The Trouble With Xtol

[William D. Lester]

I have seen a number of comments in this forum about the so called Xtol failure. I have experienced it a couple of times in the past, but it wasn't something th at I was watching for and I attributed it to something that I might have overloo ked - overuse of the developer or maybe it wouldn't last as long as Kodak said. I stopped using it for a while. The problem is that is can be a nice developer a nd I wanted to give it another try. I decided to buy enough 1 litre packages tha t it would come still in the carton as shipped from Kodak. I ordered a dozen pa ckages which arrived as a full box ( 10 Pkgs ) and 2 loose units. I felt that I would have control over the product that way. It would be fairly fresh and not s itting around on someone's shelf for a year or so. The first package worked perf ectly. I thought I might be on to a system of control and my confidence was buil ding. On the weekend I shot a couple of rolls of film and mixed a fresh litre of developer. The film was so under developed that the negatives were unprintable. I was shocked. I developed the second film in some ID-11 and it was perfect. I threw the rest of the Xtol ( the remaining full box ) in the garbage. I don't ha ve any films that I want to take another chance on. I am convinced that there is a problem with the product. Too bad. When it works, it works well. I'm going ba ck to and sticking with Ilford's product. I hope Kodak reads this.

[John H. Henderson]

I haven't had any problem with XTOL except for like the second batch I had ever made. It underdeveloped. I attributed it to using it immediately after mixing. Since then, I have always made sure that I mixed some hours before I use it, and haven't had a problem since.

[Paul Minkus]

I have heard many good reviews of XTOL and wanted to try it. I have experienced XTOL failure a couple of times recently. Once it was a near total failure where the negs where mostly undeveloped and the images appeared faded, streaked, and clouded. I have developed more than a thousand rolls of film in my 30+ year interest in photography. I have screwed up many a roll due to my own mistakes, but I can't stomach ruining valuable film that I have high expectations for through some mysterious developer malfunction. I was aware of the problems with XTOL through various forums like this and was therefore ultra-careful and processed the film with all the posible XTOL pitfalls in mind. I am disgusted by XTOL and have dumped it and the idea of ever using it again. I feel like I have been betrayed by it! I will use the old standards that behave in a consistent predictable way. Paul

[John Sarsgard]

I have tried everything, and read about every temperamental developer I haven't tried. I decided that when you do something in total darkness and have to trust time, temperature, and agitation...and whoever made the developer...you are better off going with the tried and true and cutting your losses. I have gone back to D-76. I can no longer remember what problem(s) I was trying to solve in trying all the other stuff. To entertain myself I experiment with papers and toners. I can always do over what doesn't work with them. I'm sure there are other always reliable film developers as well, but I can no longer think of any reason to risk precious images playing with film developers.

[Daniel Taylor]

Xtol has great potential. I have started processing at 72F degrees in hopes that the extra energy will stand off the gremlins lurking in each package. with Xtol, I never know what to expect when I pop the lid off the developer tank. no failures in a long while, but I am not convinced that it will not occur once again when I least expect it.

as mentioned, TMax in Xtol is worth the efforts to prod Kodak into investigating this problem.

[Pete Andrews]

It seems to be fairly common knowledge that Ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate is unstable in solution, but no real explanation other than simple 'oxidation' is given anywhere.I still think the cause of failure could be attack by a natural yeast or enzyme, possibly carried in the gelatine of the film emulsion. It would be informative if the pH of a failed Xtol bath could be measured, and compared to a fresh one.If some sort of biodegradation is taking place, then there ought to be a detectable by-product, such as a gas or an alcohol. This might give an early warning of an unusable Xtol batch.Could anyone using Xtol, and who has access to a pH meter, measure a failed batch if they come across one?

[Geoffrey_1456]

Pete,

Ascorbic acid is simply a very active chemical and is easily oxidized, not only in solutions, but also in air! So store your chemicals (powders) in a dark brown bottle/container with wax seal (if you can) in your fridge. Ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate work as a buffer (weak and cheap), which maintains your developer's pH at a relatively stable value (pH = 8.2). If ascorbic acid is oxidized, then the buffer will lose its "buffering" capability. As a result, the pH of your developer will shift (go towards alkaline because sodium hydroxide is a much stronger base) and your film will be "cooked". You don't need a pH meter to determine pH, a roll of pH paper (less than a dollar) will last you a long time. To avoid those failures, one should have freshly prepared xtol, temperature should be stable, and as Dan pointed out, the water used to prepare xtol should be high quality. Distilled water is a good start. I used to prepare my ascorbic buffer with Milli-Q water. Finally if you see your developer becomes yellowish in datlight, do not use it. It's so bad! Cheers,

[Wayne]

I sure wish someone would try Mytol and see if it has the same qualities and/ or problems http://www.jetcity.com/~mrjones/mytol.htm

[Pete Andrews]

Hi Geoffrey.The oxidation problem is common to all developers, since they're reducing agents, but the problem with Xtol seems to go beyond this. People are describing sudden and catastrophic failure of this developer, sometimes in 24 hrs.The Sodium Ascorbate in Xtol isn't simply there as a buffer, it's the main constituent of the developer. It exhibits a superadditive or reactivation effect in conjunction with Phenidone. The quantity of Phenidone in Xtol is insufficient to give anything but a very weak, soft image on its own, so the Ascorbic acid content is vital to its working.

Further to my previous post, it might be worth measuring the specific gravity with a hydrometer as well.

[Robert Bedwell]

I have been using Xtol almost exclusively for over three years now to the tune of about one 1-litre package a week. I have had one incident of failure with a 5 litre package. I have had to return perhaps 6 packages to the dealer that part B had "clumped." I think it is important to use distilled water in both the mixing and the dilution process. Kodak specifically states that you should use at least 100ml of stock solution per roll of film. This may be the source of some of the problems reported by Xtol users. Also, I am careful to make sure the mixed solution is properly stored. The bottom line, in my opinion, is that this developer requires more careful handling than any that I have ever used but the time and trouble is worth it.