Is Kodak Chemistry Going Away?

[Michael R]

There isn’t much reverse engineering involved. Fotoimpex XT-3 or Legacy Pro Eco Pro.

Has anyone, such as Photographer’s Formulary, come out with an exact replacement for Xtol? It’s just a matter of reverse engineering the formula. Kodak’s patent expired in 2016.

[MartinP]

There isn’t much reverse engineering involved. Fotoimpex XT-3 or Legacy Pro Eco Pro.

Or Foma Excel, all the same thing really though the anti-dust design of the Adox/Fotoimpex product is impressive. At least in Europe, these alternatives are available in one liter packages as well as five liter, which can be handy.

[Tin Can]

I will never trust KODAK CHEMS again

I use simple chems

and will not discuss it anymore

[Renato Tonelli]

This. The chaotic and still-evolving separation of manufacturing from branding and marketing rights coming out of the Eastman Kodak reorganization is the ongoing source of enormous confusion among that great majority of users who don't spend their time closely following industry news. It damages the very brand value of which all the players are trying to take advantage.

You hit the proverbial nail nail on the head. Disheartening to what’s happened to this iconic company. Luckily, the film division has survived and is thriving, even.
X-TOL, D-76 are the only Kodak-branded chemistry I still use and Tri-X film has been my go to film across for ats since I started doing photography

[Fungus]

There isn’t much reverse engineering involved. Fotoimpex XT-3 or Legacy Pro Eco Pro.

I'd like to mix my own, but I haven't found a complete formula anywhere. I've read that the chelating agent Kodak uses is not one of the common ones such as EDTA.

[Michael R]

Mixing your own ascorbate developer without a strong iron/copper chelating agent isn’t the best idea. You really need DTPA (which XTOL, XT-3 etc. contain). It is obtainable but expensive. Ryuji Suzuki had a workaround for DTPA using salicylic acid and TEA. Alternatively you can most likely get away without DTPA if you mix what you need immediately before use, although that’s not a guarantee.

The Zawadzki patent formula is extremely close to, if not exactly XTOL - at least up until several years ago when the packaged formula replaced metaborate with borax.

I'd like to mix my own, but I haven't found a complete formula anywhere. I've read that the chelating agent Kodak uses is not one of the common ones such as EDTA.

[Ben Calwell]

I miss HC-110. Is it gone forever?

[Michael R]

I miss HC-110. Is it gone forever?

Who knows. Ilford’s equivalent probably works the same as HC-110, though without the shelf life of older versions of the HC-110 concentrate.

[jnantz]

I'd like to mix my own, but I haven't found a complete formula anywhere. I've read that the chelating agent Kodak uses is not one of the common ones such as EDTA.

you might look into caffenol.

[Joseph Kashi]

Mixing your own ascorbate developer without a strong iron/copper chelating agent isn’t the best idea. You really need DTPA (which XTOL, XT-3 etc. contain). It is obtainable but expensive. Ryuji Suzuki had a workaround for DTPA using salicylic acid and TEA. Alternatively you can most likely get away without DTPA if you mix what you need immediately before use, although that’s not a guarantee.

The Zawadzki patent formula is extremely close to, if not exactly XTOL - at least up until several years ago when the packaged formula replaced metaborate with borax.

What about mixing with distilled water? No iron or other metals in distilled water and hence nothing to chelate.