what is the means of "X" in kodak Tri-X 400 film?

[YongLee]

I want to know the means of the letter "X" in the kodak Tri-X film. thanks!

[David Mullen ASC]

"X" was used for Kodak product names before Tri-X came out, such as Panatomic-X and Plus-X. One explanation might be in this Wiki entry (just a guess on my part):

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_stock

In 1920, a variant of Type F film known as X-back was introduced to counteract the effects of static electricity on the film, which can cause sparking and create odd exposure patterns on the film. A resin backing was used on the film, which rendered the film too opaque to allow focusing through the back of the film, a common technique for many cameras of that era. The X-back stock was popular on the east coast of the US.

[Simon Wyss]

It’s got to do with gold sensitisation, one of a number of emulsion ripening secrets. Gold plays a role with raw film manufacture until today.

[YongLee]

thanks , thanks to David Mullen ,thanks to Simon Wyss. :D

[Andries Molenaar]

I want to know the means of the letter "X" in the kodak Tri-X film. thanks!

 

It is just from ancient marketing. Kodak came to using X as a strong sounding term for an enhanced basic BW film. Later they came up with:

XX

Double-X

Plus-X

Tri-X

4X

Where it mostly relates to ASA rating being multiple X

Edited February 2, 2017 by Andries Molenaar