TX400 @ 1600 in HC-110

[SoulSurround]

Dear darkroom collegues,

Today I developed a testroll of Kodak TRI-X (400TX) pushed to 1600ASA in HC-110 (1+31). As the previous time of 16 minutes proved too short I decided to go for 20 minutes. The results (density-wise) are as follows:

Zone II = 0.04
Zone V = 0.47
Zone VII = 0.98
Zone VIII = 1.23

Now I have some questions (by the way, I work with a diffusion enlarger):
1) How can I improve zone V? Using different agitation maybe, now I agitate as indicated (5secs every 30 secs).
2) As a development time of 20 minutes is rather long I am thinking about using dilution C (which is 1+19). Can somebody tell me what the effect will be on the film... more grain or less grain, etc..
3) Weird enough the density for Zone VIII + 1/3 is 1.46. Can this be correct? An increase of .23 for 1/3rd of a stop?!

Thanks in advance & greetings from the Netherlands!

 

[SoulSurround]

Can somebody tell me what the effect will be on the film... more grain or less grain, etc..

Anyone?

 

[Saganich]

Try 4 minute presoak. I have found this to boost the Zone I-IV more then V-VIII. Looks like you have some room at the top. As for the 1/3rd stop, well, its your camera, so it must be right I found that there is alot of variability in testing so give yourself a large margin or error. Rather then using a different dilution try higher temperature. I run TriX at 1600 with similar results at 24C and my time is around 14 minutes.

Chris

 

[SoulSurround]

Try 4 minute presoak. I have found this to boost the Zone I-IV more then V-VIII. Looks like you have some room at the top. As for the 1/3rd stop, well, its your camera, so it must be right I found that there is alot of variability in testing so give yourself a large margin or error. Rather then using a different dilution try higher temperature. I run TriX at 1600 with similar results at 24C and my time is around 14 minutes.

Chris

Super, thanks for your reply. This does raise two questions:
1) I never pre-soaked before... is it simply pooring in water in the tank with the film and leaving it there for 4 minutes... or do I need to agitate too?
2) About the temparature, the room-temperature over here is usually around 19/20 degrees (celcius), so I never use anything to keep the tank "warm" developing at 20 degrees. Do I need to put the tank in a 24degree bath between agitation when I develop at 24 degrees?

Thanks again Chris!
Jeroen

 

[Saganich]

Presoak is just filling the tank with water at temperature and letting it sit for a few minutes. It allows the chemistry to get working faster, but I noticed that it seems affects the I-IV zones more then the rest.

If your using HC110 just mix your working solution at temperature. I usually don't bother with a water bath to keep temperature because in the long run it is just another variable to control. The less complicated you get, the more likely you will manage consistent results. There is nothing more important then consistency. Yes the temperature will drop a bit during processing, but then the heat from your hand and the agitation will counter that somewhat. Again in the end if you do it the same every time then it doesn't matter.
Chris

 

[SoulSurround]

There is nothing more important then consistency.

I know... thanks for the feedback!! I am going to give it a go once my new batch of films arrives in the post!