Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/11/02
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]It has been my experience over the years, that Jobo equipment is not vilifyable. It, and other equipment like it, has always been substantial and used heavily by big name professionals. I have a Wilkinson drum processor. Invented and marketed world wide (except the USA) by Peter Wilkinson (Wilkinson Photographic) in England. Peter and I were very close friends. I worked his booth at Photokina many times. He invented his line of processors in the late 60's. They were distributed, at that time, by Agfa. I brought one home (a 5060) which will process prints up to 20x24. This was all before Jobo was a figment of anyone's imagination. Peter Wilkinson then made an automatic version of his processor. Instead of pumps to move the chemicals, it uses gravity. He brought one to the US and showed it at PMA. After the show, he shipped it to me instead of back to England. I've had this processor for 20 years. It still works as it did the day I got it. I've only performed routine maintenance on it. I do not do B&W in a processor. I like Pyro, Beutler, Windisch, and other processes which are processor unfriendly. My Wilkinson processor has spent all of its life processing E6, C-22 (remember that?), Cibachrome, and Type C prints. Anyway... the bottom line is that drum processors work really well and they don't seem to need much maintenance. Jobo grew into a substantial company, and it wasn't from print tongs, graduates, and funnels. It was because they have a quality rotary processor product and good service. Their ALT processors are awesome! Peter Wilkinson died a little over a year ago so the future of maintenance parts for my processor is uncertain. Should it give up and parts not be available, I will invest in a Jobo ALT 2300. Hopefully used or reconditioned. Jim At 04:06 PM 11/2/99 -0500, Tina Manley wrote: >At 12:19 PM 11/2/99 -0800, Mark Rabiner wrote: >>... And certainly not some dumb gadget like a Jobo. But we've been >>through all that before at least twice. I would think it would be obvious when >>one is staring at junk. >>Mark Rabiner >Why junk, Mark? True, there are plastic parts, but mine has been going >strong for about 10 years and I bought it used. There's no way I could >have developed all of the film I have over the last ten years without the >Jobo unless I gave up sleeping! If mine broke down today, I wouldn't >hesitate to buy another one. > >Tina > > >Tina Manley, ASMP >http://www.tinamanley.com >