Tri-X

currently enrolled in art school for a BFA with a concentration in Photography

and im in my third year. I've taken many a b&w classes before. My question

is....I need to find a 100 foot roll of Tri-X for bulk loading...my issue: I

cannot find it in stock anywhere for the life of me. I checked out freestyle,

adorama, and b&h...none of which have it. and its driving me nuts. I've never

gone bulk before so this is kind of new for me, being that ive only ever bought

rolls.

 

I was wondering if anyone knew of any other sites that mnight carry it, OR if

there is a equal subsitute for the tri-x. Everything we are developing in

class is to be developed with d-76, and I am unsure of what film's would work

best with that...i have found af ilm developing chart, but im still alittle

confused...any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Why can't you just buy single rolls of tri-x if you cannot find bulk rolls? Is there something I am missing? If it is for the cost savings, I've found it really isn't worth unless you shoot quite a lot of film. D-76 and tri-x is just fine. What school do you go to? I'd like to avoid it if their 3rd years are having trouble choosing developers... :)

well..the prof highly suggests it...I've been there for 3 years part time...so technically i suppose i am a sophomore. I'm currently attending the PA College of Art and Design (www.pcad.edu) We are supposed to be shooting at LEAST 1 roll of film a day...which can add up after 3 months on top of a 15 grand tuition bill buying roll after roll at 4 bucks a pop.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/29165-USA/Kodak_1067214_TX_35mm_100_Roll.html

 

B&H has it in-stock.

 

Order before the 12th though because of the Jewish holidays

 

Larry

Oh the US...dirt cheap film and expensive education :-)

 

A roll of Tri-X is $3.69, shooting a roll every day for three months comes up to $332, plus a little bit for postage. Not that much compared to the scale of tuition prices. For reference, a roll of Tri-X costs 4.20 euros here. Order a couple of bulk rolls, but don't be shy from buying single rolls if the situation calls for it.

Here's another source for 100 ft rolls of Tri-X:

 

http://www.ultrafineonline.com/kotrbwfi.html

You might consider Fuji Neopan 400 instead of Tri-X.

 

In the quantites you will be using, it is available for $2.50 for a 36 exposure cassette.

B&H has Tri-X in 100' rolls for about $50 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/29165-USA/Kodak_1067214_TX_35mm_100_Roll.html). You can get up to 40 x 36exp rolls from this, at a cost of about $1.22 per roll. Reusable cartridges are also available (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/122971-REG/Samigon_ESA906_Metal_Film_Reloadable_Cartridges.html) for about $1.40 each. Cartridges can be used 3 or 4 times before the closure and/or light seal becomes unreliable.

go to walmart or any other one hour lab and ask for the old cartridges, then all you need to do is tape the tri-x to the end of the old film, and youre good to load. then just throw them out when youre done, saves you time and money, plus you dont need to worry about the felt wearing out and letting light in.

You can't get 40 36 exp. rolls of film from a 100 foot roll. You get 18 36 exp. rolls. That comes to $2.77 a roll, not inlcuding the cost of reloadable cartridges, shipping, tape and the time it takes to do the loading. If you don't have a darkroom or you just want to make things easier you will need a bulk loader too. If the Fuji Neopan 400 is really available in 36 exp. rolls for only $2.50 a roll, you should consider it. Neopan 400 (called Presto in Japan) is also a very good 400 speed b&w film and developing it in D-76 would be fine. Fuji b&w films are no longer made in bulk rolls. The developing times for Neopan 400 are slightly different from those of Tri-X but once you get used to the difference your results will be fine. When I stated taking pictures a 100 foot roll of Tri-X was about $5. I could save a lot by bulk loading and at that age I didn't mind doing it. You can still save some money by bulk loading with certain films but you don't save as much as you used to.

Actually, you can go 40 exposures from a single roll of 35mm film... if you have a fully manual camera where you have to advance the film to the "S" mark yourself. Load the camera in complete darkness and once it's in the notch of the takeup spool, only advance it one frame and then close the camera door. I discovered this from shooting Kodak HIE and loading/unloading in total darkness.

"Actually, you can go 40 exposures from a single roll of 35mm film"

 

Well, yeah, but I don't think that was Jeff A.'s point. Can you get 40 36-exposure rolls from 100 feet of film? That was the issue. Jeff says "No". I agree, FWIW.

 

40 rolls x 36 exposures = 40 x 36 x 38mm (allowing for 2mm spacing) = 54,720mm, or about 180ft. And that ignores leader and trailer. Jeff's number looks to be about right.

I never liked to get more than 36 exposures on a roll. My negative sheet pages would be 6 by 6 for 36 frames. That extra one, two or three frames would be a nuisance.

Jeff,

 

18 rolls per 100'! I think you're right - it was a long time ago for me now. I was thinking 40 exposures per roll, which is possible but not necessarily wise. That changes the economic picture completely.

Be cheeky. Go to pro film suppliers and ask them if they will sell you ( as a student!) stock

which is either about to be, or is just out of date. Most suppliers will happily recover some

money for themselves and encourage students to use film by offering short dated stock at

preferential prices. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your Tri-X.

"If the Fuji Neopan 400 is really available in 36 exp. rolls for only $2.50 a roll, you should consider it. Neopan 400 (called Presto in Japan) is also a very good 400 speed b&w film and developing it in D-76 would be fine."

 

Go to : http://www.image65.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2041

 

This is the imageologists.com webnsite.

 

In the quantity Jennifer plans to shoot, the price is $2.49/36 exposures.

Wendell have you ever ordered from them? I saw 100 foot rolls of Tri-x there for something like $24.00.

 

Larry

I've ordered from them several times and have been pleased with the service.

 

I stopped using Tri-X after Kodak increased the price substantially. Neopan 400 in D-76 (I make up my own D-76) is a good combination.

DO NOT go to Wal-Mart or elsewhere asking for empty film cartridges. Standard film cartridges are NOT reloadable. Only catridges made for reloading can be reused. Ilford 20 years ago used to sell its film in reloadable cartridges but as far as I know Kodak never did and nobody currently does.

There's a Flickr photoset explaining how to re-use minilab film cassettes for bulk-loading: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimoconnell/sets/1093862/

 

This is (pretty much) the method I use now. Minilabs are only too happy to get rid of their old cassettes. As long as 1-2 cm of the old film is sticking out of the cassette, you're good to go.

Also check at Calumet, if you're lucky there's a retail store in your city.

Jennifer, I just had a look at the Freestyle website, and tri-x bulk rolls are listed and apparently in stock. Try this link: http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_search.php?q=film&rfnp=40&rfnc=402&catsel=all&

Freestyle has the reloadable cassettes you're sure to need as well. They're cheap and can be reused many times over. Just keep them clean and free of grit. Some low tack masking tape is perfect for keeping the felt lips free of abrasive grime.

I hate when professors demand you shoot four or five rolls a week. Just because you burn hundreds of frames, doesn't mean you're learning anything. I feel it's wiser to go through a roll or two a week and take pictures thoughtfully than to produce thousands of negatives you couldn't care less about. Just thought I'd share...

When I was in high school, I bought a couple of long rolls of surplus Tri-X movie film from some outfit in the back of Pop Photo and wound that into a Watson so I could load to cartridges. My recollection was that it cost me about thirty cents per roll for the film and an 8x10 contact sheet - I paid for the film and paper and the school paid for the chemistry. (At least some of the images ended up in the annual, so it seemed fair at the time.)

 

It meant I could shoot a lot, and since I had the results pretty fast I learned a fair amount.

 

Would I go to all that work again now? Not a chance! I'd shoot digital for most things, and shoot B&W slowly. (Probably 4x5, at least medium format.) The things you can learn by burning a lot of film can be learned just as well in digital. The things you can learn by carefully approaching each shot will easily repay the cost of letting someone else load the film.

 

Van