Flattest drying 35mm black and white film?

[fish4570]

I like Tri-X/Arista Premium 400, but I do not like how it retains a long-axis curl no matter how long it has been prerssed in heavy books.
Kentmere 400 (re-badged Ilford) dries flat but is a little different in its look.
Acros 100 dries flat. Does its 400 asa cousin dry flat?
Thanks.

[F16SUNSHINE]

I saw this ? at RFF as well. Here is my experience.
Look for Polyester backed films such as the ones from Rollei/Maco.
They stay nearly flat. Here is the thing to be careful about. They are brittle not flexy!
These films can be very easy to tear. I've gone to the extent of cutting the tape of the backer when shooting 120.
Also be careful at the end of the roll using 35mm not to strip the sprocket holes. No Feds or Zorkis!
Trying to tear the tape of can and has lent to torn film before.
The bonus is maco films are fantastic. The cleanest clearest blacks you will ever see.
Rollei IR400 exposed as regular film at iso200 (sans filtering) is one of my favorites. A bit expensive but when you need it.

[Nesster]

Ilford tends to be flatter than Kodak. Fuji, as you've noted, is flatter still. Yes the ASA 400 Fuji is flatter than most. The gutter curl in Kodak b&w is what keeps me from using it too often.

[Katastrofo]

[F16SUNSHINE]

That's for sure

[fish4570]

You guys are a trip.
No love for Fomapan/Arista EDU?

[F16SUNSHINE]

The thing is.
Cheap films like the two you mention perform well but are cheap for a reason.
The manufacturer has to skimp somewhere. Or more likely they are re-branded films from stock that does not make the "A" grade of the original brand (Arista for example).
I shoot tons of Neopan SS 100 in 35mm as it was dirt cheap as a massive bulk pack that was short dated. It was cheap but still super nice IMHO.
Slower speed films >100 are safe to buy shorted. So maybe try and look for nicer slow film that is expired or short.
Either that or get some Anti Newton Ring Glass for your scanning carriers and don't worry about the flatness as the glass flattens the film out.
Do try some Rollei/Maco though. Maybe to clean for grain junkies but even grain junkies want sharpness sometimes.
All right I'll shut up now.

[Katastrofo]

Andy, what do you use to dev the Maco films?

[F16SUNSHINE]

So far the Tmax developer Bill. I have some fancy film of theirs I think R3 or something like that.
It's supposed to be done in their own juice to get the most out of it. I have yet to expose some.
The IR400 I develop for 7min at 75F with for a "normal" time as shot at 200iso.
The MDC says to soup it 12min at 68F for a iso25 "Normal" when shooting it as IR (filtered).
I think what they mean is the filter brings the EI down to 25iso.
Not sure about that I always ran it for 7min for IR (R72filter) as well and metered at iso 50 not 25.
Hopefully Jules will chime in. He has more time with that film shooting IR than I do.

[Farside]

[martinsmith99]

I hear what you say about Tri-X. I had the same issue, so swapped to HP5 and it's better.

Foma 100 seems ok and nothing like Tri-X. For scans, as I've said before, I cannot tell it from FP4.

[std]

I have some experience with Rollei Retro 80s and R3 - but can't make them flat. Ilford delta 100 is much better in terms of flatness ... and the tones are better.

[fish4570]

The Arista premium 400/tri-X retained a shallow curl, and on the epson carrier flattens a good bit. The negatives look wonderful to me, so i may jusy have to live with some curl ...

[fish4570]

As long as I cut the AP400/Tri-X to six frame lengths the uncurl to near flat in the papere envelopes I use that are a mm longer than six frames.
The Acros 100 cures near perfectly flat ...