greg6

Besides, my tap water is only around 74 degrees. I'd rather cool it

off a few degrees than warm it up. Adding ice gives me better control

than trying to add hot tap water. At 80 deg. isn't the dev. time too

short to maintain accuracy with push/pull processing?

Since I live in sunny (usually) California, I have the same problem.

Thats why I dilute the developer 1:1 with water. If you need 16 oz.

of developer, start with 8 oz. of straight developer and take the

temp. Since it will probably be over 68 degrees you then add about 7

oz. of water thats just over 68 degrees. Then add ice and stir while.

taking the temperature. The temp should come down to 68 as the ice is

melting. Pour a little more water in until the level is 16 oz. and

remove the ice just as it reaches 68 deg. This is a lot faster than

putting your canister of developer in ice water. You can do the same

thing with the rest of your chemicals to get them all the same temp

during the entire process. Good luck.

Standard developement time for Tri-X in straight D-76 is 8 min at 68

degrees, or if diluted 1:1 10 min. at 68 deg. You should get

acceptable results if you increase developement time by about 40

percent but expect some increase in grain. You can cure any remaining

density problems in the negs in the printing process by using filters

with polycontrast paper.

Paul, do you have observable rust in your tap water? I have been

using TX for years and never had a problem with spotting that couldn't

be traced to hard water or soap film. How many rolls of TX have you

done since you started with the final Photoflo rinse in distilled

water. Maybe this is just a fluke.

Those steel reels take practice. You should practice in the light with

a roll of exposed film until you get the feel of the film going on the

reel. I have found that clipping the corners of the end of the film

before clipping it onto the reel makes it easier to start spooling. I

try to clip the corners (clip only about an eighth of an inch at a 45

degree angle) before I roll the film all the way into the canister

after removing the film from the camera. It's hard to cut the corners

in the changing bag.

Also, don't pinch the film too much when spooling. It should glide on.

If you hear the film crimp when spooling, back up and start again. You

can feel the spooled film with your finger to tell if it has gotten

off track. Good luck.

Lot, what do you mean the iso of tri-x drops to 160 when you develop

with perceptol?

I know Plus-X will deliver finer grain and may be a better outdoor film, but is it worth bothering with over Tri-X as a portrait film, even if I could get enough light off my tungsten photo floods? GA

Paul, I don't know much about TMX/TMY as I have only used them a few

times. The standard rules should apply to those as well as Tri-X.

Never squeege film. I gave that up long ago when I got tired of

touching up the scratch lines off the prints. I recommend very weak

foto flow solution in distilled water (2-3 drops per gallon). You can

use the distilled water over and over as the final rinse after regular

washing. Then hang in a dust free place. Weak foto flow prevents soap

film and distilled water prevents water spots. It's worth the 2 hour

wait for flawless negs unless you are a photojournalist and need to

print pronto. In that case try a hair dryer on cool setting after

fotoflow rinse. Watch out for dust. Greg

I am a confirmed Tri-X user for studio B&W portraits with tungsten lighting. I have been using D-76 for years with fine grain results even on 11X14 enlargements from 35mm film. I think this is due in part to strict temperature controls during all phases of developement, from pre wash through foto flow rinse with distilled water. I rarely get even minor flaws or water spots on the negatives. Now my question: Are there any other developers that will deliver better grain or tones than D-76? I do only head shots and portraits so the skin tones are most important to me. Also, any preferences on RC papers for the above uses? Thanks, GA