Why are my developers failing?

For the very reason you mention Laurence it is always nice to know (a) whether the OP resolved the issue and if so how.

It is now 6 months since it was raised and no-one else has reported the same problem with TMY2 that I have seen.

pentaxuser

I am the OP.

The main problem for me was that the neg's were a little thin. Still useful, but thin. Others report that density is okay.
My resolution is to pre-wash the TMY2. Doing so restores full density, and also eliminates the disturbing symptom of XTOL pouring out yellow/orange instead of clear.

Mark Overton

i have always had density issues with film processed with xtol.
going back to when i first used it in the 1990s
and to the last time i used it maybe 5-6 years ago.
i always followed instructions that said no pre wash
and at times increased my development times by between 50- 75%
and i over expose most of my film by about a stop most of the time too ...
same film processed in any other developer has meat on it, without the
need of 50-75% over development ...

good to hear you solved your problems mark !
john

mark,
as far as home brew stuff goes, check the web about chelating agents, the lack thereof was likely your problem. sorry, that does not explain your issue with xtol. then again, it might.

OK the OP's solution is a pre-wash which cures the lack of density and prevents the yellowing of the developer which is Xtol.

What is the connection between the OP's solution and lack of chelating agents that Ralph mentions?

Perhaps more importantly what might a pre-wash do to cure both the above problems and why do a lot of other users not need to do a pre-wash?

There still seems to a number of questions to answer.

I have a number of TMY2 films already exposed and awaiting development and I am still plagued by uncertainty. Do I need to do a pre-wash?

I cannot see a logical connection between the solution and a pre-wash and Kodak doesn't say one is required. On the other hand I don't want to end up with the OP's problems with my negs.

pentaxuser

pentaxuser said:

OK the OP's solution is a pre-wash which cures the lack of density and prevents the yellowing of the developer which is Xtol.

What is the connection between the OP's solution and lack of chelating agents that Ralph mentions?QUOTE]

There is no connection.


Perhaps more importantly what might a pre-wash do to cure both the above problems and why do a lot of other users not need to do a pre-wash?

There still seems to a number of questions to answer.

I have a number of TMY2 films already exposed and awaiting development and I am still plagued by uncertainty. Do I need to do a pre-wash?pentaxuser

Click to expand...

NO! AND IT WON'T HELP. THE XTOL FAILURE IS CAUSED BY DEVELOPER CONTAMINATION WITH IRON OR COPPER IONS, WHICH ARE EITHER IN HE WATER OR THE RAW CHEMICALS USED.ONLY THE PRESENCE OF A CHELATING AGENT WILL Hhelp. i'm using salicylic acidbut others are known to work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicylic_acid

Thanks, Ralph, for the explanation. In my water area I have never experienced any problem with Xtol and any of the films I have developed so far (both Ilford and Fuji) so it would appear that I don't suffer a problem of copper or iron ions in my water and there will be no barrier to success with TMY 2.

pentaxuser

pentaxuser said:

Thanks, Ralph, for the explanation. In my water area I have never experienced any problem with Xtol and any of the films I have developed so far (both Ilford and Fuji) so it would appear that I don't suffer a problem of copper or iron ions in my water and there will be no barrier to success with TMY 2. pentaxuser

Click to expand...

My problem was that reasonably fresh XTOL and freshly mixed home-brews were both failing identically. Metal ions were not the problem, because a pre-wash restored normal density. I suggest doing a pre-wash as a precaution; it won't hurt and might help. Some will say that a pre-wash changes dev-times. That's true: Due to higher density with TMY-2, you might want to decrease dev-time.

Mark Overton

i had a very similar problem with a home brew(in another apug thread), an d my problemturned out to be metal ions ,not in the water but in the raw chemicals used!it's not always the water. how did a prewash return density?