Digital BW, The Print

I have been doing photography since 1966 and have been teaching it since the early 70's. I have used just about every tank and film reel on the market for every size of film.  My opinion is that any plastic film reel with moving parts has a tendency to push the film out of the grooves. You might be able to minimize this by turning the reel halves little by little instead of full moves back and forth. However, much is dependent on the film curl and how dry it is in your area. If the film has a tight curl and the atmosphereis dry, the film has a tendency to stay tightly curled and jump out of the grooves. One plastic tank, and probably the cheapest one, is the Star-D. It holds one roll at a time and is about 4 inches tall. The reel is adjustable for 35mm up to 120. Anyway, that was the first reel that I used for 120 and it seems to be the best. The key is that the grooves are bigger and therefore the film does not jump out easily. I have tried Paterson and Jobo reels and o
thers with various degrees of success. 
      However, my real preference is for stainless steel. My father was a professional back in the 50's and used them.  I was forced to do so too. I still use them. They have no moving parts and you can get tanks that take many at a time. My largest holds four reels. If you have another batch of film to develop, just wipe them off with a paper towel. Many plastic reels must be meticulously dried to use them again as film can  stick to some as it is forced through the groove. With stainless, you start in the center and wind it on to the outside. This takes practice, but it is like riding a bike. Once you get it, you have the skill for life. I remember practicing for about two hours the first time I did it. Most of my college students have gotten the skill down within a half hour. Anyway, it is something to consider. Yo can get second hand tanks and reels on eBay very reasonably. 
       If you have a jobo motor base for agitating film du
ring film developing, you will have to get Jobo film reels and tanks. They obviously work or they would not have sold so many. 

Still stainless steel is preferred by many labs for good reason.

Russ Martin


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