[Leica] xtol spots

[Harvey.Arche at jp2hs.org (Arche, Harvey)]

Dan States wrote:
Arche, is there any detail in the hotspots?  Could you describe your 
process, including stop bath, agitation and fixer?  It would be helpfull in 
trying to understand the problem.

best wishes
Dan


>From: "Arche, Harvey" <Harvey.Arche@jp2hs.org>
>Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
>To: <lug@leica-users.org>
>Subject: [Leica] xtol spots
>Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2006 14:46:19 -0500
>
>The spots I'm getting on Tmax 3200 are not from using a wax paper bottle 
>seal like I thought. I'm having the same problem with a completely new 
>batch of Xtol.
>
>To recap: they look like yellow mold spots (3/4mm - 2mm in dia.) scattered 
>all over the wet film. On scanning the dried film they show as areas of 
>hyper development, the larger ones dount shaped.
>
>I'm mixing with distilled water. I'm using kodak rapid fix with hardener, 
>but this wasn't a problem before. I'm mixing my 1:3 dilution in a measuring 
>cup that has never had anything but developers mixed in it.
>
>Could be the film batch, but the first 4 rolls out of a box of 20 were OK. 
>One possiblity: actual mold? I store in the fridge, and take out 1-3 days 
>in advance of use. Could moisture cause mold to form in a house with AC?  
>What would it look like on developed film? Its not happening with other 
>film I handle in the same way.
>
>Next I'll develop a roll in D-76 and see what happens.
>
>Thoughts and suggestions welcome.
>Arche

Dan,
Thanks for your concern.

First, all of my chem. is mixed with distilled water, I develop in stainless 
using Hewes reels cleaned and dried after each use. Xtol is stored in 
one-shot brown bottles, diluted 1:3 in a measuring cup reserved for just 
that purpose. Agitation, after initial 30 secs., consists of 3 inversions/3 
taps and a 1/3 twist every 30 sec. For Tmax 3200 (1600) time is 23 min 
@75*F. No stop bath or rinse, direct to fix: Kodak rapid fix with hardener, 
the same I use for all (rodinal & D-76). Spots show on inspection after 
fixing. On being scanned, the spots show mainly in areas of even tonality, 
but also in areas of detail; spots do show detail. Damage can be fixed by 
careful application of a soft-edged burn tool.

Marty, that JB-9 is looking pretty interesting to me. Is it commercially 
available (I haven't found it), or do you get the chem. recipe from from 
John Black and buy the constituents? I love the idea of an Xtol substitute 
that you mix up as a one-shot from shelf-stable parts.
Arche