Plus X and Tri-X 320 Curves

DREW WILEY · Apr 30, 2023

albada - I had a routine specific use for that benz. tweak to HC-110, which was to achieve a relatively straight line to very low contrast unsharp masks. That demanded a developer which works well at considerable dilution, which HC-110 does well, but typical developers like D76 don't. So I haven't tried it with other developers.

sasah - one of the characteristics of HC-110 is that the syrup concentrate keeps extremely well for a very long time, even if the bottle is partially empty. Or I should say, it kept extremely well. I don't know about the recent reformulations, because I'm still using the old style. But high-volume labs naturally wanted to save money by batching up DK50 instead.

Lachlan Young · Apr 30, 2023

DREW WILEY said:
Or spend a couple decades doing off n'on duplications like I did, and you get a good feel for what films and developers are the most appropriate for any given project. When in doubt, go with something in the mid-range of characteristics, like FP4 these days. Sometimes the big labs would substitute DK50 for HC-110 for sake of cost saving. Good ole D76 has certain bad habits if you don't understand it needs to be used at pH equilibrium. It's the basic Ford/Chevy developer - certainly no Ferrari. And I'd never use it for serious straight line applications like matched color separation negs. HC-110 can be diluted and modified into way more configurations than 76. But now the duplication and restoration trade have gone almost entirely digital. And that's the only application where I optionally use a digital camera myself - at the copy stand. A sneaky little trick I sometimes employ to shorten the toe and make it steeper is to add a tiny amount of 1% benzotriazole to the HC-110, which acts as a "toe cutter".

But, Lachlan, the official published curves I was just viewing a day or two ago were specifically for BOTH 2127 and 4147, and done in 76, and showed a rather long toe. How do you explain that? In fact, it's the same set of curves you linked in the duplicating manual (which I also own). That is a long toe. Period. Just compare it to the Super-XX page. This is all academic of course, since both of those films are now obsolete.

All the published curves in data sheet F8 and the duplicating manual for 4127/2147 are for HC-110 (dilution B), I have appended the commentary from the duplicating manual regarding 4147/2147 which very clearly states Kodak's position on the curve characteristics.

As for D-76, it is more than capable of handling all sorts of lab/ technical/ separation/ duplicating uses - DK-50/ DK-60a/ HC-110 were preferred industrially for various reasons, but you should not draw simple conclusions that D-76 is bad for any of these applications, especially not in small scale use.

braxus said:
HC-110 as a substitute for DK-50 giving similar results.

Dilution C = DK-50, stock

Dilution D = DK-50, 1+1

Dilution E = DK-50, 1+2

A & B are DK-60a stock/ 1+1

DREW WILEY · Apr 30, 2023

I could NEVER get a good enough straight line in any fine grained film suitable for masking in relation to certain purposes with 76. I did use it for Ciba masks when I deliberately wanted a bit of curve upsweep. Now, with that era over, color neg masking needs to be something much gentler, with a straight line even at very low gamma. The only thing I have found that does that well is more highly dilute tweak of HC-110 with a toe cutter added. The same also delivers superior unsharp masks in relation to masking black and white originals. Otherwise, I had to go back in and post-tweak the mask itself with reducer. Not so bad when Kodak was offering predictable Farmer's Reducer. I'm just getting used to the generic substitutes, which aren't really the same at all. Color neg masking is a lot like power steering : you have to be very careful not to tug too hard. Ciba masking was more like using a sledgehammer. And DT masks needed to be carefully choreographed in direct relation to the separation negs themselves. A lot of time spent with a densitometer and plotting curves; that's for sure. But a fun learning experience too. Fortunately, color negs need supplementary masks far less often.

For general black and white shooting, I'm more a pyro addict anyway. Better highlight control than I ever got with 76.

Plus X and Tri-X 320 Curves

DREW WILEY

Lachlan Young

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