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View Full Version : Has anyone successfully used reducer on T-Max negatives?



Robert A. Zeichner
11-Oct-2016, 03:09
I've tried a couple of the Photographer's Formulary reducing agents, but have not seen any change, even after 30 minutes.
Does anyone have some insight on this? Are tabular grain films immune from reduction? Has someone used something
that works on T-Max 400?

jnantz
11-Oct-2016, 04:40
hi
i haven't used the formulary reducers i've used
potassium ferricyanide + sprint speed fixer...
and it successfully "reduced" removed dichroic fog from
tmy (400 ) and probably tmx (100) negatives.
it worked in a very short period of time ( less than 30 seconds ).
then i remixed..

Drew Wiley
11-Oct-2016, 08:51
I don't think I'd want to do it for an actual "scene" because it's awfully easy to lose some of the deep shadow gradation which TMax films are capable of.
But in terms of lab usage, yes indeed, I have bleached hundreds of sheets of TMax using Farmer's in a tray to fine-tune unsharp printing masks. You need fresh
reducer (it only keeps about twenty minutes after mixing A&B), need to keep steady agitation, and have to watch each sheet carefully (30 seconds to 1 minute will significantly cut into the thinner densities; even less might cut through fog). In one sense, T-Max sheets are easy to visually evaluate because the normal, clean fbf is exceptionally low for sheet film, and looks almost totally clear. You can momentarily hold up the sheet to a bright white background to evaluate it. Or if you're not certain, water rinse the sheet, evaluate it, then put it back into the bleach again if necessary.