Tri-X Pan expired in 1997. Exposure/Dev Suggestions Please

[bart feliciano]

A friend of mine gave me a box of expired Tri-X Pan (1997) 4x5 from her stash of

film.

 

I am unsure of how it was stored.

 

Do you have any suggestions on exposure and dev times to start with?

 

I have a batch of XTol ready, but I have some D76, Ilford DD-X and Microphen,

Diafine available also.

 

Any starting suggestions are appreciated.

[andrera]

Bart,

 

I'd try rating a sheet at e.i. 1250 or 1000 and souping it in Diafine to see how it turns out. Other than that, e.i. 200 in D-76 could be a good starting place as well. See this link for times and e.i. for tri-x: http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html ,even though the emulsion has changed since then, it could give you some starting times.

 

I apologize for not having a more specific answer to expired film, but since you are shooting 4x5, I think that you are in a good position to experiment with a couple of sheets before commiting the rest to any specific developer.

 

hope this helps,

 

Andre' Avillez

[lex_jenkins]

Unless the film has been refrigerated I wouldn't expected good results from it in Diafine. While I like Tri-X in Diafine (usually around 1200) it doesn't work well with older film - too much fogging and grain.

 

I'd use Microphen. Better retention of true speed, less fog. It isn't necessary to "push" with Microphen to make it a useful developer.

[rustys pics]

A couple of months ago I came upon a bulk roll of Kodak Panatomic X, expiration date 1987. No idea how it was stored, but shot it normally, and developed in Rodinal per the bottle instructions. No problems at all. If nothing else, try adding 10-15 percent to the development time.

[jay_de_fehr]

Hi Bart.

 

I bought 50 sheets of 8x10 TX that expired in 1978, and got excellent results from nearly all of it, once I figured out what it wanted. It seemed to want to be exposed generously, and to be developed in a low-fog developer. I wouldn't call any of your developers low-fog, but if I had to choose one, I'd probably go with DD-X, with Microphen as my second choice. If you're interested in compounding your own developer, I'd be happy to share what worked for me. After a few sheets, you'll have a good idea what it wants. Good luck.

 

Jay