Tri-X Bulk back to Reasonable Prices

For a while, Tri-X has been running ~$125 for 100 ft. I always figure that 100 ft. is good for 18-19 rolls taking into account loss from cutting it up, and at $125 the price is similar to if not more expensive than pre-rolled film($6.90 by my math).

I looked at B&H and Freestyle both this evening, and they have Tri-X listed for ~$77 for 100 ft. That works out to $4.27 for 36 exposures, or a considerable savings from commercially packaged film. It's out of stock at Freestyle, but due by the end of the month.

TMY is still holding at $127 a roll, but I take the drop in TX as a good sign.

Unfortunately, TXP is $113 for 50 sheets. I think my last box was almost an even $100, so I guess you win some and lose some. Still, it's nice to see at least one emulsion becoming more affordable.

Web site for an actual store near me has $5.95 for TX-135-36

and $79.95 (out of stock) for the 100 foot roll.

50 sheets of TXP 4x5 is $114.95

10 sheets of TXP 8x10 is $74.99

Not that anyone would buy the latter to cut down to 4x5, but

the price difference is interesting.

I started bulk loading when I was about 10, and inherited some film and cassettes from my grandfather.

I would then (about 50 years ago) buy 100 foot rolls for $5 from Freestyle.

I did a lot of 7th and 8th grade yearbook photography that way.

It might be that now it is part of the fun of photography, but not quite enough fun that I

don't also buy prespooled rolls.

The other advantage is that you can make them whatever length you want, not

just the factory favorites. Sometimes that is good, sometimes not.

Used to love it when customers would bring in Fuji E-6 cassettes loaded with bulk Tri-X. Fuji 35mm cassettes used to be reloadable at one time if you popped them off right, and it drove one of my old lab owners up the wall.

Lab rats would grab that E-6 cassette, and even it though work order said explicitly "B&W / Tri-X" they'd run it through E-6 with narry a thought. This required a full dump and reload of our entire E-6 system due to contamination. After awhile we refused to accept bulk roll unless they paid for a snip test.

Otherwise, loved bulk roll. Bring's back yearbook memories.

This required a full dump and reload of our entire E-6 system due to contamination. After awhile we refused to accept bulk roll unless they paid for a snip test.

I still have some bulk loaded Ektachrome 64T. I don't use it that often, but my local lab will develop it. With that said, she's told me that if I weren't a regular customer who knows what they're doing, she'd absolutely refuse to run bulk loaded film through her E-6 machine. She's also threatened to cut me off from doing it if I ever bring it to her mis-labeled.

I have an unopened 100 foot roll ef Ektachrome 50T, just in case I sometime find a use for it.

It is now refrigerated, I am not sure it was before I bought it.

The smell of that fresh roll of tri-x going in the bulk roller....heavenly. They need that scent for cars.

Number of frames plus 5 cllicks on the auto roller as I recall. You could cram more than 36 frames, but needed to be carefull or they would scratch. There was always some idiot who couldn't find the masking tape and would use duct tape, bandaids, etc to tie the film off. Or they would reef on the camera advance and tear the film out of the cassette. K-1000s could put a lot of torque on film take ups.

Oddly none of the newspapers I worked for touched bulk roll. They didn't trust it for some reason.

 

The smell of that fresh roll of tri-x going in the bulk roller....heavenly. They need that scent for cars.

 

(snip)

Oddly none of the newspapers I worked for touched bulk roll. They didn't trust it for some reason.

For some reason, I don't especially remember the smell of 35mm film, but I do for 120.

Presumably related to the paper backing, and not the film.

I never liked daylight loaders, as they expose the far end of the roll.

I now use bulk loaders inside a changing bag to avoid that.

I can imagine a newspaper losing an important shot, when it was on the exposed end of the roll.