Any experience with developing 3 year old tri-x that has already been shot?

Leica All Day

Leica All Day

Veteran
Local time
5:41 AM
Joined
Nov 29, 2007
Messages
2,177
Yikes....I just found a couple of rolls of tri-x that I must of taken a couple of years ago in India/Nepal/Pakistan...still, not really sure where I used them, but I found them stuffed away with some other things from that period...

I am going to try and develop them this weekend....I usually develop around 75F/23C for 8 minutes and I use D-76 1:1....should I increase the developing time a little bit or not?

Probably not a big deal, but just wanted to check if I should do anything special....thanks

cheers, michael
 
michaelbialecki said:
Yikes....I just found a couple of rolls of tri-x that I must of taken a couple of years ago in India/Nepal/Pakistan...still, not really sure where I used them, but I found them stuffed away with some other things from that period...

I am going to try and develop them this weekend....I usually develop around 75F/23C for 8 minutes and I use D-76 1:1....should I increase the developing time a little bit or not?

Probably not a big deal, but just wanted to check if I should do anything special....thanks

cheers, michael
Click to expand...

I guess a lot depends on the storage conditions. Were they stored in a hot cupboard or attic? If they were then they may be prone to base fog and there are some developers better than others for reducing that. Rodinal with a pinch of Borax is good at reducing that.

Alternatively, as you mentioned that your preferred developer is D76, then I may be inclined to opt for HC110 diluition B or H. There was a guy over at photo net who was a specialist in developing old film (older vintage than yours) and he swore by HC110.

Some people recommend increasing the time slightly while others suggest developing normally. I was once in a similar position to you and found three rolls of TRI-X in a cupboard that clocked up to 38C in summer. I should have clip tested at least one of them to check for the optimum time. However I was stupid and over developed following someones suggestion and cooked the highlights.

So, from my experience I would cut some of the roll of and develop normally that smaller piece. Then adjust from there. It is worth sacrificing that shot you cut through. Though you may have deft hands and cut in between frames, something that I have never been lucky enough to manage in pitch darkness. Probably similar to the art of catching flies with chopsticks...
 
it was stored in a small backpack with some random scarves and stuff...it wasn't stored in a fridge/freezer or any place unusually hot....the backpack has been in my room on top of a closet (not inside) for awhile....

thanks for the advice everybody, I appreciate it...I will develop a roll of it normally and check the results and adjust if needed....

cheers, michael
 
Last edited:
I found a roll of Tri-X in 120 size (the 400 version) that was about 5 yrs old last yr and developed it in D76 1+1. It had a lot of base fog, but the images were usable
 
A few years back I developed a 20 to 25-year-old roll in with some other, fresher stuff (it had been hiding in a box) using my normal times. Higher base fog, bigger grain, but still printable.

Cheers,

R.
 
I developed a 12year-old exposed roll of Tri-X in HC110 + some Borax (increasing the time 50%)
Very thin indeed, but still printable.
An Empirical Experiment ...:confused:
 
Last edited:
Used an 18 years expired roll of Tri-X at a concert, rated at 400ISO. Had it developed at the lab (didn't do it at home back then). Big grain, could have used more exposure and/or longer development. Images made it to the website of the artist though.

Used most flavours of Ilford film from fresh to about 5 years expired. I can hardly see any difference, if at all.

I have no expirience with older exposed film though. I would develop as normal in HC110 as stated before in this thread. Let us know how it works out. Tri-X can stand massive abuse anyway, so images will in all likelihood be good to usable.
 
thanks guys for the information.....I am going to develop a roll tomorrow and see how it comes out.....I will post a reply when I see the results...I am still developing my film from Myanmar and I should be done with everything tomorrow if I stay on schedule...
I am hoping to start the printing process next week....

I am so excited to start printing.....I just want to get everything developed and then move on to the next step....thanks again for the feedback....rff is an excellent place and you guys make it that way

cheers, michael
 
I just developed one of the rolls and it looks ok....not sure what "base fog" loos like, but the negatives look good and printable....unfortunately, the shots don't look very interesting though....I do have a couple of more rolls of "old" film from the same bag that I recently found and I will develop them soon...I hope there are more interesting images on them....that said, I developed some more rolls from my Myanmar trip tonight and I am super pleased with the results....I am itching to get into the darkroom....

thanks again everybody for the info....
cheers, michael
 
Glad things worked out Michael. I was recently given 20 rolls of 120 Tmax-400 that expired in 1995. Developed them like normal and not a problem so far. I'm guessing they never got to hot over the years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom