[LargeFormat] Nova COMBO print processor

[Stein]

Dear Thomas,

     Let me help. I use Nova slot processors exclusively for my B/W and
Colour processing and have done so for 5 years. I use an 8 x 10 Monopod, and
8 x 10 Quad, and a 12 x 16 Quad. The work I do uses Agfa B/W and AP94 colour
negative - the same as the RA 4 system.

    The chemicals do indeed keep for a long time - I make it a rule to
change the colour developer and blix each 4 weeks, but I use a a shot of
replenisher at regular intervals throughout a printing session. The design
of the tanks and the little spigot down the bottom is ideal for this. The
wash bath and stop bath in the AP94 get stained and dirty and I dump those
and replace them every week - they are a cheap chemical.

    The action of the print from the dev to the fix or blix is very smooth.
I do use a colour safelight now for the AP94 but did not for many years and
I still found it easy enough to locate the first slot and then progress the
thing through in complete darkness. Of course B/W is a doddle with the
safelight on. There is a little carry over of chemicals between dev and stop
but that is why stop is there and then the water bath cleans it up before
the blix.

    Temp control is good - the units have a little thermostat. My darkroom
runs in the summer at 34C so sometimes there is no need for the unit to heat
at all. But the winter it is a comfort when it gets down to 20C. Heatup time
for the big tank is about an hour and a half- the smaller one takes about 45
min. I have them on a cheap domestic timer circuit that turns them on in the
afternoon ready for an after-dinner print session and then off again at
10:00PM.

    Cleaning the slots is done with a bottle brush and a strong detergent
solution followed by some chromium trioxide in a hot solution and then
copious rinsing. The slots will stain to some extent over the 5 years but
this treatment keeps it at a minimum.

    The results are good enough to sell, which I do and good enough to keep,
which I also do. The advantage for me of an instant access darkroom and the
ability to pull off a couple of test strips and then a half dozen colour
prints fast has more than paid for the tanks. It has also alleviated a
problem I used to have with a mild breathing condition. In my old darkrooms
with open trays of stop bath I used to get wheezy and breathy after a half
hour and had to quit early. The Nova exposes only a very narrow band of
chemical at the top of the slot and there is much less evaporation into the
atmosphere - hence no wheezes now.

    Note on washing  - I do use the Nova Rapid Wash in the 12 x 16 size. It
has 2 slots and I can juggle the print flow fast enough for most of my
purposes but I think if I had more counter space in the closet that houses
the wet process I would go for the 5 or 13 slot washer. Take a lot more
water, though.

     Oh - the 16 x 20 slots use 3500 ml of chemical per slot. so weight of
the full unit ( remember there is an internal water bath too ) may be
considerable. Make sure the sink supports can take it.

     In conclusion I thoroughly recommend the Nova processors - I paid full
price for mine and they are worth it. The Nova catalog is also a good thing
to have as it is one of the best written ones I have seen.You can't have
mine but you can write to Jobo in the USA and get your own.

     Please email me again if you need more specific information.

     Uncle Dick Stein