 is fine.

I'm considering the idea of getting an extra 2800 series tank bottom, cutting out the opaque bottom of the tank and replacing it with clear plexiglass to use for toning prints. This would allow visually monitoring the bleach and tone steps rather than trusting entirely to time.

One last comment.. Jobo USA has incredibly good customer service. Something almost unheard of today.

G. King

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