I'm a novice and just started out. I use Kodak Tri X, develop in D76 and print on Ilford RC paper using a very old (and untested) B22 enlarger. The prints though are extremely grainy on 5x7 paper and not suitable to keep or show even to family. I do not have these probelms with the color shots processed and printed at the local Walgreens. Both photography shops in my area have closed fairly recently, any advice on how to troubleshoot this?

-- Michael Marrot (mmnmr@flash.net), January 02, 2001

Answers

Tri-X printed full frame at 5x7 should look really nice. If you're cropping a small part of the frame, that give grainy results- cure is to shoot closer to the subject. If the negs are just really grainy, then you might have had a severe temperature change during processing. Use a good thermometer and be sure the dev, stop, and fix are at the same temperature within 1 degree. Same with the wash. If the dishwasher starts up and the water temperature drops ten degrees, that'll do it. If you can't control this, it might be better to wash using a series of fills and soaks. (actually a big temp change causes reticulation, but it looks a lot like big grain. i believe smaller changes do increase grain slightly too.)

-- Conrad Hoffman (choffman@rpa.net), January 02, 2001.

Conrad is, of course, completely correct in his answer. Grain in a 5X7 print from a 35 mm negative should not be extreme with Tri X. Nevertheless, Tri X will look considerably more grainy than the average colour print film. Overdevelopment will make the grain stand out more as well. By the way, grain is not bad per se. The effect of grain may be used for various purposes. Some photographers are very effective with this technique, quite unlike me...

-- Paul Oosthoek (pauloosthoek@hotmail.com), January 03, 2001.

If you prefer the grain from C-41 color film, try C-41 back and white films. Ilford makes XP-2, Kodak makes T400CN / Black & White +.

-- John O'Connell (boywonderiloveyou@hotmail.com), January 03, 2001.

Try this, D76 @ 18 degree C, for 14 n half min. fixer @ 18 degee C or bellow.

Just to check where its going wrong, ask the local color printer to print some MONOCOLOR prints of the same 5x7 size from your B/W negatives.

one more thing, tri Tmax 100 for finer grain than TriX Thanks shreepad

-- shreepad (middlegray@hotmail.com), January 03, 2001.

Stand-out grain means that your very old enlarger and lens are probably working well, making a sharp image on the paper. Overdevelopment or overexposure will increase grain from a film like Tri-X. Contrasty paper will also increase the apparent grain. Are you using graded or VC (variable contrast) paper? Do your prints look very contrasty? Are your negs very dense?

-- Tim Brown (brownt@flash.net), January 03, 2001.

I used TRI X (400) for all my portraiture work. TXP when using MF. I expose at 200. I use HC110 solB. 15-20% reduction in time. 68 deg. The 11x14 enlargements have minimal grain. Even the 16x20's are good. Of course, everyone sees differently, but I don't like large grain for my portraiture work so that is something I have worked hard to reduce. Carol

-- carol maurin (cbmaurin@earthlink.net), January 04, 2001.

I have shot tri-x minimally because of the grain. When I do shoot it, I shoot because I want the grain. Don't throw out your negs, use them with there graining. You shouldn't be getting that kinda grain with that dev setup. Check your negitives to see if that is where your getting the grain. It could be your old enlarger. If your enlarger has a big bubble thing on top it is a diffuser enlarger and may have dust on either the lens or diffuser. It could be the lamp also. try printing negitives you know arn't grainy in the enlarger.

-- karl (scrufmcgruff60652@mail.com), January 09, 2001.