Medium Format Sheet Film Paterson Holder

thingiverse

UPDATE v2.2 7/13/2021: I optimized the design with the following changes: - more uniform wall thickness - more clearance by removing the flat sections - replacing the single large oval cutout of each third of 2.0 with a pair of staggered parabolas for finger access. these don't compromise the integrity the way 2.1 did - replaced the flat beam which keeps the sheets from falling through the bottom with a triangular one, to prevent pooling if using for drying - in addition to the two sizes this thing was designed for, I confirmed that this will also hold 3 total sheets (well, strips) of 70mm film. If cut to 5" for use in a 4x5 camera, I recommend stretching Z to 130mm. This will of course necessitate a taller than normal Paterson tank. I have not tested the stretched version, but I don't see any design elements that should interfere. it may not be well-optimized, but you could mix-and-match 70x127mm, 6x9cm, and 6.5x9cm all at the same time. _____________________________________________________________________ UPDATE v2.1 6/1/2021: I uploaded v2.1 which includes upper and lower finger cutouts. This will make it easier to push sheets out and inspect placement by feel. HOWEVER it does weaken the structure slightly and makes print bed adhesion more difficult. I had to print with a brim for this one. Because of the drawbacks, I've included both 2.0 and 2.1 here so that you can decide which to print. I am planning to redo the design to shrink the large oval hole and add a lower finger cutout centered on the flat edge. ____________________________________________________________ After prototyping with a previous design and learning some of my design weaknesses, I decided to start over and came up with this monster of a sheet film holder. It's designed for holding TWELVE sheets of 2.25"x3.25" film or NINE sheets of 6.5x9cm (2.5"x3.5"). This replaces the reel in your standard Paterson Super System 4 (1x120 or 2x35mm) developing tank, using the original center column for light-tightness. I have not yet tested this version for development, but I have tested fitment with sheets of both sizes. Please read the printing notes below for more info on settings. Some potential issues and thoughts for improvement: - because the tracks are sized to hold the film in a cupped shape, there may be some face contact especially with 6.5x9 since it goes in offset tracks. therefore it's recommended to load film with emulsion facing inward. printing slightly overscale may correct this, but even at 105% the sheets won't be held securely, and the Paterson center column is already not a snug fit. - there is presently no finger groove for easily ejecting the sheets, however you can still push from the bottom - the sheets are close together. about as close as 35mm film on a reel so it shouldn't affect development, but it may be difficult to feel in the dark to be sure that the sheets are in the right tracks. please share any experiences or ideas that may help with this - the hole-punching used to make the tracks did not leave the most even walls. the design could be better refined for the 3d printing process. I did everything "by hand" and I'm not highly experienced at designing.