Xtol Replenished developer

May I bump this old thread and ask for some instructions? Seasoned xtol sounds interesting and I want to give it a try. Would you guys mind giving me pointers about how to get started? Should I start with 1.5L and develop my first rolls in undiluted xtol and then go from there?

vegardjde said:

May I bump this old thread and ask for some instructions? Seasoned xtol sounds interesting and I want to give it a try. Would you guys mind giving me pointers about how to get started? Should I start with 1.5L and develop my first rolls in undiluted xtol and then go from there?

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Yes.

If you need more help then you can get from the thread, feel free to send a PM to me to answer your questions.

vegardjde said:

May I bump this old thread and ask for some instructions? Seasoned xtol sounds interesting and I want to give it a try. Would you guys mind giving me pointers about how to get started? Should I start with 1.5L and develop my first rolls in undiluted xtol and then go from there?

Click to expand...

You start with stock Xtol in a bottle called 'working solution', and you replenish with stock Xtol from a bottle called 'replenisher'.

1.5l should take about 10 rolls to season and stabilize, and you don't replenish after processing those rolls.

After the tenth roll you can start replenishing something in the neighborhood of 80ml per roll (36exp / 120 / 8x10 equivalent film area). During the time span where your working solution develops the film, pour the replenisher into your 'working solution' bottle. When you're done developing, pour what used developer you can fit into the 'working solution' bottle from the developing tank, and discard the rest.
The volume of replenishment varies based on things like water quality, how much you expose your film, etc. Trial and error can give you anything from 60ml to 120ml per roll.
Also, if you don't develop film for a while, substitute 100ml working solution for fresh stock Xtol every two weeks until you develop film again. Stock solution should last at least six months.

Do some testing by bracketing a roll, to see where you get the best shadow detail (that's important to you). Then adjust processing time to get highlights and mid-tones sorted out. Print your negatives often to understand what's going on. Contact sheets are great to judge how you're doing with exposure and development.

Thanks.

Would this be a good bottle for the solutions?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...ormulary_50_1230_Glass_Storage_Jug_Amber.html

Let me see if I understand the initial process. When I'm just getting started, I develop from my working solution bottle. After I finish developing the reels, I pour the solution back into the working solution bottle without any replenishment for about 10 rolls. After the first 10, while I'm developing my film and the working solution bottle is without all the developer, I pour my stock replenish in (about 100ml per roll) and then top off with the developer from the film reels. Is that right?

Can you give me some benchmarks for developing 135/120 tri-x/tmax or equivalent?

I also read where you said about a need for 20% compensation in development times. I assume that somewhere between roll one and 10 the developer starts to weaken and I'll need to give more processing time.

Thanks for the help.

What are your development times for fully seasoned xtol?

Developing times are individual. Consider the following variables:
1. Condenser or diffusion enlarging.
2. Camera lens contrast (huge difference between old and new lenses)
3. Enlarging paper and developer
4. Type of film
5. Results desired
6. Light meter accuracy
7. Shutter accuracy
8. Lighting conditions
9. Local water supply conditions

There is an endless list of variables that make my developing times completely different from yours and your needs.

I use condenser enlarging for 120 negatives, so I process those negatives for less time. (Hasselblad 500, Fuji 645, pinhole)
120 TMax 400, normal contrast, EI 320 or so - 12 minutes, agitating 10s every 3m.
120 TMax 100, normal contrast, EI 80 or so - 9 minutes, agitating 10s every 3m.
I use diffusion enlarging for 35mm negatives, so those negatives are processed for more time. (Pentax KX / Spotmatic / Minox 35GT)
35mm TMax 400, normal contrast, EI 400 - 14 minutes, agitating 10s every 2m.
35mm Acros, normal contrast, EI 100 - 14 minutes, agitating 10s every 3m.

I sometimes use other films too (somebody just gave me a boat load of film) and with those I just try my way until I have something I can use.

A good starting time is to look at Kodak's published times for Xtol 1+1 and add about 15-20%. Replenished Xtol has about the same activity as Xtol 1+2.
Trial and error will give you perfect negatives, and you have to look critically at your results to obtain the best prints.

Good luck!

- Thomas

vegardjde said:

Can you give me some benchmarks for developing 135/120 tri-x/tmax or equivalent?

Click to expand...

The Kodak pdf gives the times for stock development and replenished development. I have used those without a problem.

However, when I started using the Jobo processor, both Jobo and Kodak said reduce the processing time by 15%. That gave me thin negatives. I followed the Ilford recommendations and added one minute to the rotary processing times for replenished XTOL at 68 degrees F.

As Tom pointed out, start with the recommendations and be aware that sometimes one needs to deviate from there based on results.

Steve

thanks, guys. what about the bh glass bottle? good?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...ormulary_50_1230_Glass_Storage_Jug_Amber.html

I'm sure that bottle will be fine for the working solution, as long as you keep it full.

For your bottle of replenisher, I recommend the following:

Since Xtol comes in 5l kits, you will have a lot of stock developer when you mix a new kit.
Oxygen is harmful to developers, so you want to eliminate as much of it in the storage container as possible.
My solution is to store the stock Xtol in 1l bottles, completely full, and then I have one 2l collapsible bottle, which allows me to evacuate all the air in that bottle as I use the replenisher, before I seal it up again for next time. When you start to run low in the collapsible bottle, you pour in another liter, until you run out of full 1l bottles, and that's when I mix a new 5l Xtol kit and fill them up again. I have run my Xtol batch since July 2009, and I have just kept on replenishing perpetually since.

One thing you will notice is that after a while some debris will start to form in the working solution. It sinks to the bottom of the container, so it isn't really a problem. Use a working solution that is slightly more than the maximum amount of developer you will ever need. The largest volume I ever need is 1,750ml, so I keep a 2l working solution.
Some people filter out the debris. I will sometimes completely empty the storage bottle, pour in some hot water and some carefully washed pea gravel, and shake it up pretty good. This clears most of the debris that's stuck to the bottle inside walls, and comes out as I pour the pea gravel back out.
When I pour back the developer, I leave about 200ml that's on the bottom of the graduate, and just pour in fresh developer to fill the tank up. It's tough to over-replenish Xtol anyway, so it doesn't make much difference.

- Thomas

Agfa used to publish a fairly detailed replenishment schedule for their Atomal developer. Besides the number of rolls developed, it also took into consideration how long the developer had sat since it was last used. AFAIK, they are the only manufacturer that did so. WIsh Kodak and Ilford did something similar.