Help, I blew everything up!

[herbet_camerino1]

I've been strugling for about three weeks trying to learn how to develop b&w films. I was getting reasonable results, but yesterday I tried to process two rolls of Tri-X Pan 400 using TMAX developer using the fabricant's recomended times/quantities(1:4 for 6min at 21C). I read in an article sugested in this forum that you should not use acid stop bath. Using water would be more gentle with the film. Well, so I did. I washed for about 30sec to 40sec in water at the same temperature and proceeded with the fixing stage. As a result, my negatives are so dense that they have to be exposed for 1min to produce a print where normally would take 15sec. Is there a way to fix what I did? Is it really better not to use an acid stop bath, if so, how much should I cut in the developing time to compensate?

[nigel_smith]

Herbet, I don't think the water bath is the problem. I generally

only use water for the stop bath. Have you developed Tri-X using

this developer and time/dilution/temp before and got a better neg?

BTW, 1 min for a print is not unusual for a large print and a little

enlarger... more importantly, was the print any good? I don't use

that film/developer combo so can't compare times but someone here

might.

 

<p>

 

Nige.

[herbet_camerino1]

Good point. Maybe that's my problem. This was the first time with Tri-

X I was using TMAX. The negs looks fine. I mean, all the details are

there, but the emulsion is much thicker than the TMAX ones. Besides,

it looks more grainy. Is that a characteristic of this film?

[christian_harkness]

Tri-X sure is one heck of a lot grainier than T-Max 100, & 1:4 T-Max

Developer at the recommended time is pretty strong stuff. I NEVER

use stop bath - only water - with my films. That should not have

been the problem. I do give it a couple of minutes in the water stop

though.

[ed b.]

Kodak recommends 6 minutes at 20 degrees C for Tri-X in T-Max 1:4.

Probably you should have used 5 minutes at 21 degrees. You can still

reduce the film in Farmers Reducer.

[alan_gibson1]

Yes, stop-bath or no stop-bath wouldn't cause dense negatives. But

are they really too dense? Tri-X needs more density than T-Max.

 

<p>

 

If he negatives have come out too contrasty as well as dense (maybe

they need a grade 0 or 1 to print succesfully), you could reduce the

development. Or if the contrast is fine, you could in future reduce

the exposure a little.

[pat_j._krentz_29_palms__ca]

You don't have to give up stop bath just dilute it, your not stopping

a tank, just development. 1 oz. of household vinegar to 15 oz water

works great. I find that 1 minute for exposure is excessivly long,

most of my exposures run from 14-26 seconds on a grade 2 paper. I use

HC-110 E (1-11) x 11:00 @ 68-F for Tri-X PEI 200. Great negs. Regards,

Pat