XTOL is now XDEV etc.

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Apologies if post is redundant (mods, do your magic), but by way of another thread on HC-110, I noticed that many Kodak chemicals have now changed names:

- XTOL is now XDEV
- Dektol is now Paper developer
- Photo-Flo 200 is now 200 wetting agent
- HC-110 is now High Concentrate

Etc. Must be an trademark-intellectual property-lawyers thingy, and notice that the URLs to the products also contain the old names.

 

[Nopo]

Is it possible that Kodak is trying to distance its brand from the bad publicity surrounding chemical products since the Sino Promise era?
Just a thought.

 

[AZD]

Weird. These names have been around forever and are well recognized. Must be a legal thing as it certainly isn’t logical otherwise. The new generic names will certainly cause confusion at first.

Hopefully we don’t get Three X and T-Grain 400 anytime soon…

Oh, and don’t let me forget: I want to start the very first “XDEV sudden death” thread. Should be fun!

 

[xkaes]

notice that the URLs to the products also contain the old names.

What it proves to me is that the "webmasters" have no idea what a darkroom is!

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Must be an trademark-intellectual property-lawyers thingy

Google agrees.

 

[Kino]

At least it isn't some stupid marketing "genius" rebranding...

 

[retina_restoration]

This suggests that Sino Promise owns the name "Xtol". I wonder if that means Xtol is going to reappear on the market, made by another manufacturer?
It's really unfortunate that Xtol must now abandon its legacy (some would argue that's a good thing) and live on under a pseudonym that sounds more like a programming language/development environment than a film developer.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Apologies if post is redundant (mods, do your magic), but by way of another thread on HC-110, I noticed that many Kodak chemicals have now changed names:

- XTOL is now XDEV
- Dektol is now Paper developer
- Photo-Flo 200 is now 200 wetting agent
- HC-110 is now High Concentrate

Etc. Must be an trademark-intellectual property-lawyers thingy, and notice that the URLs to the products also contain the old names.

I do not like changes to names that I have used for many years.

 

[Cholentpot]

I do not like changes to names that I have used for many years.

I feel like this about my sports team.

So, we mixing up a batch of XDev-R?

 

[AZD]

I do not like changes to names that I have used for many years.

If you continue to call it Dektol instead of “paper developer” I promise I won’t correct you.

 

[AZD]

So, we mixing up a batch of XDev-R?

Yep. As soon as I buy my next package. Good stuff! Gonna have to get out my Sharpie and re-label my bottles though.

 

[dokko]

started a chatGPT research, didn't follow up on the links but the summary sounds extremely convincing:


Short answer: it’s a trademark/licensing issue — not a chemistry change.

• In 2023 Eastman Kodak applied to (re-)register XTOL as a U.S. trademark. In 2024 the application was opposed by Blue ISO Limited and, after an inter-partes proceeding, Kodak’s application was abandoned on Nov 13, 2024. That means Kodak (and its current chemistry licensee) couldn’t freely use “XTOL” as a product name in the U.S. anymore. (TTABVUE, Trademark Registration Online)
• Kodak’s current chemicals licensee, Photo Systems Inc. (PSI), explains that several classic Kodak chemistry names had to be changed specifically “to prevent conflict or confusion with a previous brand licensee that had used the trademarks … and retained U.S. trademark registrations.” That’s why HC-110 became “High Concentrate Developer” and Dektol became **“Paper Developer.” “XTOL → XDEV” fits the same pattern. (Photo Systems Inc.)
• Evidence that XDEV is the same formula: the new XDEV product page keeps the same catalog number (CAT 105 8338) used for XTOL, and the linked Safety Data Sheets (issued by PSI) still identify the product as “KODAK XTOL PROFESSIONAL Developer Powder – A/B.” This indicates a branding change, not a reformulation. (Photo Systems Inc., Shopify)

So, Kodak (via PSI) renamed XTOL to XDEV to avoid a trademark conflict left over from a previous licensee — while keeping the underlying developer the same. (Trademark Registration Online, Photo Systems Inc.)


... and a follow up on Blue ISO:


Short, sourced answer:

• Blue ISO Limited is a Hong Kong private company (registered address: 9/F, Amtel Building, 148 Des Voeux Rd Central, Hong Kong). In U.S. trademark records they appear as the owner/applicant for several classic Kodak darkroom/paper marks. For example, the live U.S. registration for ROYAL (photographic paper) lists Blue ISO Limited as owner; the file shows multiple assignments over time, with Kodak Alaris appearing in the chain. (USPTO Report)
• In 2024 Blue ISO opposed Eastman Kodak’s attempt to (re)register XTOL at the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Kodak failed to answer; the Board entered default judgment for Blue ISO and refused Kodak’s XTOL application. (Opposition No. 91293152). (TTABVUE)
• After that, Blue ISO itself filed a new U.S. application for XTOL (Jan 15, 2025) covering photographic developers. (USPTO Report)
• Blue ISO (or entities using that name) also shows up in U.S. records as the current owner of other long-standing Kodak chemistry marks such as DEKTOL, HC-110, FLEXICOLOR, and DURAFLO, and has filed for PHOTO-FLO as well. (These aggregator pages reflect USPTO data; they’re useful for quick ownership snapshots.) (Trademarkia, Trademark Registration)

How that relates to Kodak’s portfolio​

They’re not Eastman Kodak or Kodak Alaris. Rather, they are a separate IP holder/applicant for several legacy Kodak product names in the U.S. That IP position let Blue ISO block Kodak’s 2023–24 XTOL application, which is a key reason Kodak’s current chemistry licensee moved the product name from XTOL → XDEV in the U.S. — i.e., a branding/legal issue rather than a formula change. (The TTAB decision above is the concrete piece; the rebrand is the downstream commercial effect.) (TTABVUE)

 

[Kino]

Is Blue ISO the parent company of SINO Promise? The company in 2006 that shipped bad XTOL under the Kodak label?

Wonder if there is any tie to them?

 

[MattKing]

So Blue ISO can use XTOL, but they won't be able to use Kodak.
I wonder where that will get them?

 

[dokko]

for what it's worth:


Short, factual answer (with sources):

• They’re the same HK company under a new name. Public HK company data shows Blue ISO Limited was incorporated on Dec 12, 2012 as SINO PROMISE CREATIVE CULTURE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED (中諾國際創意文化有限公司) and then changed its name to Blue ISO Limited on Mar 16, 2023. The listing also places it in Tsuen Wan, Tsuen King Circuit, matching Sino Promise’s long-used address. (hkg.databasesets.com)
• Same address as “Sino Promise.” Multiple independent listings (including a Kodak corporate distributor PDF and a Hong Kong film services directory) list Sino Promise at 4/F, Block A, Waylee Industrial Centre, 30–38 Tsuen King Circuit, Tsuen Wan, NT, Hong Kong—the same location referenced for the renamed entity. (Kodak, fpf.ccidahk.gov.hk)
• Business/portfolio context. In 2020, Sino Promise acquired the Kodak Alaris Paper & Photochemicals business (licensing/brand rights), later ran into operational/financial trouble in 2022–2023, and exited chemistry; Kodak then re-licensed manufacture to Photo Systems Inc. This arc explains why a re-named HK entity could end up holding/filing legacy Kodak chemistry marks. (PetaPixel, insideimaging.com.au, Photo Systems Inc.)
• What Blue ISO then did with the IP. In 2024, Blue ISO Limited opposed Eastman Kodak’s attempt to register XTOL at the USPTO’s TTAB; Kodak defaulted and the opposition was sustained on Nov 13, 2024. (Opposition No. 91293152.) (ttabvue.uspto.gov)

Bottom line​

Blue ISO Limited is effectively a rebranded Sino Promise Hong Kong company (documented name change in 2023), operating from the same Tsuen Wan address. After Sino Promise’s 2020–2023 involvement with Kodak paper/chemistry, Blue ISO emerged as the entity asserting/tracking certain Kodak darkroom trademark rights (e.g., XTOL/PHOTO-FLO) in the U.S., which is why it shows up in recent trademark proceedings affecting Kodak’s product naming. (hkg.databasesets.com, Kodak, fpf.ccidahk.gov.hk, ttabvue.uspto.gov)

 

[Kino]

for what it's worth:

(snip)

Bottom line​

Blue ISO Limited is effectively a rebranded Sino Promise Hong Kong company (documented name change in 2023), operating from the same Tsuen Wan address. After Sino Promise’s 2020–2023 involvement with Kodak paper/chemistry, Blue ISO emerged as the entity asserting/tracking certain Kodak darkroom trademark rights (e.g., XTOL/PHOTO-FLO) in the U.S., which is why it shows up in recent trademark proceedings affecting Kodak’s product naming. (hkg.databasesets.com, Kodak, fpf.ccidahk.gov.hk, ttabvue.uspto.gov)

Thank you, dokko for that detailed answer.

 

[pentaxuser]

XDev sudden death, Blue ISO Xtol - they sound like episodes from a Buster Crabbe version of Flash Gordon


pentaxuser

 

[Cholentpot]

Yep. As soon as I buy my next package. Good stuff! Gonna have to get out my Sharpie and re-label my bottles though.

Calling it X-Dev will erase the past and all trouble associated with its former name. Go Tribe!

 

[retina_restoration]

Calling it X-Dev will erase the past and all trouble associated with its former name. Go Tribe!

Dickerson and Zawadski would be very sad to hear this.
I, for one, will not be relabeling my stock bottles — it will remain Xtol, to honor its creators.

 

[Cholentpot]

Dickerson and Zawadski would be very sad to hear this.
I, for one, will not be relabeling my stock bottles — it will remain Xtol, to honor its creators.

I too stand in solidarity of the originators.

Xtol it was, Xtol it is, and Xtol it will always be.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I feel like this about my sports team.

So, we mixing up a batch of XDev-R?

Not replenished XDev? I will still call it replenished XTOL.

 

[Sirius Glass]

If you continue to call it Dektol instead of “paper developer” I promise I won’t correct you.

Dektol paper developer.

 

[Sirius Glass]

So Blue ISO can use XTOL, but they won't be able to use Kodak.
I wonder where that will get them?

Is Blue replenished XDev grammatically correct?

 

[David Lindquist]

This reminds me of the situation at Yosemite some years ago now when the concessionaire at the time didn't get their contract renewed and on leaving claimed the right to many of the place names there. So for example the Ahwanhee had to go by a different name for a few years. Names returned to the park after a settlement.

David

 

[MattKing]

Blue ISO Limited is probably angling to sell or license the XTol name to either Eastman Kodak or PSI as we speak.