Developing Film

The film is loaded into the developing tank before or after the solution is brought to operating temperature depends on circumstances and individual methods of working. In any case, a final check of solution temperature must be made before it is poured. Loading a film spiral for the first time can be a nerve-wracking business or it can go with extraordinary ease only to lead to problems on the second or third occasion. The metal type raises no problem beyond making sure that the film is squarely located under the central clip. Thereafter, light pressure on the edges with forefinger and thumb bows it sufficiently to fall easily into the spaces between the metal coils as the reel is rotated. The plastic spiral is theoretically easier to load because it generally has an auto-loading system. Loading roll film is more or less the same procedure except that the backing paper has to be removed first. It is a matter of choice whether the paper is simply folded back and left until all the film is in the spiral or whether it is torn off as a first step. With modern very thin films the latter course may be preferable because the edge from which the paper is detached is thereby stiffened and is easier to push into the spiral.