triX with D76(1:1) for difussion enlarger.

[jose_francisco]

I have use a condenser enlarger and developing my TriX (@400) at 20C

11 minutes in D76 (1:1).

I have change the Opemus enlarger for a LPL7700VCCE (difussion

system) enlarger but now I have to go to filter number 4 for get the

same contrast as my old condenser enlarger in number 3.

Have I need to developer more time the negatives? 12, 13 minutes?

What is your experience?

Thanks.

[johnreef]

The same thing happened (as expected) to me when I switched from diffusion to cold light. Try developing in streight D76 and increase your development time. Try 5 to 10 percent initially until you find what gives you the best contrast.

[michaelging]

J. I would rather build contrast with a higher grade printing filter, than

developing the film longer. You will not get a increase of grain by using a

harder paper ,but will by developing the film longer. Just my opinion.

[johnreef]

That's why I suggested going from 1:1 to undiluted. With a slight increase in development time with streight D76 the grain should be no more than normally developed D76 1:1. By the way, in my previous post I meant to say going from condenser to cold light, not difussion to cold light.

[jose_francisco]

Streight d76 11 minutes 20C?

Or less time?

Thanks again.

[ronald_moravec1]

I use straight at 68 or 20 for 5.5 min for a condenser and #2 paper. Your required times are longer than mine so I would start at 6.5, then 7.25 and 8.0 agitating 5/30. Agitate well. Two inversions with a Patterson and 5 with a small stainless tank using only enough developer to cover the reel, that`s 8 oz US or 230 ml. 290 with a Patterson. You want the developer to move as much as possible.

 

Just do a 6 exposure test of a typical subject and print it. Pull out 12 inches in the dark and only develope that much.

 

Store your 76 in small one time use bottles right after mixing and the activity level will not change. 1/2 full bottles cause problems with 76 as it gets hot, then dies. You will never know where you are. sounds as if yours started to die. Start fresh with correct storage and do the tests. Get the thermometer checked if you can.

Both my dials are off in different directions one degree compared to a Kodak process thermometer I use as a master only. The amount they are off is not linear either.

 

You will get nice fine grain with a sharpness penalty you probably can`t see at less than 10x.

 

Skip the stop or rinse. Go straight to fix. Stop causes possible pin holes and a water rinse dilutes the developer getting you back to non fine grain of 1:1.

[colin jackson]

Don't be too concerned with increased grain as the diffuser will hide the grain to a large

extent. I was amazed going from my B22 with condenser to LPL7700 with diffuser at how

the grain and dust seemed to disappear.

Make sure to use Kodaks recommendation for rigorous agitation 5/30 with snappy wrist

action for 5 inversions.

[frank.schifano]

Eleven minutes give or take a bit is fine for the Tri-X, D-76 1+1 @68 deg. F. combination. I use vigorous agitation at 5 sec each 30 seconds and get results that print well somewhere between grades 2 and 3 with a diffuse light source depending on the scene and what I think looks best. Agitation and temperatures affect the speed at which development proceeds, so maybe you're not agitation enough or your thermometer is optimistic. If your agitation is less than what I've described, simply start using more vigorous and frequent agitation. That will speed up development time a bit and accomplish the same thing as extending your time. Alternately, you can easily add 10% to your development time with no practical deleterious effect to your negatives save a bit of increased contrast. Tri-X + D-76 is a classic combintation that is both forgiving of abuse and capable of producing very good results. Don't be afraid to mess with it. Oh yeah, one more thing. I've always used an acid stop with this combination and NEVER, EVER have I seen a pinhole because of it.

[kaiyen]

Ron,

 

I can't imagine TXT getting pinholes with a stop bath. The emulsion is more than durable enough to avoid that, isn't it? I only used stop for a short, 3 month span, but I've never heard of the current TXT emulsion doing that.

 

Also, would a water rinse really defeat the purpose of using stock developer? If you do 3 quick changes of water in 45 seconds (as I do), how could you possibly undo the solvency from the previous X number of minutes? You'd just reduce the solvency from those 45 seconds (and probably not even all of it, since you'd have washed out most of the developer entirely after the 2nd change).

 

allan

[john_shriver]

According to my 1974 Kodak Darkroom Dataguide, for D-76 1:1, if your current developing time was 11 minutes on condenser, it would be 16 on diffusion.

 

Then, to switch back from D-76 (1:1) to D-76 straight, back down to 13 minutes.

 

(The book is readily available on eBay. It allows you to compute the development change for one paper grade, for different flare levels in lenses, etc.)

[jose_francisco]

Frank I read your comments and I will agite as you say. Today I agite 5 seconds/minute, I will try 5 seconds every 30 seconds.

I still prefer not to change to stregth D76.

Thanks everybody and please write more ideas.

[Rob F.]

I think you are on the right track to increase the developing time before you try using straight D-76. Using it straight will result in somewhat less sharpness, and you might not like that. I think you should try agitating every 30 seconds, as was discussed, and then if need be, on the next roll, increase developing time just a little bit--maybe just an extra minute. Then if you need more contrast, maybe use a #3 filter, rather than developing for so long that you block the highlights.