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Thread: XTOL not mixing well and not working any more!

  1. #1

    XTOL not mixing well and not working any more!

    Hi,
    First off: I am a professional photographer who has based all his BW on Xtol, since the day it came out.
    I mix in the same way (with distilled water) since that day, and have always produced crystal clear, consistent Xtol stock solution. Which I test every time by developing a 5x4 with a grey scale pattern.
    Until now...
    Since Xtol has changed packaging, and gone with the white plastic bag containing the 2 white plastic bags A &B... I have not been able to mix bag A in the prescribed initial 4L of water.
    No matter how much I stir, there is always a powdery residue, which then sinks to the bottom of the bottles. Never seen that before.
    But the problem is, when I use it to test develop my usual test negs, the result is a massively underdeveloped neg. the shadows not developed at all.
    I thought it could be a batch issue. Indeed, Kodak UK refunded me assuming it was a batch issue. But now I have tried with different batches, and different providers (from different countries!) and again, the same issue.
    This is pretty devastating for me as Xtol was at the basis of all my processes.
    I have changed nothing. The issue started to appear with the new Xtol packaging... I have asked kodak if they changed the powder composition... no answer.
    So, in desperation, I put out this notice.
    HAS ANYONE HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES?
    Look forward to hearing from you guys.

  2. #2

    Re: XTOL not mixing well and not working any more!

    replying to myself...
    A Search online showed me that indeed many having the exact same issues as me.
    Shame on Kodak uk for writing to me and telling me they never heard about it. Really, how can they call that professional support? There is nothing professional left in kodak at all. In recent years I had the "13" issue with Tri X 120 (batches of tri x had the no 13 embedded in the emulsion... unbelievable but true). And now this.

  3. #3
    Tin Can's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Posts
    22,383

    Re: XTOL not mixing well and not working any more!

    KODAK is now Dinosaur Dung

    They have made their trace
    Tin Can

  4. #4

    Re: XTOL not mixing well and not working any more!

    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Can View Post
    KODAK is now Dinosaur Dung

    They have made their trace
    You are so right there.
    It's even worse. Their pro film guy in the uk lied to me. He wrote they never had the issue before...
    A quick search online showed me they have acknowledged it in writing in 2019!

    @KodakProFilmBiz: We’ve recently become aware of complaints for inactive development, 2019/08/09 date coded KODAK PROFESSIONAL XTOL Developer. We are working with the manufacturer to verify there are no further issues. If you have a problem, please contact us at ProPaperChem@kodakalaris.com.

  5. #5

    Re: XTOL not mixing well and not working any more!

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Here is an image showing they knew all about it Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Screen Shot 2020-10-03 at 18.29.21.jpg 
Views:	118 
Size:	70.8 KB 
ID:	208274

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Posts
    776

    Re: XTOL not mixing well and not working any more!

    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Can View Post
    KODAK is now Dinosaur Dung

    They have made their trace
    Kodak is really strange. They recently released E100 in 8x10, who was expecting that, and it’s a great product. I also like their Ektar and Portra. For b&w I moved away from Tmax and only use Ilford now.

    I really hope they stay in business for a long time. Mistakes happen and yes many companies lie (inadvertently or purposefully) about their mistakes.

    But it will be a sad day when they go, for the LF community. Fuji is a temperamental company turning film products on and off without notice or reason.

  7. #7
    Eric Woodbury
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    1,637

    Re: XTOL not mixing well and not working any more!

    LegacyPro EcoPro Ascorbic Acid film developer is the same (at least close enough) to XTOL. I've never had an issue with it. I mix in distilled water, store in 500cc bottles, 10 of them. Never had a dud.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    West Coast
    Posts
    2,132

    Re: XTOL not mixing well and not working any more!

    The last package of Xtol I made up was difficult to dissolve, and had to be filtered to get the leftover crap out of. It also went bad after 6 weeks in 1 liter brown glass bottles, full to the top.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    North Dakota
    Posts
    1,327

    Re: XTOL not mixing well and not working any more!

    Just like they denied the larger sizes had "Sudden Death" problems after it was first out. Claimed it was the small size only, even as many had failures of the 5 litre packets.

    Kodak - by whatever name seems to be its own worst enemy.
    ” Never attribute to inspiration that which can be adequately explained by delusion”.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Chichester, UK
    Posts
    463

    Re: XTOL not mixing well and not working any more!

    I mixed up a batch of Xtol earlier this week. Try as I might I couldn't get the 'A' powder to completely dissolve. I assumed I had done something stupid like not cleaning my mixing bucket properly, added the 'B' powder and filtered the final solution to get the precipitate out. I have had slightly thin negatives but I am testing a new film and a new spot meter so can't be sure it is the developer. I did shoot some HP5 which I have been using for a long time with Xtol and those negs seem fine.

    So now I am in a similar position where my faith in my standardised developer process is somewhat shaken. I guess the easiest step would be to buy another pack of Xtol but I am seriously considering switching developer. There is nothing worse than an unpredictable product.

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