TMX in DD-X

[bernard_frank]

I have shot two rolls of nudes in the studio on TMX 100, and processed them in DD-X

1+4, following the Massive Dev. Chart recommendations. The two rolls were quite old and

I believe they were the ancient emulsion. I am a bit baffled.

 

First, I got pink negs. Is this normal with this film/dev. combo? Not that it is really bad

since I scan and retouche in PS, but I'm just wondering.

 

Two, I got a bit of grain, not big, just more than I expected with TMX.

 

Three, I got the dreaded white milky fog here and there, which I attribute to too short

fixing (4,5 min. in two months old Ilford Rapid, which I didn't test before.) Am I right?

 

I am sorry but I can't post any example because I do not have the models' releases for the

Internet.

 

Thanks for shedding your lights on this matter if you can.

[neal_wydra1]

Dear Bernard,

 

Never used DD-X so I can't comment on possible grain issues. TMX exhausts fixer faster than conventional films. You don't say how you process, but if you are using Jobo rotary tanks I would like to suggest you try a two bath fixing process. I find that the small amount of fluid used in my tanks is exhausted by the film. Finally, hypo-clearing will clear the pink.

[bernard_frank]

Thank you, guys. Neal, I used a standard Patterson tank, and I processed both films

together, using 600 ml of DD-X 1+4. 4 inversions to start, then 3 every minute. 7 min. in

all. And I did use hypo-clearing (Edwal), though it may also have been spent. I didn't know

that TMX was that hungry for fixer.

 

Oscar, I don't know if I'll have the patience to re-fix and re-wash since my negs are

already cut in six frame strips, but I'll try it at least with one strip. Thanks.

[simon evans.]

Bernard, it's not so difficult to thread cut neg strips onto the Paterson spiral as long as it is clean. A re-fix and a thorough wash will really help.

[john_shriver]

TMX and TMY are real fixer hogs. I ALWAYS drop a strip of the film leader in the fix to see how long it takes to clear, so I know I will be fixing long enough. (No matter what film.)

 

Some developers can start to get the sensitizing dyes out, and some don't. But between fixing, wash agent, and washing, they can be gotten out.

[mike_grigsby]

I use DD-X with a lot of films, but TMX isn't one of them. I always use a pre-soak to clear sensitizing color because I know this seems more of a problem with DD-X (could just be the films I'm using).

 

The other thing I do with DD-X is also use Ilford Stop and Fix--for a number of reasons, but mainly because they're not as smelly as some other brands. The fix exhausts pretty quickly with paper, but seldom with film.

[jon_porter1]

I've used TMX/DD-X 1:4 at Ilford's recommended times and found the grain to be very fine

and smooth. I fixed the film for five minutes in freshly mixed Ilford Rapid Fixer and there

is no tint on my negatives. This is with the older TMX, though I've never seen any

difference with the newer emulsion. The negs print with a #2 filter on my diffusion

enlarger.<div></div>

[andrew_hull]

Interestingly enough, I processed some 400TX and some 400TMY in one tank the other

day for speed and the 400TMY came out less purple at the end of the fix than the 400TX!

[gareth_harper]

Pink/purple negs means you have not fixed long enougth.

I fix conventional film for 3 minutes in fresh Ilford rapid fix (1+4).

For Delta or Tmax films I fix for 6 minutes.

[bernard_frank]

Twice the fixing time for T-grain films! Will wonders never cease! I had no idea.

 

Thanks again.

[gaius1]

TMAX films need lots of fixing and lots of washing - double Delta films in my experience. I like TMX (virtually grainless in DD-X or FX-39) and TMZ (pleasing gritty grain in FX-39) but not TMY, its grain is too "sooty" for my liking.<div></div>

[frank.schifano]

I can't make any comments about the DD-X/TMX combination, since I've never used DD-X. I suspect the grain problem you describe though has more to do with the print's degree of magnification more than anything else. If your film experienced a large temperature excursion during processing, you might be looking at reticulation rather than grain. TMX is an extremely fine grained film and while your developer choice can affect apparent grain to a degree, the film itself is the largest contributor to apparent grain.

 

Pink negatives are pretty normal for TMX, TMY, and TMZ. Although any sort of sulfite wash aid will effectively remove the pink/magenta dye, the same thing is easily accomplished simply by soaking the film in water at process temperatures for about 10 minutes or so. I have even used a solution of 1 Tbs. common table salt per litre of water as a wash aid with results identical to that of commonly used wash aids.

 

The milky white fog is definitely a result of underfixing the film. The fact that your fixer is two months means a lot less than the amount of film you have already run through it. All the Kodak TMax films are fixer hogs. Fixing takes longer than it does with "regular" films and the fixer will exhaust more quickly. I suspect the reasoning behind some of the claims that sodium thiosulfate fixers are not good enough for T-grain films is erroneously based upon these properties. That's simply not true. Sodium thiosulfate fixers work just fine, but they take forever and don't last very long at all when used with these films. My admittedly anecdotal observations consistently show that TMax films use fixer at a rate 1/3 faster than regular films and take almost twice as long to fix out completely.