Question re. TRI-X and HC-110

I an posting this under the "Beginner Questions" because it been many moons since I've processed B&W film and

my memory fails me on a few points. First some background. I've been increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of

commercial B&W processing and have decided to pick it up once again. So, yesterday I shot a roll of Tri-X 400

through my RB67 and metered it for 320 ISO. I have a bottle of concentrate HC-110 and have used dil-B before but

thought I might give dil-H a whirl because I wanted to slow down the development a bit. I consulted the Massive

Development Chart and while it had no development times for dil-H, it did for B. If my math is correct, to get dilution

B in a 16oz tank, I would need 1/2 oz of concentrate HC-110 to 15 1/2 oz of water, and so to get dil-H I would need

1/4 oz of concentrate HC-110 to 15 3/4 oz water. The MDC suggested a development time of 4 3/4 min for dil-B so I

figured 10 min even for dil-H. The developer was cooled to 68 degrees F before I started. I put my film in the

developer and developed for 10 min, agitating (not vigorously) every 30 seconds for 5 seconds. I stopped the

development by rinsing throughly with softened tap water for 20 minutes. I pulled out my film to examine the results

and I don't think it got enough development because the spaces between the frames was still opaque. My questions

(I'm finally getting around to asking) are (1) what was wrong with my procedure? Was it not enough time in the

soup? Too much agitation? Developer not strong enough? Was it a combination of all the above or possibly

something else I overlooked? Can this roll be saved or is it shot? The roll I processed last night wasn't really that

important, but I do have a roll with something I won't be able to reshoot and I'd like to not screw it up. I appreciate all

your thoughts and suggestions. You guys rule!

If there is residue emulsion between frames, the film was not fixed long enough or the fix was overused, Wet for 5 min,

refix with fresh fix, wash and dry.

 

a 16 oz tank is 500 ml. 1:64 is 7.8125 ml HC110 plus 500ml water.

 

Gentle agitation is a problem. That is how "surge marks" are formed. Used developer fails to flush away spent

developer or the film is wetted unevenly in the first 30 sec. Even the Kodak site recommends 5 to 7 inversions in 5 sec.

 

For a trial time, use 1.4 x the time you successfully used for 1:32. This is a consistent factor across most all films and

ddevelopers and dilutions. Halve the developer concentrate, use 1.4 x the time.

"I stopped the development by rinsing throughly with softened tap water for 20 minutes. I pulled out my film to examine the results and I don't think it got enough development because the spaces between the frames was still opaque"

 

Something confusing to me:

 

Development is typically stopped by dilute acetic acid stop bath (or plain water, as some prefer), for say 30 seconds, followed by 5~10 minutes in fixer, possibly followed by hypo clearing bath, and then water rinse to remove chemicals and float off residual silver. Did you do the fixing?

 

Also, the space between frames being "opaque" puzzles me, sounds like you didn't fix?

In the past I've never used anything other than water to stop development and have also never used fixer. My results

have always been good. Also, I'm used to using Ilford HP5+ and D76. Maybe thats the differance. After I dump the

developer, I pull the cap off the lid on the tank and run two full tankfulls of water through the tank before I remove the

lid. After I remove the lid, I usually run two or three tankfulls of water in quick succession before just running the

water in the tank for about 15 - 20 minutes dumping periodiclly. It's always worked in the past. When I say my

agitation was not vigorous, I mean I do shake the tank, but I don't shake it really hard. My inversions are usually 10

per 5 second period. Surge marks have never been a problem. Ronald, is your ratio of HC-110 to water for dil-B or for

dil-H?

David, you have to fix the film. I think you are mis-remembering. You cannot have gotten good results in the past without removing the remaining silver from the film. It's develop-stop-fix-wash. Always has been, always will be (I hope).

B is 1:32

 

H is 1:64

 

You have to use fix. It is just part of the process. Developer turns the silver halide exposed to light to metalic silver, the fix removes the undeveloped silver.

 

You can not expose film to visable light that has been only developed, not fixed at least partially. There is no recovery possible anyway as the film is fogged totally by looking at it and if you were to develope it more, it would turn totally black and the process would start with the light exposure as there would be some active developer retained.

 

When you are finished, the space between frames and edges is supposed to be clear. This allows 100% light transmission to make the blacks on the print.

Welcome back to b&w processing. Sounds like a familiar problem. When I was 24 I got back into the darkroom after a long hiatus and took a basic class at a local college to get reacquainted.

 

10 minutes for Tri-X in Dilution H is just about right, it's what I use for average lighting conditions.

 

Regarding stop - you don't necessarily need stop bath, but neither is it necessary to rinse or soak in plain water for 20 minutes. Fill the tank, agitate for 30 seconds, dump, move on to fixer.

 

You *must* use fixer. No fixer, no negatives. Until the film is fixed, it's not a negative. It's still light sensitive film. You will see negative images on the unfixed film, but the images will not be permanent until they are fixed.

 

Washing can also be done in the tank.

 

You should review the basic steps. There's an excellent recommendation for easy archival processing on Ilford's website.

I will get some fixer and try again. I guess my memory is a bit fogged (kind of like my film), but I knew you guys could

help me out. I'll try again and let you know how it turns out. Thanks a lot, you guys are the greatest!

Hi, David. Yep, I'll bet fixing the film solves the problem. Nice thing is, your initial roll shouldn't be ruined; just soak it a bit in water, then run it through the fixer and re-rinse.

 

If you're using HC-110, which is indeed an excellent developer for many films, try these two sites:

 

http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/

 

http://www.mironchuk.com/hc-110.html

 

The second may prove particularly useful to you, as it discusses thoroughly the use of Dilution H.

You have never used fix?

 

Get yourself a gallon of Ilford Rapid Fix, dilute 1+4 and dump all your backlog of negatives in it to fix them, unless you're

interested in losing your images. Fixing is the process whereby undeveloped, but light-sensitive silver salts are cleared

away from the film.

 

It's the operation that, once discovered, made photography possible. Honour the memory of Sir John Herschel who cracked

that nut, and fix those negatives. That's why the space between your frames is not transparent.