XTOL; 100ml or more?

I'm developing a 120 roll of Delta 100 before going to HP5+ in 135, 120 and 4x5 for the next year. Previous discussions recommend 1:1 for 135 and 1:2 ability for 120. My Jobo 1520 rec's a 485ml max working solution. At 480ml I can pull 1:3 with 120ml of developer if need be, but The Film Developing Cookbook rec's 250ml per 80 sq. Thoughts.

I love to answer my own questions. Maybe I'll find some support.

 

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Kodak rec's 1 to 5 rolls per litre. That's 200ml a roll minimum

developer. Apparently this is supported in other threads, although I

have read one where someone was using 4oz, about 120ml, and getting

good results. I'd like to go 1:2, but alas the Jobo is too small

without the extension; A soon to be resolved problem. This may be a

good thing to remember for others coming into developing. Get a good

sized tank. Maybe someone can confirm Kodaks dev times for 68F?

I've read in other discussions that Xtol might be more reliable at

75F. Kodak no longer recommends higher dilutions than 1:1. I've been

using it at 75F and 1:2 for 5+ years without a problem. I've never

suffered from the sudden drop in activity others have complained

about. For 35mm I mix 3.5oz Xtol and 7oz water and develop about 10%

longer than Kodak's recommendation. I print with a dichroic enlarger.

For 120 film for awhile I diluted 1:3 (5+15oz) but now I do 120 at

1:2 also (6+12oz) for shorter dev. times, still about 10% longer than

the chart. I've done this with Delta, Tmax and APX films, and once

Tri-X.

I never have understood the dramatic differences that each

photographer has in developing film. One person uses 10% more time

and the other uses 10% less. One processes at 75F and the other at

68F. It would be quite educational to lay the negatives together on

a light box and examine the differences. I have been using Delta

films in Xtol for over three years now and probably have developed in

excess of 1000 rolls during that time. My negatives are always a bit

on the contrasty side and I don't know exactly what grade they

typically print on because I use split contrast printing most of the

time. Grade 1 1/2 would be my guess. After running tests for

each of my cameras I concluded that I liked Delta 100 @80 ISO and

Delta 400 @320. In processing both of these I reduce the development

time by about 20@ and the negatives are perfect for me. I always

shoot Delta 3200 at ISO 1200. I use distilled water for mixing the

stock solution, all dilutions and the stop bath. All of my

developing is done at 68 or 70F. I have only experienced one

incident of Xtol failure during this time and I think it was my fault.

Would I be right in saying the problems with XTOL only occur if it is

being reused? In other words, can it be relied upon if used one-shot?

I always use Xtol one-shot, and have experienced failures numerous

times. don't you think it odd that there are so many failures

reported, from myself, Dan Smith, and others that understand

processing techniques rather well? if I had one Xtol failure as

someone reported, I would take this quite seriously and ask myself

how many failures I have had with other chemistry.

 

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I know that many have reverted to ID-11, and so I ran a quick test

with a roll of 120 TMY in both ID-11 and Xtol. visually on the light

table, the TMY and TMX grain in Xtol is considerably reduced and

yields densities that scan better on a flatbed.

 

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my hunch is that the clip test is not a good harbinger of success.

there is an insidious intruder into the process that causes this

failure. how do you explain to your client that you failed because of

the 'dreaded Xtol failure'?