I would Like to thank everyone for their responses to my earlier posting includi ng Kodak, who have advised me that this problem only exists / existed in the 1 l itre packaging. Thinking back about my experiences with the failures, I can't di spute this - nor can I confirm it. If so it solves a lot of problems for me.

Anyway, I would like to share a couple of other observations - things that I thi nk I've noticed. First. Xtol is sensitive to agitation. I never had a problem wi th uneven development until I began to use Xtol. It required me to change my tec hnique and pay a little more attention. Easly to solve, but you have to be caref ul. Second. The developed film takes on a slight brown cast. It doesn't appear t o be neutral grey like in HC-110 or ID-11. Not a problem - just an observation. Last. Film base + fog is increased. There is noticeable density in the film edge s. Sometimes it's a little distracting but easily printed through. Since my last failure, I have used ID-11. The results are so reliable and the film looks so g ood, that I'm almost reluctant to give Xtol another try. The problem is that whe n it works, it can work beautifully. I'd welcome any discussion on my observatio ns.