Which developer works best with Tri-X 8x10 sheet film???

[ric YAMA]

Which developer works best with Tri-X 8x10 sheet film considering grain, tonal character, speed, etc. . .for JOBO rotary process?? D76(1:1), D23, Xtol, Microdol-X, Ilfosol-S, (except HC-110)

I've been using T-Max400/T-Max RS and having a hard time to control the light on highlights(nudes) under studio lighting situation(Soft Box). Highlights are somewhat blocked and losing details on skin.

Then, I'm planning to run some tests on Tri-X with different developer. Since with Tri-X grain is more noticelable and low in resolution compared with T-Max I need to draw as much quality as I can from Tri-X. (I make mural prints, so both grain size and sharpness are very important while using Tri-X)

If you could share what you have, time, temp, rotation speed, EI, dilution, ... , I will appreciate it!! Thanks in advance riichi

[RICHRRD ILOMAKI]

riichi

Are you ready for this?

D-76 diluted 1:1 or full strength.

I have also used split D23: first bath 12 minutes 2nd bath 3 minutes and rated the film at 200. This gives me a wider tone,"Stronger" negative for making Palladium/Platinum prints. With 8x10 grain is not an issue, but tonality is and all the fancy soups in the world can not beat these two for reliablity and effect. The only thing that comes close is PMK, which has a full set of safety drawbacks as well as tonality advantages, esp. for Platinum prints.

Cheers

[Kevin Crisp]

Riichi: Sorry you don't want to hear it, but my first choice would be HC110, Dil "B" 6 minutes at 68 degrees F. After 15 years I keep coming back to it. Also, Rodinal 1:50, 12 min. @ 68 degrees is very nice too. My EI index would be meaningless to you unless I lend you my meter. These two combinations and times produce equally dense negatives, at least for me. Rodinal is known for good highlight separation and my experience supports this in an unscientific way. These are tray development times, so I'm sure you'll need to adjust them for the tube. My "magic bullet" is paying attention to what I'm doing and composing the picture well. There will be no lack of quality with the above combinations, nor, I'm sure, with 20 others you could try. I highly recommend taking the time to do the necessary zone controls, determine your personal exposure index and development time.

[Henry Suryo]

Hi Riichi, A lot of people seem to agree that HC-110 Dil. B is the best acutance developer for Tri-X. It's a high definition, non solvent developer which increases sharpness at the expense of moderate grain. With 8x10, you don't need to be unduly concerned. D76 when diluted 1:1 is also an acutance developer whereas undiluted, it's a moderately fine grain solvent developer. If you insist on D76, I'd use it 1:1 with a corresponding time increase. This would also help with the highlights blocking when using a continuous agitation processor like the Jobo. Hope this helps, Henry

[George Huczek]

Well, I'll second the remarks about D76 1:1 and HC110(dil B). Also worth considering is the pyro developer PMK, for scenes where the separation of highlight detail is important.