8x10 Film ID? Could this be TMAX 100? No notches.

walter23 · Oct 18, 2007

I have some mystery film that I might try to expose but I was hoping to get some insight from the experts here first. Has TMAX 100 ever been made in 8x10 sheets with no code notches on a relatively thin film base (thinner than ilford anyway)?

Details:
I got this in a set of 8x10 film holders off ebay. Don't know if it's been damaged by light or not but from the darkslide orientation seems to be unexposed. I pulled a sheet out, and it's got a very thin base (seems thinner than any of the 4x5 stuff I've used), has a fairly light purple layer on it, and is brown on the other side. (hah, I know). Maybe this will be helpful though:

The holder I got the film out of says TMAX 100 on it (permanantly, so who knows what's really in there), and there are no code notches anywhere on the film. It was inserted "brown side down" with the light purple coating forward. Brown layer and purple layers seemed to wash off in water.

PHOTOTONE · Oct 18, 2007

Sheet film supplied by Kodak has always been on thick base, with notch codes. The only way you might find Kodak made film in sheet sizes without notch codes and on thinner base, is if it was cut-down aerial mapping film stock, cut down from long rolls.

walter23 · Oct 18, 2007

Okay, thanks for the info. The cut is pretty exact and looks machine cut - doesn't look like it was run through a guillotine or anything like that.

I think it's pretty obviously B&W so I guess I'll just give it a go with some reasonable exposure & development and see what pops up.

PHOTOTONE · Oct 18, 2007

There have been third-party "converters" over the years that would buy large rolls of film and "finish" them into the final sizes. Cutting, packaging, etc. Ultrafine Online is one. Freestyle, I believe used to to this years ago, also.

Maco does this in Germany, or has this done for them.

Neal · Oct 18, 2007

Dear walter23,

I have purchased ortho/litho film comes on a really thin base and has no notches. Just a thought.

Neal Wydra

JBrunner · Oct 18, 2007

Neal said:
Dear walter23,

I have purchased ortho/litho film comes on a really thin base and has no notches. Just a thought.

Neal Wydra

When I heard the description, thin base, brown/purple/ no notches, that was my exact thought. Orth-Litho.

That means real slow, like 3 to 12 asa/iso , and special devopment, if you want a tonal scale. If you're still interested, do a thread search on APHS or ortho-litho.

fschifano · Oct 18, 2007

Yep, same here. Probably some sort of ortho/litho film. Bought a pack of 8x10 recently and it fits the description. Rate it anywhere from 3 to 6 and develop it in very dilute Dektol for something that begins to approach pictorial contrast. It can be good for making alt. process prints which require higher contrast negatives.

walter23 · Oct 18, 2007

Ahh, we'll see what happens then. I went out and shot a couple sheets (ratty bellows, homemade lens and all) and I'm developing them right now. If this doesn't work I'll try 'em in dektol, though if you're right I will have way underexposed them. No matter, just trying to empty the holders out without totally wasting free film

walter23 · Oct 18, 2007

Yup, lith film. Thanks for the info. I developed a sheet just now for 7 mins in Ilfosol-S and it's wicked high contrast, not exactly two tone but pretty damned close.

I'll see if I can salvage the rest in dilute dektol or something.

removed account4 · Oct 18, 2007

walter

i have a whole box of tri x that
has no notch codes. it did happen
from time to time

JBrunner · Oct 18, 2007

walter23 said:
Yup, lith film. Thanks for the info. I developed a sheet just now for 7 mins in Ilfosol-S and it's wicked high contrast, not exactly two tone but pretty damned close.

I'll see if I can salvage the rest in dilute dektol or something.

Since you have identified it as ortho-litho, you can develop it under red safelight, if you didn't already know that. Soup till it looks good under the red the red light and let it go that amount of time again. I have had moderate success taming the beast with super dilute Rodinal. When you get it to work right, its some tight stuff.

walter23 · Oct 18, 2007

Yeah, I did that. I didn't have my paper trays out but once I figured it out I pulled 'em and the dektol out. It immediately became obvious why they didn't need notches and why there's a brown backing - it's easy to see which side is up under safelight.

Got a couple that almost looked continuous tone (1:3 of my normal paper dilution of dektol) but very little shadow details. Not surprising given I exposed it for ISO 100 (give or take - I was using a homemade lens board and a hacked together lens without a shutter, so I probably shot it more for ISO 50 or 25 as it was overcast, not quite dark enough for my handheld shutter).

Got one neg that will suit a recent cyanotype project I've been working on, so I'm actually pretty happy; I would have gone out and shot this shot exactly like this anyway if I'd known what kind of film I was shooting

fschifano · Oct 19, 2007

I've tried it with dilute HC-110, 1+64 instead of the usual 1+32 dilution B. The stuff seemed a little slower. Dektol at about 1+7 or 1+9 is what I'm aiming to try next time around. I'll add that I'm not exposing this stuff in camera, but rather making interpositives for enlarged negatives suitable for contact printing.

JBrunner · Oct 19, 2007

Jim Galli's Rodinal+ formula for APHS can be found here:

http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/FreestyleAPHS/DevelopingAPHSwRodinal.html

maxbloom · Oct 21, 2007

Not lith, I know, but I the older Kodak Contrast (Process Ortho) film I shoot at ISO 12 and develop in HC-110 1:100 from concentrate for about 10 min.

8x10 Film ID? Could this be TMAX 100? No notches.

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8x10 Film ID? Could this be TMAX 100? No notches.

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