T-MAX 400 developing: T-MAX Developer vs. HC-110

[tree]

<p>Greetings,<br>

My darkroom instructor told me that you cannot develop T-MAX 400 (120) in HC-110 (Dilution B in our case), rather you have to use TMAX developer. My reading of the Kodak data sheets indicates otherwise: that you can use HC-110 with T-MAX. So my question is this: am I asking for trouble developing the T-MAX in HC-110, or will I be OK?<br>

Thanks in advance for your sage advice.<br>

Tom</p>

 

[andrew_gale]

<p>You will be fine. HC-110 can be a little bit unpredictable but it will work. Just follow the instructions for your film/dilution combo and regulate the temperature carefully.</p>

[derek_kennedy]

<p>You can also use D76 to develop T-Max 400 and T-Max 100 for that matter. I've developed both films in D76 and love the results.</p>

<p>I have not tried HC-110 yet for T-Max films as of yet so I can't offer an opinion.</p>

[francisco206]

<p>I agree with the others. I have been using HC110 with TMax for quite a few years with good results. As with any developer, just keep an eye on the temperature/time combination, exercise good control and be consistent in your methods. I still make it a practice to note my exposure and then couple that with the time/temperature combination and note the effects. That way, I can make a more intelligent choice as to what has to be adjusted to produce the results I want. <br>

Just be consistent. Also, it is okay to break the "rules" once in a while -- after you understand them, of course. That is how discoveries are made and it is how you develop your personal "vision."<br>

I hope this helps. Good luck in your endeavors.</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>I use HC-110 all the time with it I just use Dilution H. This gives me a little longer time and I thinks helps tame some contrast.</p>

[frank.schifano]

<p>Maybe your instructor told you that for good reason. At least I'd like to give him or her the benefit of doubt, even though I'd probably take issue with the fact that I hadn't been told why. HC-110 certainly is not at the top of my list of preferred developers for TMax films, but it will work. XTOL or D-76 are the top two for me. Both deliver beautiful negatives that are very easy to print. HC-110 is too active, at dilution "B", and TMax films too sensitive to over development, to make the process easily controllable. If you're not comfortable with the process yet, things can spin out of control; leaving you with negatives that have very dense highlights that can be a difficult to print with any detail.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<blockquote>

<p>My darkroom instructor told me that you cannot develop T-MAX 400 (120) in HC-110 (Dilution B in our case), rather you have to use TMAX developer...</p>

</blockquote>

<p><br /> Yikes. Did your instructor give any particular reason why or cite any sources?</p>

<p>Never mind, no big deal, common misconception.</p>

<p>When Kodak introduced the "T-Max" product line several years ago a lot of folks were confused, including me. Instead of using the moniker exclusively to designate the new line of tabular grain films, they used it to hype an entire era of products. They even gave the "T-Max" label to their then-new C-41 process chromogenic monochrome film. That was the tip-off that they'd spread the T-Max hype a bit too broadly and thinly. (Later they renamed the color process b&w film to T400CN and a few others like B&W+, but the damage to their credibility was done, IMO.)</p>

<p>Virtually any silver halide b&w can be processed in any standard b&w darkroom chemistry. Getting the best results is another matter. But I have never used T-Max developer. TMX and TMY work just fine in ID-11, Microphen (my personal favorite for these films), HC-110, Rodinal and every other developer I've tried during the past 10 years.</p>

<p>HC-110 Dilution B is highly concentrated, fast working and best suited to open tray processing of sheet films or dip processing. It's not well suited to tank and reel processing of roll films - too short working time, making pour times critical. Unless you prefill the tank and use hangers or other trick to lower the reels into and remove 'em from the tanks, it's not the best solution for roll film processing, especially with larger multi-reel tanks. Try Dilution H, which doubles the working time. Works just fine.</p>

<p>But in that sense HC-110 is no better or worse than any developer that gives very short working times in more concentrated solutions. The same problem would occur with any developer giving only 3-5 minute working times with roll films in tank and reel processing of any film, not just T-Max. An exception is a two-bath developer like Diafine, with which pour times are not critical.</p>

[derek_kennedy]

<p>Personally I would like to know what the instructers reason(s) were for using TMAX developer only and why s/he thinks you cant use HC-110!</p>

<p>(just out of curiosity)</p>

[john_shriver]

<p>I use Ilford DD-X, and get great results.</p>

[mikeseb]

<p>Over the years I've developed TMY and TMY-2 in D-76, Xtol, TMAX, TMAX-RS, Diafine, divided D-76, 510 Pyro, and PMK Pyro. I think it looks best in either Xtol or D-76, either undiluted or diluted 1+1. It also looks good in TMAX and TMAX-RS, but there's nothing special about it.</p>

<p>Strangely, I seem to have overlooked trying TMY in HC-110. 100TMX, however, looks very good in dilute (1+40 or 1+50 from syrup) HC-110.</p>

<p>No less a photographer than John Sexton (reportedly) shoots only TMAX films and processes them only in D-76. Since it's the most popular, best-selling developer of all time, it makes sense that no one is going to design a film to look bad in D-76.</p>

<p>I am slowly learning the virtues of simplicity, especially when "simple" is accompanied by "cheap." When my current stocks of other developers are exhausted, it's back to D76H (homebrewed variant) for me. </p>

[Mike Gammill]

I've never found HC-110 to be unpredictable. I haven't tried the new TMAX 400 in T-MAX developer, but based on my experience with the orginal T-MAX 400, I got finer grain in either D-76 or HC-110.

HC-110 dil. B times can be short, though. Maybe that's why your instructor advises against it?

[ken_kuzenski1]

<p>When I was taking my first darkroom classes, many years ago, the instructor taught me to process TMX and TMY (which were fairly new back then) in HC-110, and that's what I used for years, with no problems. I switched to Tmax developer somewhere along the line, but I used HC-110 on TMX/TMY for years! </p>

[William D. Lester]

<p>I used HC110 with both TMX and TMY for years. I only stopped using it when Xtol was introduced. I do believe Xtol it is a slightly better developer. It gives slightly higher film speed, is sharp and fine grained. If you don't make large prints, I don't think the differences are all that apparent. HC110 is very reliable. I think Xtol is as well if stored properly but I had a couple of failures early on which has always left that nagging doubt about it and recently I have considered returning to HC110 because of both its reliabilty and covenience. Having said that, I haven't done it yet. Something about Xtol just doesn't want me to let go of it.</p>

[john carter]

<p>Mr. Gammill and I agree. I don't find HC-110 unpredictable, if fact the opposite. I've used it with dilution H, with Ansel Adams HC-110 compensating development and with my own version of Barry Thornton's two bath, it has never let me down. I find that with dilution H it is hard to blow the highlights with Tmax100 something that is very easy to do with this film and other developers (Rodinal). I know we are talking about Tmax400 but have only developed about twenty rolls of it, and they all have worked out. </p>

[jim_appleyard]

<p>You can process most films in most devs. There are a few specialty films which require a narrow list of devs to get good results, but for the most part you can pick film "X" and develop it in developer "Y".<br>

Check out the Massive Dev Chart. It has most of the combos known to mankind.<br>

<a href="http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html">http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html</a></p>

[tree]

<p>Thanks everyone for your detailed answers, they are very much appreciated.</p>

[keith_tapscott]

Kodak`s has listed their recommended developers for the latest T-Max 400 (TMY2) in primary bold type in their technical data sheet and neither HC-110 or Microdol-X are in bold type. That doesn`t mean that you can not use them, it`s just that Kodak suggest that the developers in bold type are a better choice for TMY2.

 

T-Max developer is designed to boost shadow details, saves film speed well and works similarly to Ilford Microphen.

Microphen might provide slightly finer grain if anything compared to T-Max developer.