As others have already said, it is reticulation. Typically caused by sudden
temperature fluctuation between solutions - most commonly at the washing
stage. Tri-X is known for the ease of obtaining this effect, unlike many
films available today which resist the effects of sudden change in
temperature much better. 10 deg C is enough with Tri-X, I believe. I use
plain water as my stop bath now (between dev and fix) as the strong acid of
a typical stop bath is a little malodorous and not essential. I suppose a
weaker stop bath is the answer.
I don't know what wash routine you use, but the Ilford system is widely
regarded as being archivally permanent: after fixation fill with water and
invert slowly 5 times. Empty and fill with fresh water, invert 10 times.
Repeat, inverting 20 times. Add a few drops of wash-aid (e.g. Ilford
Ilfotol) to the final tankful and agitate _slightly_ before draining (I
remove the lid and twist the spirals in the tank). I'm sure domestic
washing-up liquid is OK, but after the effort I've already put in I prefer
to spend a couple of quid on Ilfotol. It lasts for hundreds of films too and
helps prevent drying marks. If anything, normal washing liquid is too
concentrated.
One way to avoid temperature fluctuation is to fill a large container with
enough water for all wash stages, so you know it will all be the same
temperature +/- 2deg C or so.
I don't know anyone who uses hardener in their fixer. It's more trouble than
it's worth and modern films are designed to cope fine without it. I would
also caution against using a squeegee to remove excess water from your film.
At this point it is very soft and a scrape with a grit-laden squeegee is not
the best thing for it. I wet my first two fingers and run them _gently_ down
either side of the length of the film.
The best advice I've ever read is to hang the film up to dry on a diagonal,
e.g. across a door frame. It dries quicker and more evenly. Thankyou Roger
Hicks and Frances Schultz (from their "Black and White Handbook").
Simon E.
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