XP2 Super processing

[Bill Mitchell]

Can XP2 Super be developed with a regular B&W developer (such as Rodinal or PMK), then use the Blix/stabilizer? I seem to recall that when XP1 was introduced, Ilford put out a home development kit which used ID-11 as developer and gave sharper actuance than C-41. I'm thinking in terms of making a more scan friendly negative than straight B&W film. Thanks.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Bill,

No. The first dev must produce the dye image, and ordinary B+W developers won't.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[fschifano]

Well to the best of my knowledge, yes and no. I've never done this myself but I've read accounts and seen results of C-41 films processed in standard B&W chemistry. You get an image on the film, but it's not a very good one. IMO it's a waste of your time, film, and chemistry to do this.

 

[Alan Johnson]

I tried Celer 41 with XP2, it is a room temperature C41 developer&blix kit
www.silverprint.co.uk/speedmenu.html
It gave very fine grain (dye clouds?) but rather purple negatives and a speed around EI 100.I did not pursue it for darkroom printing but it may have advantages for scanning. Does not the blix dissolve all the silver?

 

[Les McLean]

Sorry to disagree Roger, I developed XP2 and T400CN in 12 different BW film developers some time ago. I got mixed results but found that XP2 in Xtol gave me 645 negatives that printed to 12 x 16 with no sign of grain. In fact, John Herlinger of Fotospeed has a print made on Sterling paper on his living room wall where I used only half the negative and still no real sign of grain.

 

[srs5694]

Like fschifano, I've never done it, but I have heard of processing C-41 films in B&W developers, with results that aren't likely to be pleasing unless you're after the particular "look" that this combination produces. Note that this requires use of B&W fixer, not a C-41 blix (or bleach and fix); C-41 blix or bleach and fix will wipe out the image developed with a conventional B&W developer, even in a C-41 film -- or that's my understanding. Also, developing a C-41 film in B&W chemistry results in a fairly conventional B&W negative, in that you've got an image formed by silver rather than dyes. In theory, this will be no easier to scan than a conventional B&W film.

All that said, if you want to experiment with XP2 Super and process it yourself, you certainly can. Just get yourself some C-41 chemistry and away you go. It's really not all that much harder than regular B&W processing. The main issue is with keeping everything at 100F rather than the 68F that's more common for B&W developers. With XP2 Super in particular, you needn't be too concerned with color shifts, either. It's likely you'll get a printable negative even if you're sloppy enough that you'd get weird color shifts with a color C-41 film. I have developed C-41 films, including XP2 Super, but I've not experimented enough with XP2 Super's tolerances to know how far you can deviate from the ideal temperature, development time, etc., and still get good results.

 

[Paul Howell]

I take my T400 TC to the local minlab for develop only cost about a $1.50 for a short roll, printing on multicontast paper produces good results.

 

[P C Headland]

I don't know if you count Diafine as a "normal" developer, but there is a speed recommendation on the box for XP2 of EI 200. I haven't tried this myself though.

 

[fschifano]

The only thing that makes Diafine "special" is that it is a two bath, speed enhancing developer. The developing agents are phenidone and hydroquinone, both of which are commonly used in standard B&W developers.

One should also note that while Diafine will produce an image on just about any film you care to throw at it, the results are not always good. The best results I've had with this developer has been in combination with Tri-X and HP5+ in that order, with Tri-X handily beating HP5+ for speed boost and tonal range.

There is no getting around the fact that for best results, XP2 Super should be developed in C-41 chemistry. That's what it was designed for. When properly done, I have yet to see a B&W film that can yield a better image file when scanned.

 

[Alex Hawley]

Sorry to disagree Roger, I developed XP2 and T400CN in 12 different BW film developers some time ago. I got mixed results but found that XP2 in Xtol gave me 645 negatives that printed to 12 x 16 with no sign of grain. In fact, John Herlinger of Fotospeed has a print made on Sterling paper on his living room wall where I used only half the negative and still no real sign of grain.

I've done it too using Rodinal. I think it was 1:25, but can't remember the time. If Les got it to work in Xtol, then the 5 ml Rodinal in 500 ml of Xtol might be worth trying.

 

[Markok765]

I heard overexpose by a stop & dev in d76 as tri-x. youll get grainy negs though

 

[donbga]

I heard overexpose by a stop & dev in d76 as tri-x. youll get grainy negs though

No you won't, XP2 is very forgiving to over exposure.