KODAK PROFESSIONAL XTOL Developer

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Contents

• Description
• Sizes Available
• Mixing Instructions
• Storing Solutions
• Storage of Mixed Solutions
• Processing Information
• SMALL-TANK, TRAY, AND ROTARY-TUBE PROCESSING
• Using Diluted Developer
• Using Seasoned Developer
• Agitating Rolls in Small Tanks
• Agitating Sheet Film in Trays
• Final Steps in Small-Tank, Tray, and Rotary-Tube Processing
• LARGE-TANK (REPLENISHED) PROCESSING
• Starting (Preseasoning) a Fresh Working Tank Solution
• Converting to KODAK PROFESSIONAL XTOL Developer from Another Developer
• Replenishment
• System Maintenance
• Disposal
• Development Tables
• Table 1: Processing Roll Films in Small Tanks
• Table 2: Processing Roll Films in Rotary Tubes
• Table 3: Processing Roll Films in Large Tanks with Seasoned (Replenished) Developer
• Table 4: Processing Roll Films in Large Tanks with Fresh Developer
• Table 5: Processing Sheet Films in Trays
• Table 6: Processing Sheet Films in Rotary Tubes
• Table 7: Processing Sheet Films in Large Tanks with Seasoned (Replenished) Developer
• Table 8: Processing Sheet Films in Large Tanks with Fresh Developer

Description

KODAK PROFESSIONAL XTOL Developer is a two-part powder developer for processing Kodak and other manufacturers' normally exposed, pushed, or pulled black-and-white films. It offers full emulsion speed and easy mixing, and can be used as both a developer and a replenisher in a variety of equipment, from small tanks (8 to 64 fluidounces), trays, or rotary tubes to high-volume processors.

Sizes Available

Sizes and catalog numbers may differ from country to country. See your dealer who supplies KODAK PROFESSIONAL Products.

Mixing Instructions

Note: Observe precautionary information on the containers and in the Material Safety Data Sheets.

1. Start with an amount of water that is approximately 75 percent of the total volume indicated on the package. See the table above. The water should be at normal room temperature, about 65 to 85°F (18 to 30°C).
2. With stirring, slowly add Part A. Stir until the powder is completely dissolved. At this point, the solution may appear somewhat tawny or copper-colored. This is normal.
3. Continue stirring, and slowly add Part B. Stir until the powder is completely dissolved. The coppery tint will clear from the solution as you add Part B.
4. Add water to bring the final solution to 2, 5, 25, or 50 litres.
5. Stir until the solution is uniform.

If correctly mixed, the specific gravity of the working tank solution is 1.085 ± 0.003 measured at 77 ± 0.5°F (25 ± 0.3°C) at pH 8.2 ± 0.05.

Storing Solutions

Storage of Mixed Solutions

Store mixed KODAK PROFESSIONAL XTOL Developer in full, tightly closed containers or in a replenisher tank with a floating lid. To maintain shelf life, minimize the amount of air space in the storage container. Partially filled containers allow oxidation of the solution.

Note: If you use XTOL Developer diluted 1:1, dilute it just before you use it, and discard it after processing one batch of film. Do not reuse or replenish this diluted solution.

Processing Information

SMALL-TANK, TRAY, AND ROTARY-TUBE PROCESSING

See the appropriate table on the following pages for starting-point recommendations for specific films.

Note: Some rotary-tube processors allow replenishment of the developer. See "Replenishment" for more information.

Using Full-Strength Developer

Choose the appropriate table for development times and temperatures for using fresh, full-strength XTOL Developer. The capacity of the full-strength developer with normal, unreplenished processing is approximately 15 rolls of 135-36 or 120 film (or the equivalent of 80 square inches [516 square centimetres]) per litre, with time compensation.

To process the maximum number of rolls of film per litre of full-strength XTOL Developer, use time compensation according to the table below. Discard the developer after you process 15 rolls of film per litre.

The volume of full-strength XTOL Developer needed to cover the film will depend on the size of your tank or tray or the design of your rotary-tube processor.

Using Diluted Developer

Choose the appropriate development time and temperature table for starting-point recommendations for specific films in small tanks, tray, and rotary tubes.

You can dilute XTOL Developer 1:1 with water (developer:water) for one-shot (single-use) processing. Dilution at 1:1 will provide slightly greater film speed, enhanced sharpness and shadow detail, and slightly more grain.

Use diluted developer only once. Do not replenish or reuse diluted developer.

Note: If your water supply is exceptionally hard (above 200 ppm of CaCO³), you may need to use conditioned water to avoid cloudiness when you mix higher dilutions. Contact your water authority for information on the water in your area.

The volume of diluted XTOL Developer needed to cover the film will depend on the size of your tank or tray or the design of your rotary-tube processor. However, the minimum amount of diluted developer needed to cover the film may not contain enough active ingredients to develop the film fully in the recommended time. We recommend always starting with at least 100 mL (3.5 fluidounces) of full-strength developer to prepare the diluted solution for each 135-36 or 120 roll (or the equivalent of 80 square inches [516 square centimetres]). For example, when processing 4 rolls of film with developer diluted 1:1, use at least 800 mL even if the processing equipment will allow the use of less solution.

Using Seasoned Developer

To use seasoned XTOL Developer in an unreplenished manual process, see the appropriate development time and temperature table for starting-point recommendations for specific films.

You can take the solution from the developer overflow line or the working tank of an in-control replenished process. You can also "pre-season" fresh XTOL Developer by adding one of the following:

• 6.5 mL of KODAK Developer Starting Solution (CAT 146 6382) per litre of developer
• 1 mL of KODAK EKTACHROME R-3 First Developer II Starter (CAT 869 9795 [U.S. and Australia] or CAT 524 0007 [Europe]) per litre of XTOL Developer
• 1.2 mL of KODAK PROFESSIONAL First Developer Starter, Process E-6 (CAT 167 1577 [U.S.] or CAT 526 2670 [Europe and Asia]) per litre of developer

Agitating Rolls in Small Tanks

The times given for small-tank processing in the development time and temperature tables are based on the following agitation procedure:

1. Fill the empty tank with developer.
2. Start the timer. In the dark, carefully place the loaded reel into the developer solution.
3. Quickly attach the top to the tank. Firmly tap the bottom of the tank against the work surface from a height of approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) to dislodge air bubbles from the surface of the film. Air bubbles can interfere with development and produce low-density circles on the film.
4. Provide initial agitation of up to 5 cycles, depending on your results. For KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX Films, provide initial agitation of 5 to 7 cycles in 5 seconds. For an invertible tank, one cycle consists of rotating the tank upside down and then back to the upright position. For a noninvertible tank, one cycle consists of sliding the tank back and forth over a 10-inch (25.4 cm) distance. With tanks that have a handle for turning the reel, rotate the reel back and forth gently through about one-half turn at a rate of one cycle per second during initial and subsequent agitation. Steps 2 through 4 will take approximately 7 to 20 seconds, depending on the type of tank.
5. Let the tank sit for the remainder of the first 30 seconds.
6. After the first 30 seconds, agitate for 5 seconds at 30-second intervals. Agitation should consist of 2 to 5 cycles, depending on the contrast you need and the type of tank.

Agitating Sheet Film in Trays

Presoaking sheets in water yields more even development, especially when multiple sheets of film are processed together. Even a single sheet should be presoaked so that the rate of development will be the same as multiple sheets processed together.

To process a single sheet:

1. Fill a tray with water that is at the same temperature as the developer.
2. Immerse the film in the water, making sure it is totally covered with solution. Rock the tray occasionally for about 1 minute, then transfer the film to the developer.
3. Slip the film into the developer. Rock the tray immediately to make sure the film is covered with solution.
4. Agitate the film by first raising the left side of the tray about 3/4 inch (2 cm). Lower it smoothly, and then immediately raise and lower the side nearest to you. Next, raise and lower the right-hand side, then the near side again. This agitation cycle takes about 8 seconds.
5. Agitate continuously throughout the development time.
6. At the end of the development time, drain the sheet for a few seconds and transfer it to the stop bath. To avoid contaminating the developer with stop bath, use one hand for lifting the sheet from the developer and the other hand for placing it in the stop bath.

To process two to six sheets together:

1. Fill a tray with water that is at the same temperature as the developer.
2. Immerse the sheets one at a time, emulsion side up, in the tray of water. Make sure that each sheet is covered with water before inserting the next one. Agitate by moving the bottom sheet to the top of the stack every few seconds. Go through the stack twice. Be careful that the corners of the sheet you are handling do not scratch the sheet under it.
3. Take the bottom sheet out of the tray of water, drain it for a few seconds, and place it in the developer, emulsion side up. Make sure that the sheet is covered with developer. Transfer the rest of the sheets to the developer in the same way. Interleave the stack, from bottom to top, until development is complete.

   Note: When you use interleaving agitation, go through the stack of sheets completely. Rotate the first sheet in the developer 180° from the rest of the stack so that the notch is at the opposite end. This identifies it as the first sheet; be sure that it is the first sheet you remove from each solution.

4. At the end of the development time, transfer the sheets to the stop bath one at a time in the order they were placed in the developer. Drain each sheet for the same time that the sheets were drained in Step 3 when placed in the developer. To avoid contaminating the developer with stop bath, use one hand for lifting the sheets from the developer and the other hand for placing them in the stop bath.

Final Steps in Small-Tank, Tray, and Rotary-Tube Processing

LARGE-TANK (REPLENISHED) PROCESSING

See the large-tank development time and temperature tables for starting-point recommendations for specific films. For critical applications, run tests to determine the best development time. The recommendations in Tables 3 and 7 (Large Tank, Seasoned Developer) are based on a nitrogen-burst agitation cycle of two seconds at 10-second intervals. The recommendations in Tables 4 and 8 (Large Tank, Fresh Developer) are based on manual agitation at 1-minute intervals. Significantly more agitation may require slightly shorter development times; less agitation may require longer times.

If you have a broad film mix that requires a wide variety of development times, you may want to establish a few standard batch cycles, such as 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 12 minutes. Then you can assign each film to the nearest batch cycle, based on the recommendations in the tables.

Starting (Preseasoning) a Fresh Working Tank Solution

To start or preseason a fresh working tank solution:

1. Add one of the following to the empty developer tank:
   • 6.5  mL of KODAK Developer Starting Solution (CAT 146 6382) per litre of tank volume
   • 1 mL of KODAK EKTACHROME R-3 First Developer II Starter (CAT 869 9795 [U.S. and Australia] or CAT 524 0007 [Europe]) per litre of tank volume
   • 1.2 mL of KODAK PROFESSIONAL First Developer Starter, Process E-6 (CAT 167 1577 [U.S.] or CAT 526 2670 [Europe and Asia]) per litre of developer
2. Fill the developer tank with fresh XTOL Developer solution.
3. Stir or recirculate until the solution is uniform.

If you choose not to preseason the fresh tank, initial development times will be about 10 percent shorter than those in the tables, but times will approach the times in the tables as the tank approaches a steady state.

Converting to KODAK PROFESSIONAL XTOL Developer from Another Developer

Before changing to XTOL Developer, run several KODAK Black-and-White Film Process Control Strips (CAT 180 2990) through your current in-control process at each of your standard development times. Measure and note the Contrast Index of these strips. Drain and clean the developer tank.

To make a fresh working tank solution, follow the mixing directions above for starting a fresh working tank. Run several more process control strips, adjusting the development time and/or temperature until the process produces Contrast Index results that match your previous Contrast Index results.

For more information, see KODAK Publication No. Z-133E, Monitoring and Troubleshooting KODAK Black-and-White Film Processes (CAT 889 4784).

Replenishment

You can replenish this developer in systems that use the full-strength solution (not diluted developer). Use XTOL Developer as a replenisher at a rate of 70 mL for each 135-36 or 120 roll, or the equivalent of 80 square inches (516 square centimetres), of film processed.

You can monitor replenished systems with KODAK Black-and-White Film Process Control Strips (CAT 180 2990). Adjust the replenishment rate up or down in 10 mL increments to keep the process on aim. Allow adequate time for the process to stabilize between replenishment-rate adjustments. Use the lowest replenishment rate that will maintain process control. For more information, see KODAK Publication No. Z-133E, Monitoring and Troubleshooting KODAK Black-and-White Film Processes (CAT 889 4784).

System Maintenance

KODAK PROFESSIONAL XTOL Developer is very clean-working, and will rarely need replacement in a properly replenished and maintained process.

Take these steps for routine maintenance:

• Minimize air access to the replenisher tanks. Use floating lids.
• Use a small amount of water to rinse the developer from processor parts left exposed to air after shutdown.
• Replace evaporation losses with water at processor start-up.
• If your processor is equipped with recirculation filters, check them frequently, and change them as needed.

Disposal

Dispose of used developer in accordance with your local regulations. Refer to the Material Safety Data Sheets for more information.

If you have environmental or safety questions about Kodak products or services, contact Kodak Environmental Services at 716-477-3194, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (Eastern time).

Kodak also maintains a 24-hour health hotline to answer questions about the safe handling of photographic chemicals. If you need health-related information about Kodak products, call 1-716-722-5151.

Development Tables

The following pages contain tables of starting-point development times and temperatures for developer solutions with and without dilution in small tanks, trays, rotary tubes, and large-tank replenished systems. This information includes processing data for Kodak films as well as for a sampling of other manufacturers' films. For critical applications, run tests to determine the best development time. Data for nominal film speeds are in bold face type.

Table 1: Processing Roll Films in Small Tanks

Important: Development times shorter than 5 minutes may produce unsatisfactory uniformity.

NR = Not Recommended, as determined by testing.

Table 2: Processing Roll Films in Rotary Tubes

Important: Development times shorter than 4 minutes may produce unsatisfactory uniformity.