What Film is this "Tri-X?"

Donald Qualls · Thursday at 3:02 PM

loccdor said:
After 10 years the grain was huge.

Tri-X grain was pretty crunchy even with fresh film back in the '70s, when I first used it. Not too noticeable in 620/6x6, but it showed in 5x7 prints from 35 mm.

Don_ih · Thursday at 3:34 PM

That was possibly not the exact same emulsion, being the aerial variety. May have been the same, may not. People say the PlusX aerial film is not the same as the still film and not the same as the motion picture emulsion.

chuckroast · Thursday at 3:40 PM

loccdor said:
That has been my experience as well. After 10 years the grain was huge.

It depends on the processing and the format. The images below were exposed on 2x3 Tri-X sheet film at ASA 320. That film expired in 1993. The images where shot in 2023 when I first opened the box. The were semistand developed for an hour in Pyrocat-HD 1.5:1:200 with only an initial and midpoint agitation.

Scans of resulting silver prints:

Not too shabby for 30 year old film

Don_ih · Thursday at 4:17 PM

chuckroast said:
It depends on the processing and the format. The images below were exposed on 2x3 Tri-X sheet film at ASA 320. That film expired in 1993. The images where shot in 2023 when I first opened the box.

And it depends on storage. Your box was sealed. Exposure to air doesn't have a good effect on film. Old bulk rolls that are sitting in loaders - the first few feet will usually be less sensitive than the stuff farther in. Lots of things impact how badly film ages. TriX is generally not very usable when found in a bulk loader or an open sheet film box.

chuckroast · Thursday at 4:18 PM

Don_ih said:
And it depends on storage. Your box was sealed. Exposure to air doesn't have a good effect on film. Old bulk rolls that are sitting in loaders - the first few feet will usually be less sensitive than the stuff farther in. Lots of things impact how badly film ages. TriX is generally not very usable when found in a bulk loader or an open sheet film box.

We'll see. That box has been open since 2023 sitting a cool cabinet. I'll have to go shoot a few more to see how that has aged.

Axelwik · Thursday at 7:40 PM

Mystery film? Put some into a tank and develop it. If it's really old it might be pretty fogged, but you might still be able to read the edge markings.

Don_ih · Thursday at 8:25 PM

chuckroast said:
open since 2023 sitting a cool cabinet.

I mean open for 30 or 40 years. A couple of years does pretty much nothing.

Ian Grant · 2025-04-26T08:35:24-0400

Tri-X in the 1960s and early 70s was odd in it varied on where it was made, US, Canada, or the UK. Because it was typically the film of choice for press photographers, particularly those travelling internationally, some Kodak developer data sheets gave process times and recommended EI settings that differed slightly depending on where the film was coated. Only Tr-X varied.

Ian

What Film is this "Tri-X?"

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