xtol alternative

[gflanslo]

Given the current production issues with xtol what's a good alternative developer similar to xtol?

[sanking]

Given the current production issues with xtol what's a good alternative developer similar to xtol?

Alternatives similar to Xtol can be mixed with ascorbic acid, Vitamin C, as the main reducer.

Patrick Gainer did a lot of experimental work with ascorbic acid developers.
https://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/VitC/vitc.html

He also formulated long lasting ascorbic acid developers in stock solutions mixed in both glycol and Triethanolamine, or TEA. He posted a lot of information on these formulas on various photo sites, including APUG and PhotoNet.

Sandy

[Oren Grad]

If you don't want to mix your own, there are Xtol "clones" from other vendors - search for ascorbic acid developers.

[gflanslo]

I've never mixed my own, might be a fun future project, but I think I'll stick to a "clone". Thanks for your responses :)

[Michael R]

Given the current production issues with xtol what's a good alternative developer similar to xtol?

D-76/ID-11. XTOL was really the first (and last) developer to improve on the speed-grain-sharpness balance of D-76, and the differences are very small. Depending on the film, generally speaking the D-76 characteristic curve is similar to XTOL, with XTOL tending to have somewhat less highlight (extreme highlight) contrast.

If you are planning on scratch-mixing a stock or concentrate, particularly in water, in general I suggest avoiding ascorbates.

[Peter De Smidt]

DS-10
fine grain film developer

Water 750 ml
Dimezone S 0.15 g
Ascorbic Acid 8 g
Boric Acid 4 g
Salicylic Acid 1 g
Sodium Sulfite (anhydrous) 75 g
Triethanolamine 99% 10 ml
Water to make 1000 ml
Mixing Instructions: Add chemicals in specified sequence.
Dilution: Stock or 1+1

[Duolab123]

Freestyle sells Eco Pro same thing as XTOL, schools use it lower prife. Foma makes a 1 liter pack, not sure what it is. Now that Sino Promise has full control of the chemical and paper division I would expect things will be straightened out.

[Duolab123]

I just checked, all of the Ilford powdered b&w chemistry, listed at Freestyle are out of stock. I suspect that the cargo and delivery services being overwhelmed is the cause. I got a reply from Ilford and there's stock of all these products in the UK.
Everything is going to be a mess for a while, I saw a UPS fella, unloading packages from a UHaul truck today.

[Ron789]

Fomadon Excel is a (more or less?) exact copy of Xtol.

[sperdynamite]

There is a PQ / ascorbic acid variant of D76 in the 3rd edition of the Darkroom Cookbook. Personally I am settling on D76H. I loved XTol, but I got sheets to process my dudes.