15 Year-old Tech-Pan

<p>My dad gave me a 15 year-old roll of 120 Kodak Tech-Pan and I am wondering how I should rate it as well as how it should be developed once exposed. The roll has been kept under refrigeration, but was not frozen. My current developers I have on hand are TMAX and XTOL (and maybe some old D76). I'll be shooting it in my Pentax 67 system, if that helps any...</p>

<p>Hi Michael,</p>

<p>A while back, I gave a friend of mine a roll of Tech Pan that expired in 1992. He shot it this past February and March. I'm not sure the condition of the roll before I got it, but once I had it, I froze it. My friend also kept it frozen for the entire time prior to its use. Due to the film's age, I suggested he rate it at ASA 16. I developed it for him in Rodinal, diluted 1:300, for 12 minutes, using normal agitation and the results were quite nice. In 2007, I shot a roll of older Tech Pan, tho I'm not sure quite how old, rated it at 25 and developed it in 510-Pyro. The shots were a little underexposed, but print and scan just fine. That's the beauty of negative film. There was also no base fog in either of those rolls.</p>

<p>So, you could rate the film at 25 or give it a little more if you'd like, but if you're using a Pentax 67, you might want to use a tripod unless you have a lot of sunlight to work with. In case you don't know, Tech Pan needs to be developed in a low contrast developer due to its excessive contrast and initial use as a document film. I have no experience with T-Max developer, but don't think it would be suitable for Tech Pan. It is possible to use X-tol, tho some people report spotty results. Kodak used to publish info for developing Tech Pan with X-tol, but doesn't anymore, but a Google search revealed the info on this website:</p>

<p>http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/xtol/</p>

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<p ><strong>Technical Pan in Xtol</strong></p>

<p >Kodak Technical Pan Film can be developed in highly diluted Xtol. Here are Kodak's recommendations (no longer in the current data sheet, but apparently usable if you work carefully):</p>

<p >KODAK TECHNICAL PAN FILM</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Contrast Index Speed (EI) Developer (70F/21C) Time</p>

<p >0.60 4 Xtol 1:2 6 min</p>

<p >0.60 8 Xtol 1:3 8 min</p>

<p >0.60 12.5 Xtol 1:4 10.5 min</p>

<p >0.60 25 Xtol 1:5 12.5 min</p>

<p >Remember to use 100 mL of Xtol stock solution per roll developed. This means that when developing a single roll in Xtol 1:5, you must use 600 mL of diluted developer in a 5-reel tank.</p>

<p >On the whole, Kodak Technidol developer is probably a better bet.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the fine reply, John-Paul. I'll have to see if I can rustle up some Technidol, because I sure don't have a 5-reel tank... I think Photographer's Forumlary has some pretty good stuff for Tech Pan as well, but alas, I was trying to see if I could get by with what I had on hand. Thanks again.</p>

<p>Michael, this may be a waste of X-tol, but you could always mix up the 1:5 dilution (100 mL developer, 500 mL water) and simply pour in enough to fill a one or two reel tank. Once the developer is mixed in its 1:5 dilution, even one drop that dripped onto the floor is still diluted 1:5.</p>

<p>I often do the same thing when using Rodinal to develop Tech Pan. As I mentioned above, Rodinal at 68F, diluted 1:300 for 12 minutes yields excellent negatives with Tech Pan. I generally use stainless steel tanks that hold two reels to develop my film and each of those tanks holds around 500 mL of water. It's actually a bit less, but saying 500 mL makes the math easier when making dilutions. Anyways, the Rodinal needs to be diluted 1:300, but 300 and 500 don't evenly divide into each other to figure out how much developer you'd need for 500 mL (1/300 = x/500). Turns out the answer is you'd need 1.6 mL of Rodinal for 500 mL water, but it's easier just to bump the number up to 500 up to 600. That way, using a 1:300 dilution with a 600 mL tank, simply use 2 mL of Rodinal. There's always a bit extra which can just be poured down the drain. Even tho I didn't use all of what I mixed, what remained is still diluted 1:300.</p>

<p>I'm actually confused tho - why do you need to dilute X-tol 1:5 in a five reel tank? I mix up 2 mL of Rodinal and 600 mL of water and pour the majority of it into a two reel tank. Hmmm... give the Rodinal a try tho. Technidol isn't made anymore. The Photographer's Formulary does have some developers for Tech Pan, but I've never tried them. If you'd like to see any Tech Pan in Rodinal examples, let me know.</p>

<p>I recently shot one of two rolls of Tech-pan that I had inherited, also probably at least a decade older. I also had some technidol, which you can probably find somewhere. I shot at iso 25, which worked fine:</p><div></div>

<p>It's impossible to appreciate the fine grain and detail on the web. One more:</p><div></div>

<p>It should be fine at the box speed of 25. I've been shootng with "expired" Techpan for years, and have not experienced any problems. Of course, technidol is the best, but I have also tried the dilute Rodinal method and had pretty decent results. Somewher, I also saw that someone used Diafine, but don't recall the details.</p>

<p>For normal tone negatives, I have had good luck with Rollei RLC low contrast developer with Technical Pan 4x5. I agree that Technidol is better if you can get it. RLC should be clear as water. Do not use RLC if it is even a little off-color. I dilute the entire bottle to make 5 liters of working developer and then store it in full to the top EZ cap 1 liter resealable beer bottles well marked with hazardous chemical labels. The full bottles store well for very long periods of time, but they have a short shelf life when the bottle is not full. Start at 6 minutes at 68 degrees F. I use HC110 F dilution for high contrast and HC110 B dilution for very high contrast with Technical Pan.</p>