Developing an old 120 roll film

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NickT

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Over the last couple of years my cousin has been giving bits and pieces from his late father-in-law's photographic gear. One item which I really love and use very often has been a Yashica Electro 35GT. This Christmas he gave me a Voigtlander Bessa. Sadly this is not a slick 35mm rangefinder, but a pre-war, bottom of the range (2 shutter speeds, f7.7) 6x9 folder. On opening it up, I found an exposed roll of Ilford HP3. As the film probably has some photos of my cousin's wife's family, I'd like to develop this myself and would much appreciate some advice.

I've been developing 35mm B&W films myself for many years, the last 2 or 3 years using a changing bag, ID-11 or D76 and then scanning on a secondhand Scan Dual II. I'm perfectly competent at doing this (I always wind the film on to the Paterson spiral from the cassette) I've never ever even loaded a roll of 120 into a camera, let alone tried to get one on a spiral in a bag. I'm hoping to pick up a cheap Paterson Universal tank (I've only got a 35mm tank at the moment) on ebay and then trying to develop the HP3.

I'm wondering how difficult I'm going to find this? Will the ball bearings on the spiral grip 120 film, or do they need sprocket holes to work? Will I be able to feel the film stock easily enough and distinguish it from the backing paper? - That's all I know about 120 film - it's got backing paper! I think the film was probably exposed in the early 60s, so I'm intending to process it in ID-11 for twice the time I'd use for Tri-X. Does that sound like a good idea?

All advice will be gratefully received, even "Don't waste your time and money"
 
NickT said:
Over the last couple of years my cousin has been giving bits and pieces from his late father-in-law's photographic gear. One item which I really love and use very often has been a Yashica Electro 35GT. This Christmas he gave me a Voigtlander Bessa. Sadly this is not a slick 35mm rangefinder, but a pre-war, bottom of the range (2 shutter speeds, f7.7) 6x9 folder. On opening it up, I found an exposed roll of Ilford HP3. As the film probably has some photos of my cousin's wife's family, I'd like to develop this myself and would much appreciate some advice.

I've been developing 35mm B&W films myself for many years, the last 2 or 3 years using a changing bag, ID-11 or D76 and then scanning on a secondhand Scan Dual II. I'm perfectly competent at doing this (I always wind the film on to the Paterson spiral from the cassette) I've never ever even loaded a roll of 120 into a camera, let alone tried to get one on a spiral in a bag. I'm hoping to pick up a cheap Paterson Universal tank (I've only got a 35mm tank at the moment) on ebay and then trying to develop the HP3.

I'm wondering how difficult I'm going to find this? Will the ball bearings on the spiral grip 120 film, or do they need sprocket holes to work? Will I be able to feel the film stock easily enough and distinguish it from the backing paper? - That's all I know about 120 film - it's got backing paper! I think the film was probably exposed in the early 60s, so I'm intending to process it in ID-11 for twice the time I'd use for Tri-X. Does that sound like a good idea?

All advice will be gratefully received, even "Don't waste your time and money"
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Quite.
Yes, no.
Yes, yes.
Not got a clue.

If you're used to winding 35mm Tri-X onto a spiral you're probably gonna find it quite tricky to get the 120 film on there. Tri-X is quite thick and holds it's shape well whereas other types of film can be thinner and floppier and then obviously the 120 is bigger too so more likely to kink and stuff when you try and get it onto the spiral. I did my first roll of 120 in quite a while the other day though and managed it fine.

When you get the film in the changing bag you'll pick/peel off the strip that's holding it together then start to unwind it, at first all that you'll be unwinding is backing paper but you should feel quite easily where the film starts. I usually wind 35mm straight from the canister onto the spiral and you can do similar with 120, going straight from the roll onto the spiral but I find it easier to get all the backing paper out the way first. Do that and you can fold the tape that hold the film onto the paper over the end of the film which stiffens it and makes it easier to start on the spiral.

As for developer strength and time, I have no idea but I'm sure someone somewhere will be able to advise you or will have written something about compensating for age.
 
I suggest you get your hands on a roll of 120 to try and load onto a reel first. The bigger size and backing paper makes it a very different experience to 35mm.
 
freecom2 said:
I suggest you get your hands on a roll of 120 to try and load onto a reel first. The bigger size and backing paper makes it a very different experience to 35mm.
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I think that would be a very good idea too. I'm going to try to post a photo of the film below here, in case anyone can date the film more accurately.

http://s984.photobucket.com/albums/ae326/NickBT1/?action=view&current=VoigtlanderAndHP3.jpg

NickBT1
 
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HP3 was discontinued around 1967
I've seen a black label one like that with an expiry date of 1959 though, so I dunno..
 
joxby said:
Asha was buggering about with HP3 the other day....


http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=371976




I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for when it turns in to the WT*** ******* **** is loading 120 all about eh, its *********im********possible

:LOL:
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Only just seen this posting.....Yes I was messing with a roll of HP3 ...I took the plunge and developed as I had done for previous FP3 films but with a fractionally longer dev time.
Sadly the images didn't come out ....It appears that there was only two images taken on the film anyway.
I don't know wether I messed them up with the dev time or if the film had been stored in hot/humid conditions over the years.
As for the previous FP3 films that I developed, I contacted Ilford for some advice re times ( perhaps an idea for you??) and also worked out calculations based on other developers as to what solution/time I was going to use as I dev with LC29 .....Ilford actually didn't recommend this particular developer for old films but as it turned out I got 82 pics (6x6 format) from 7 films ...the two that didn't come out were due to photographer error!
Loading 120 film onto spirals is more tricky than 35mm but so long as you give yourself time and remain cool, calm and collected then it will be fine......As you unroll the backing paper feel for the end of the film. Dont unravel all the backing paper. Place the film into the spiral and allow the ball bearings to take hold.
As you start to wind the film onto the spiral, unravel several inches of film/paper , spool that then repeat and spool the next few inches.
You may find that the film is a little sticky against the backing paper due to it's age.
I have found that 120 has to be spooled more slowly than 35mm ...that is the key take your time.
If you find the film wont take onto the bearings or jams after the initial quarter turn, then remove and trim the corners a little with scissors.
As you get to the end of the film, you may well find that you do not need to cut the film to seperate the backing paper as is the norm. Instead it may well fall away by itself. Not a problem except the last bit may be curled very tight and will take a little manipulating to get on the spool.
I was quite concerned about damaging the film/images with finger prints and at sometimes having to take several attempts at spooling, but to be honest the film is more resiliant than you perhaps believe.
Hopefully you will get results ...you may get some "mottling" effect in the images due to its age and according to Ilford, a reaction that the film has with the backing paper when stored for long periods.
Be sure to post the outcome.
Best of luck
 
Just in case you find yourself becoming seriously frustrated while trying to load the film, rather than possibly ruin it by becoming annoyed and impatient ( two emotions that sometimes show when spooling film!! lol), then simply respool the film back onto it's original spool and place in the developing tank ( with its lid on of course!!) ...leave it alone for a while and go back to it when you feel more relaxed.
 
Lol my thread about loading 120 is probably about somewhere, I went crazy and trashed the film, what a **** lol
 
Mahoneyd187 said:
Lol my thread about loading 120 is probably about somewhere, I went crazy and trashed the film, what a **** lol
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I've never trashed one but I do remeber gettring so irritated with one that I simply put the film loose in the tank and took a chance on the results ........still possible to get some sort of a result if this type of finish appeals:

neg5.jpg

Shot at 2011-12-30
 
I came across some old HP3 too see post here linky

I just dev'd it as HP5 in FD10

My roll had a green "EXPOSED" sticker.

oldfilm1.jpg
 
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Thank you all very much for the tips. I'm guessing that my chances of loading the spiral at about 50:50 and the chances of getting a useable image at about 1 in 10. I don't want to spend much money and my cousin has just phoned to say that he's found a 'Nebro' tank in amongst the gear, so I'll wait till I see him again in a few weeks time to see if it will accept 120 film. He knows nothing about photography but says the tank holds 300ml, which is the same as my Paterson 35mm tank, so it may just be for 35mm spirals also.
 
NickT said:
Thank you all very much for the tips. I'm guessing that my chances of loading the spiral at about 50:50 and the chances of getting a useable image at about 1 in 10. I don't want to spend much money and my cousin has just phoned to say that he's found a 'Nebro' tank in amongst the gear, so I'll wait till I see him again in a few weeks time to see if it will accept 120 film. He knows nothing about photography but says the tank holds 300ml, which is the same as my Paterson 35mm tank, so it may just be for 35mm spirals also.
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Yes i think it's 500ml for 120 film in a patterson tank anyway!
If you're not confident about getting a good result then why not consider your local lab?
If they do it and you want the spool/backing paper back then you need to ensure you tell them when you leave the film...They will note it on the developing envelope!
 
Nick T, PM me your address and I'll put a universal Photax Tank and a couple of spirals in the post to you. Obviously it wont be until Tuesday but you should have it a day or two after that.
 
I have a Paterson Major tank which does 120 in 300ml, so don't rule the Nebro tank out yet! The spiral doesn't do 35mm, so doesn't have to accommodate the extra length. The tank can therefore be narrow enough to allow less fluid to coat the film.
 
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