I used replenished XTOL with 4"x5" Ilford HP5+. I used the time recommended by Ilford which was 9 minutes (8 minutes plus 1 minute for the replenishing) at 68ºF and reduced that time by 15%, as recommended by Ilford, because I am using the Jobo. The negatives were thin. I asked on APUG and Penn Camera, and the overwhelming response was to not reduce by 15%, use the full time. So I used 100% of the time [9 minutes] the results were great.
Steve
Nothing beats a great piece of glass!
I leave the digital work for the urologists and proctologists.
Replenished XTOL gives much more consistent results with better tonal quality than one shot. That is why replenished XTOL is used. Unlike some other developers, XTOL is replenished with stock XTOL rather than another chemical. There are many threads on APUG talking about the advantages of replenished XTOL over non-replenished XTOL or one shot XTOL.
Steve
Nothing beats a great piece of glass!
I leave the digital work for the urologists and proctologists.
Live and learn... Thanks.
I was skeptical until I tried it.Originally Posted by jeroldharter
Steve
Nothing beats a great piece of glass!
I leave the digital work for the urologists and proctologists.
Steve, I'm not sure what you mean by more consistent results, or better tonality. I used Xtol for years one shot. It was as consistent as any developer I've used, and my densitometer agrees. How is the replenished version more consistent? Regarding tonality, it gave a pretty straight line response with the films I used, mainly TMX and TMY. Does the replenished version give a different curve shape?
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
Replenished Xtol has the same advantages as dilution.
You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. ~ Mark Twain
It has some additional advantages as well, usually any developer ID-II/D76, Xtol etc used dilute gives an increase in grain size due to there being less sulphite present, additionally there tends to be slight compensation because the developer exhausts particularly at 1+3.
Overall the replenished developer has the advantages of better sharpness and excellent tonality with the finest grain achievable with the particular developer used.
One big disadvantage of using Xtol dilute in a Jobo is you will get close to the exhaustion point with the smaller volumes of chemistry used.
I've been using Replenished developers for over 40 years and it's a simple and reliable method of working.
Ian
How long do you keep the developer solution before tossing it and starting out fresh?
Really depends on the throughput and the period of time, up to a year, sometimes a bit longer, but with heavy through put then more like 6 months.
In the past I shared a deep tank line with 2 other photographers, that was heavy usage, quite a few films & sheets of 5x4 per day.
Up until last year I used a 5 litre pack of Xtol split into 2.5 litres of working solution the rest as the replenisher, but with traveling between two locations a few thousand miles apart it became impractical.
One major advantage for me was the developer, stop & fixer were almost at the right temperature, I'd adjust quickly by placing the bottles in a bowl of water while loading the films, and with no need to measure volumes, just fill the tank(s), it allowed very quick process cycles with minimal preparation times.
I'd replenish every 10 films
Ian
Ian,
How does a replenished solution deliver BOTH better sharpness and finer grain?
According to Kodak, diluting Xtol gives better sharpness and speed at the expense of coarser grain, relative to Xtol stock. A replenished Xtol should produce even finer grain and less speed than undiluted Xtol used one shot, since the developing products that accumulate in the replenished solution have a restraining effect on the developer. If, as you say, dilute Xtol used in rotary processing approaches exhaustion, it could explain improved tonality with replenished developer. One shot developers, dilute developers, and replenished developers each have their advantages and disadvantages, and there are always trade offs between them, in my experience.
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