Not quite accurate. D76's ph changes over time which causes increased negative contrast, Xtol is not without issues, etc. Pyrocat doesn't require any special bottles or mystical chanting to work properly and it is easily stored for >12 months.
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Has MY PyrocatHD (A) Died ?
- Thread starter Ian-Barber
- Start date
Not quite accurate. D76's ph changes over time which causes increased negative contrast, Xtol is not without issues, etc. Pyrocat doesn't require any special bottles or mystical chanting to work properly and it is easily stored for >12 months.
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- Aug 9, 2016
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Alan, I must admit that I have not noticed any change over time with D76. (I use ID11) But it is my main developer and I tend to get through a 5 litre batch in a good bit less than 12 months; usually.
Xtol I don't use, as I don't like its tonality.
As for special bottles for Pyrocat, this thread is six pages long and special bottles have featured quite heavily in it..
Mystical chanting...does that go along with wearing a bikini and trout boots that you mentioned in another thread?
Alan
Xtol I don't use, as I don't like its tonality.
As for special bottles for Pyrocat, this thread is six pages long and special bottles have featured quite heavily in it..
Mystical chanting...does that go along with wearing a bikini and trout boots that you mentioned in another thread?
Alan
Alan, IMO the point here with regard to "special bottles" is that it's unwise to use cheap plastic bottles that allow air exchange and, therefore, developer oxidation. This is no different than storing any film developer. I use brown glass bottles for all developers I store--film or paper.
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- Dec 19, 2017
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Kodak changed the buffering in their packaged D76 some years ago it's now more like D76d, this increased the stability of the developer stopping the sudden rise in activity with storage.
The only issue with Xtol was a packaging problem just after it's release, some bags hadn't sealed properly, this only affected the smallest US size pack which was never sold in Europe and probably not Canada, it was just the 5 litre metric sizes when I was there 18 years ago.
My experience with Xtol is it's as robust as D76, finer grain, sharper, better tonality and a slight improvement in film speed.
Ian
Ian, good to know on the D76, but since I mix my own I don't need to be concerned with what Kodak does. In the waaay distant past I've had Xtol--both 1L and 5L--stock die suddenly on me. But, I've read so many times recently that the "death" issue has been resolved for years so I mixed up 5L just the other day to give it a try, again. It's probably been nearly 30 years since I've used it, but I remember liking the results back then. We'll see...