Problem with stains on negatives

[Pere Casals]

btw. if i decide to make tests.. is it somehow relevant if i develop 2 sheets or 4 or 6 in the drum per test?

With Xtol you have to use at least 25ml of stock developer per 4x5 sheet, in order to not exhaust developer during processing, so with 6 sheets this is 150ml stock, so at least 300ml of 1:1 dilution.

Of course the amount of developer has to be able to wash well the film...

If you use less that the recommended developer volume this may led to underdevelopment in case of very exposed negatives, unexposed negatives don't exhaust much developer. as developer action is only used for building some fog.

[Jbuck]

thanks a lot, i will try all of this!

[Jbuck]

Unless you're using a developer at its point of depletion (which you're not doing), it doesn't matter. So go ahead and do one sheet at a time.

Btw, I use a 2500 tank and the accompanying reel without any clips or extras and I get even development if I use the jobo at its low speed setting (something like 30-40rpm I think). But I never use xtol, so my experience is only marginally relevant to your situation. This doesn't look like and fixer issue to me btw, but it doesn't hurt to try fresh fixer.

what developer u use if i can ask? what time and what ratio?

[Pere Casals]

just let me add that xtol is perhaps the best overall BW developer in the kodak range, one may want a particular effect from other developers, but xtol it's an excellent performer and also is a very low toxicity one, based in ascorbic acid (vitamin C related) and a bit of phenidone. I use it as my regular developer.

It has some 1/3 stop advantage in the shadows (vs D-76), and perhaps some say that it has to be used with some care to not blow extreme highlights.

[koraks]

what developer u use if i can ask? what time and what ratio?

Usually pyrocat hd or lately 510 pyro. Pyrocat hd in 1+100 at about 10 minutes for fomapan 100 (this gives firmly high contrast) or 510 pyro at 1+150 at the same time for about the same contrast. For this film, somewhere around 7-8 minutes would also yield good negs for variable contrast paper.
But really, this is just what I do; the combinations of film and developer, dilition and time that will yield good results are almost infinite.