[Leica] xtol spots

[don.dory at gmail.com (Don Dory)]

Arche,
Before you give up on Xtol, try a 30 sec. or so bath in distilled water
prior to the developer going in.  I don't think air bells but still, what
you are describing is not what I have ever seen and I always use a pre-soak.

Don
don.dory@gmail.com


On 7/2/06, Arche, Harvey <Harvey.Arche@jp2hs.org> wrote:
>
> 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
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>