I recently developed some Tmax 400 120-size film. I noticed the weight of the film was lighter than usual, causing it to curl. One of the reasons I use TMAX is because it stays flat after drying. Has any TMAX users noticed a change in the film?

I also noticed that Dektol paper developer is being made differently than in the past – I checked 2 packages, one new, one old, and the ingredient list was different. I didn’t notice a drastic change in results, but is it normal to tinker with a standard like Dektol?

-- James Webb (jwebb66@yahoo.com), April 02, 2002

Answers

Don't know about the film, but it's very common for manufacturer's to tinker with proprietary formulas.

-- Charlie Strack (charlie_strack@sti.com), April 03, 2002.

I heard somewhere that T-Max 120-films have thinner base material now.

-- Patric (jenspatricdahlen@hotmail.com), April 04, 2002.

I don't know where this rumor started. Kodak's latest technical data for the T-Max films manufactured in its new plant, Publication F4016, can be found here:

http://www.kodak.com/country/RU/ru/professional/support/techPubs/f4016 /f4016.jhtml

It still shows 120 T-Max being on a 4.7 mil base, unchanged for at least the last dozen years. When first introduced these 120 films were on a 5 mil base, but that was reduced to 4.7 mil *very* quickly, probably not later than 1988 or 1989.

-- Sal Santamaura (santamaura@earthlink.net), April 05, 2002.

Thanks for the responses.

The film is definitely lighter than previous rolls, but I also noticed that the two rolls had development problems - the densities were about 1 1/2 stops lowers than normal, causing an extremely flat negative. Could have been my developer, but maybe I got a defective batch of film. I bought it from the local dealer, which is where I have always bought it. I just bought 2 more rolls today so I will see if I get the same results in the next go around.

-- James Webb (jwebb66@yahoo.com), April 05, 2002.