[Leica] xtol spots

[dstate1 at hotmail.com (Dan States)]

Seeing that there is detail in the spots I can't imagine it being mold on 
the emulsion PRIOR to exposure.  The fact that you don't use stop bath may 
cause uneven washing away of the developer.  I would suggest trying a stop 
bath prior to fix.  By the way, XTOL is pretty sensitive to low dilutions, 
so be sure there is at least 100ml of stock solution in your 1/3 mix.

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: Sun, 2 Jul 2006 08:22:43 -0500
>
>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
>
>
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