i've never really developed T-Max film before, but i shot a roll of T-Max 100 that my girlfriend's mom gave me recently. the developer that my college uses and that i've always used for developing Tri-X is D-76. i was wondering if it would work with T-Max, but i don't want to risk ruining the film. I know a few people who have done it successfully and a few who have run into problems (such as an uneven purple tint in the emulsion). so i ask: is this a good idea?


P.S. i'd also be pushing it 2 stops to 400 iso (something i've also never done) since i shot most of the roll with my camera set for 400 iso film.

Yeah it works. If there's a purple tint it's due to the fix or the wash, you can put it back in for a minute or two --> not in D-76 but in the fix...

Posted by controleman Yeah it works. If there's a purple tint it's due to the fix or the wash, you can put it back in for a minute or two --> not in D-76 but in the fix...

ah, okay. a little extra fixing doesn't hurt. thanks.

I swear Kodak films annoy me with that stupid purple tint. I have fixed the crap out of some rolls with fresh fixer and they still end up with that tint... Grrrrr

It doesn't seem to bother either scanning or projecting but still, it's annoying. I am sure I should use a different fixer. I have been using Kodafix, but I am out now. I am thinking I might get some Iford Universal or something.

Sorry it's just my random 2 cents worth.

T-Max in D-76 has worked for me but make sure you watch your times and temperatures carefully. T-max films tend to overdevelop rapidly in my experience.

i'll make note of that. i usually do tri-x 1:1 with water so i'd probably do the same with the t-max, it gives me a larger amount of time to work with and there's a smaller chance of accidental overdevelopment. and i know t-max has shorter development times than tri-x, i could probably just look at a development chart and try to see what would work.

I have found the massive Dev chart at http://digitaltruth.com to be very useful.

Ya, I know this thread is ancient history but I just read it for the first time and have to add my 2cents. . .

Posted by controleman . . .If there's a purple tint it's due to the fix . . .

It's definitely the fix, T-Max is notoriously hard to fix (it's very silver rich), I'll always fix for twice the suggested time and get better results.

Another tip is to use a two stage fix, the second stage using fresh (unused) fix.

You can still re-fix your film again to get better results, but it's much more difficult if you've used a fixer with a hardener.

T-Max in D-76 will work great. However, I would recommend Rodinal for the extra sharpness you get out of the film.