My first package of Xtol was a 1 liter paper package, not
long after it came out. I mixed it and the first roll of film
came out almost blank. I did a clip test and found it nearly
inactive. That stopped me for a while. I wrote Kodak and they
sent me a replacement package. I have heard all sorts of theories
about the early Xtol failures but nothing authoritative.
I have opened some very old developer, mainly out of
curiosity. I don't now remember what they were but one looked
like wet coffee grounds and smelled like rotten fish. Of course,
it went into the trash.
On 8/2/2021 1:13 PM, Laurence Cuffe (Redacted sender cuffe for
DMARC) wrote:
Oddly enough, this pack was in the metal foil packing. The chemist in me says
that the issue was the Fenton reaction and until enough Iron sequestering
agents were included in the mix, its Iron acted as a catalyst, and like a magic
trick, all your developing agents were gone. Much as I like the idea of
diluting developers until there are only Homeopathic amounts of the developing
agents left, and getting negatives where the acutance effects have turned them
into artistically gifted line drawings, I always feel more comfortable when
there is a certain amount of chemistry present, and that any peculiarities of
the water, whether it is the season, or the time of day, or washing history of
the graduate I decanted it from will be overwhelmed by the democratic majority
of the chemical voices I’ve enrolled to do the magic.
Best
Laurence Cuffe
On 2 Aug 2021, at 18:57, `Richard Knoppow <dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:==========================================================================================================To
The first problems with Xtol seem to have been packaging. The original
packages were metalized paper, that is paper coated with metalized plastic.
Kodak changed this to an all plastic package with a different pattern of seals
and that seemed to cure the short life problem.
Kodak has used a variety of packaging methods over the years. When I started
Kodak and others used cans. I think these were both heavy (to ship) and
expensive and were replaced by lined cardboard cans, then bags. I think the
cans were probably the longest lived but they have not been used for decades.
On 8/2/2021 8:49 AM, Laurence Cuffe (Redacted sender cuffe for DMARC) wrote:
With Covid, its been a bit of a trick to get darkroom supplies, so Ive been--
looking at the back of shelves, and brewing my own in large part. Yesterday, I
ran across a 1 litre pack of Xtol developer, and decided to mix it up rather
than throwing it out directly. From the fact that the price on the pack was
denominated in Irish pounds, i.e. pre euro, I can conclude that the pack was at
least 18 years old. Its a two pack mix, the first being developing agents, and
the second being Sulphites with some stabilisers and whatever. Iron chelators I
think.
Pack A did not look good. Cutting it open revealed a paste with the consistency
of damp sugar, and a pale brown colour. I extracted it, by repeatedly filling
the envelope with water, until it was empty. It mixed up to a pale brown
liquid, which cleared when I added part B.
I tested it with a strip of blank film, which to my surprise turned slowly
black, and then tray developed six sheets of film, Tmax 100. They all came out
fine.
One has to admire the professionalism of the Kodak company here.
Best regards,
Laurence Cuffe
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WB6KBL
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