Some questions regarding Xtol

[jumanji]

I have been using China Lucky film 100 (8x10) with D76 with great result. Now I want to try Xtol. There are two sheets I'd like to push N+2 to expand the contrast, the other sheets are normal dev. I use Paterson Orbital processor. Here are some questions:

- Which dilution ratio should I choose for N+2? N?
- Does temp need to be keep at 68F? A little higher still fine?
- Does anyone have the dev chart or data sheet of the Lucky film? Or which film should it be similar to? Digitaltruth have only dev time of Lucky 100 with Xtol at 1:1 and 1:1.5
- I've heard that keep it away from light and air, dilute with distiled water... What more should I remember with this developer?

Thanks in advance :p.

[Peter De Smidt]

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/j109/j109.pdf But it doesn't list Lucky film. It will help you with temp changes.

You should shoot a few test negatives before trying to develop an important neg.

I'd use stock or 1+1, as long as it gives you a time over 6 minutes.

[polyglot]

You will need to do some experimenting to determine the appropriate development time to get the expansion you want. In my experience though, Xtol 1+1 for 9:00 rotary at 20C is a good starting point for nearly any film and you should be able to adjust your times from there to get the contrast that you want. I would try it at 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 and 12:00, graph the contrast achieved from each of those and interpolate to find a likely time to give you what you want.

Read my FAQ link on Xtol, it tells you how to store it and that you need to be careful about which water you mix it up with. A little warmer (25C?) should be fine but it will completely change the development times.

[jumanji]

Thank you. I will dev some test sheets to determine the time needed.
Polyglot, I read your FAQ link and you said that at higher dilution (for example let's compare 1+1 vs. 1+3) the solvent effect will be reduced. Therefore the accutance, fine details and grain, as well as the compensating effect (and the development time, of course) will be increased? What else? (I mean the difference between two diluted ratio)

[polyglot]

Slightly more and sharper grain, yes. However even at 1+1, Xtol has very little softening effect and there isn't (unlike with D76) really much to gain in increased resolution at higher dilutions. Xtol doesn't do much in the way of acutance enhancement either because it doesn't really exhaust in the highlights like highly dilute (1+100) Rodinal does. It's a one-trick pony compared to D76 (variable softness with dilution) and Rodinal (variable highlight/shadow contrast balance and compensation/adjacency effects with agitation).

Xtol is not a compensating developer, at least not at normal dilutions. Maybe if you went to something crazy like 1+9 but then your development time would be insanely long.

[Lenny Eiger]

I use Xtol 1:1 in my Jobo and I like it very much.

I find that it can be used as a compensating developer if you are careful. The difference is that many developers, because of their relative strength, develop in a range from 3-4 minutes to about 12. My times for N-3 to N+2 only range from somewhere in the 4-5 minute range to about 7. A difference in stops could be 30 seconds. If I exceed 8 minutes, the grain will explode, something I make sure to never do.

I've been using 72 degrees F, which is convenient around here... so adjust your times accordingly...

Good luck!

Lenny

[ROL]

- Which dilution ratio should I choose for N+2? N?


You use the same developer and same dilutions for both. Zone expansions and contractions are film and developer specific, the differences employed being time. I would suggest, assuming your communication was as perceived, that you study up on this and consider film testing before committing any further.

[jumanji]

Thank you all for your comment.


You use the same developer and same dilutions for both. Zone expansions and contractions are film and developer specific, the differences employed being time. I would suggest, assuming your communication was as perceived, that you study up on this and consider film testing before committing any further.
Yes, we determine N+ and N- from N, at same dilution, same temperature, just about time. But (I'm assuming that) 1+3 has more compensating effect than 1+1, so for N+, I think the better choice is 1+1 (especially with constant agitation), since the compensating effect from 1+3 will somehow lower the expansion/contrast. And for N-, 1+3 will be more suitable, in terms of contraction/development time. These are just my guess, since I use only D76 and never dilute it more than 1:1.5

Well, now it's time for trying/testing/error :D

[polyglot]

Where is your article?

Link to FAQ (http://www.brodie-tyrrell.org/wiki/) is in my signature, and this is the XTOL section (http://brodie-tyrrell.org/wiki/index.php?XTOL).

I've had it fail badly (uneven negs with about 1/4 of the expected density) at 1+3 myself, but it has always worked perfectly for me at 1+1 and stock. I've found that distilled, rain or spring water is OK but Adelaide water will kill it overnight, presumably due to high iron content.

[jumanji]

I went to their website (Lucky film corporation) and email them to ask about the Lucky SHD 100: Dev chart, data sheet,... And they responded after 10 minutes! Not much communication and explanation, though. Just the data sheet with contrast index curve and charactistic curve, with various development time in D76.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2821/9915129893_2bca445d1e_b.jpg

I dont understand the horizontal line of the HD curve. What's lgH? Log H? but what's H? And why does it go from 2.0 to 1.0?

[Andrew O'Neill]

Judging by the characteristic curve, it doesn't look like this film will expand to N+2.... but I could be wrong. If it doesn't make it that far, you could develop to N+1, then bump it to N+2 by selenium intensification. This is how I get HP5 up that high. If I want more contrast, I'll develop it in D-19.
Use Xtol stock at 20C and test to see if you can get it to N+2.

[polyglot]

H is exposure and yes, lg is a not-entirely-uncommon abbreviation for logarithm. The graph goes from approx -2.5 to 0.5.

If you don't get as much expansion as you want, you can always print on harder paper too.