t-max 400 in HC-110

[Robert Skeoch]

I've decided to switch back to tray processing after getting too many marks with a unicolor drum.
I'm using HC-110 in an 11x14 tray for 8x10 negs.
I mixed the concentrate 1-31 or 100ml with 3100 ml water. My processing time was six minutes after a 5 minute pre-wash.
The negatives look fine, here's my question.
About how many 8x10 negs can I do before the developer fades too much. 3200 ml of solution in the tray.
-Rob

[Roger Hein]

Rob,

I develop not more than 3 - 8x10s per liter of working HC110 solution. I think that's roughly what Kodak recommends.

[Donald Qualls]

Kodak's specs call for a minimum 3 ml of concentrate for every 8x10. Assuming you're developing them all at the same time (so you don't have to adjust times for exhaustion as you work), your 100 ml of concentrate should be good for all the 8x10s you're comfortable handling. Given how few films most folks find comforable to handle in trays, you might consider diluting more -- 3.2 liters of working solution at Dilution G (aka Saint Ansel's dilution, 1:119, which calls for 26.7 ml of concentrate) is enough to do 8 films with a 10% reserve, and it'll save you more than 70% on developer concentrate. Bad news is, it'll take a lot longer to develop your films (I usually give TMY in rolls 19 minutes with agitation every 3rd minute, though if you maintain your regular agitation you might find 15 minutes is closer to N); good news is, it's especially good for compensating development and N- with reduced agitation; you can get N-1 and even N-2 without loss of toe speed just by cutting your agitation (though in trays that might require developing a single sheet to avoid mottling).