B&H Lists XTOl (5L) as Discontinued

SodaAnt · Sep 28, 2023

retina_restoration said:
Let's not forget that some of the recent Sino Promise batches of chemistry have been defective in one way or another, including Xtol. In a single order, I ended up with bad batches of Xtol, Dektol and D-76, so I swore off "Kodak" chemistry at that point (about 2.5 years ago).

All of the Kodak-branded chemical products I've bought recently have said on the package "Made in USA for Sino Promise Limited", so they're probably made on contract by an American company for Sino Promise. Poor QA is likely to be the culprit for the issues people have been having.

retina_restoration · Sep 28, 2023

SodaAnt said:
All of the Kodak-branded chemical products I've bought recently have said on the package "Made in USA for Sino Promise Limited", so they're probably made on contract by an American company for Sino Promise. Poor QA is likely to be the culprit for the issues people have been having.

Well, since I haven't bought any "Kodak" chemistry in three years, I wouldn't have known this. Still, I no longer trust The Big Yellow God's chemistry, so I make my own 95% of the time.

Tony-S · Sep 29, 2023

Sal Santamaura said:
Based on Henning's and others' posts, I decided to try XT-3, since it's available in one liter packages. I ordered 10 one liter packs last week directly from FOTOIMPEX; they arrived here on Tuesday. Note that while DHL Express shipping isn't inexpensive, with powdered developers like XT-3 going from quantity one to 10 only added a couple of EURO to the minimum shipping charge. My total cost per pack came out to less than $10.

I just put in five 1L packs of XT-3 from the FOTOIMPEX web site and DHL shipping costs more than the developer!

Sal Santamaura · Sep 29, 2023

Tony-S said:
I just put in five 1L packs of XT-3 from the FOTOIMPEX web site and DHL shipping costs more than the developer!

Yup. Which is why I bought 10 of them. When doing that, shipping cost is exactly the same as for five and, comparing the net cost per unit, it's just a little more than what one would pay at Freestyle. If Freestyle had any!

Update: I forgot to include Freestyle's shipping charge. After adding that and CA sales tax, then converting EUROs to dollars, ordering 10 from FOTOIMPEX was actually a few cents cheaper per unit than from Freestyle.

John Salim · Sep 29, 2023

Henning Serger said:
Hello John,

some weeks ago I met one of the 'grandseigneurs' of the Chinese photo industry. He is active there with his companies for decades and is extremely well connected in China and Asia.
He told me about the problems Sino Promise has, and his assessment is that it is unlikely that they can get back into business again.

Maybe you just try ADOX XT-3. Here I have reported about my test results: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/adox-xt-3-developer-further-and-final-test-results.184641/

Best regards,
Henning

Thank you Henning,
It's definitely something I'll need to look at in the future when my current stock starts to run out.

Thanks again,
John S

npl · Sep 29, 2023

In the USA you should be able to get the EcoPro Xtol clone, it has to be cheaper and faster than shipping XT-3 from Europe.

mshchem · Sep 30, 2023

npl said:
In the USA you should be able to get the EcoPro Xtol clone, it has to be cheaper and faster than shipping XT-3 from Europe.

And like Death Valley it's probably rich in borates

Sanug · Sep 30, 2023

If shipping charge is an issue for orders from the U.S., you may order more. The powder is storeable without limitations, as long as the packing remains undamaged.

Another alternative for Xtol would be Fomadon Excel, but I don't know weather it is available in the USA.

john_s · Sep 30, 2023

Sanug said:
If shipping charge is an issue for orders from the U.S., you may order more. The powder is storeable without limitations, as long as the packing remains undamaged.

Another alternative for Xtol would be Fomadon Excel, but I don't know weather it is available in the USA.

Or maybe join with others for a larger purchase. I did that once for a big order of 35mm HP5+ from the US and I'm still using some of it several years later.

Henning Serger · Sep 30, 2023

John Salim said:
Thank you Henning,
It's definitely something I'll need to look at in the future when my current stock starts to run out.

Thanks again,
John S

My pleasure .

Best regards,
Henning

John Wiegerink · Sep 30, 2023

It seems I made a wise decision by going the replenishing route with my 5L batch of XT-3 instead of "one shot". At least I don't have to worry about when the next new batches will reach the shores of the old USA. I could have went with the other Xtol clones, but I'm very happy with my results from XT-3-R. Unless it fails me or become unobtainable that is.

Tony-S · Sep 30, 2023

npl said:
In the USA you should be able to get the EcoPro Xtol clone, it has to be cheaper and faster than shipping XT-3 from Europe.

But it's only sold in 5L packages.

Craig · Sep 30, 2023

Tony-S said:
I just put in five 1L packs of XT-3 from the FOTOIMPEX web site and DHL shipping costs more than the developer!

I added a whole bunch of paper and film and the shipping didn't change. I bought some of the Ilford sizes that are not common here, like 9.5x12 and 12x16.

braxus · Oct 1, 2023

I have noticed B&H no longer lists Xtol as discontinued, but just out of stock, technically saying "Temporarily Out of Stock". So this suggests there will be more coming. Im sure when the next batch comes and is sold out, then B&H will relist it as discontinued. Also noticed the price has gone up on it, though not by much.

B&H Lists XTOl (5L) as Discontinued

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