XTOL 'discontinued'? B&H error?

Dylan Hope

Dylan Hope

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I was just over at B&H just double checking my cart and to my surprise I saw XTOL listed as discontinued. Is this just a mess-up on their part or did I seriously miss something? Not trying to start a panic, I'm really just confused.

If this is for real and not just a glitch, which Ilford (Or other) developer is an equivalent for speed and results?
 
Did you check any other sources, such as Kodak's website, before making your post? Have you contacted B&H about this?
 
I did check their site, and I don't see any notices or press releases about it, but Kodak has kinda been all over the place with their press releases lately. Adorama still has XTOL too. I don't think it's discontinued, but what we think and what is true doesn't always match and I was just double checking here because you guys are probably the best authority I have these matters
 
Dylan Hope said:
I did check their site, and I don't see any notices or press releases about it, but Kodak has kinda been all over the place with their press releases lately. Adorama still has XTOL too. I don't think it's discontinued, but what we think and what is true doesn't always match and I was just double checking here because you guys are probably the best authority I have these matters
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Over the past few years I've found that Adorama and B&H don't always carry the exact same B&W chemicals, sometime one will have what I'm looking for while the other won't and sometimes the other way around. Also seem to me that Adorama has a larger selection as far as b&w chemical goes.
Also, not saying it has, but if XTOL goes by by. Legacy Pro Ecopro, sold through Freestyle claim to provide similar results.
 
I have seen this kind of glitch on B&H's site before, but just in case, I'll order another 20 5L kits from Freestyle...
 
Someone on another forum said he contacted B&H about a different product that was listed there as "discontinued", and was told that "discontinued" means that B&H feels they can no longer obtain the item in the foreseeable future. If it becomes available to them again later, then it will be listed again, and will no longer be "discontinued".

The implication is that "discontinued" may simply refer to the status of B&H inventory, rather than availability from the manufacturer.

In this case, I would suggest that the OP contact B&H to ask for a clarification, and contact Kodak to see if the product is actually discontinued. I doubt that it is.

But don't let me talk you into complacency. As far as I know, there is no commercial equivalent to XTOL. If you like it, stock up a bit now, and keep an eye on the Kodak bankruptcy proceedings so you can stock up more later on if necessary.
 
 
Unless you work in metric. A 3.8L US Gallon is not convenient for the rest of the world!


notraces said:
Kodak doesn't make XTOL -- Champion Chemical does -

I'm guessing Champion is finally going to make 1 gallon packs versus the inconvenient 5L packs -- but that's just a guess.

Here's link if you want to know more:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:thdNVVhkT1YJ:www.championphotochemistry.com/_uploads/files/110608200506_Champion%2520Kodak%2520NR%252009%252019%252006%2520FINAL.pdf+&hl=en&gl=ca&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjRPwI0j4jgBVYEPWHDP9pZCqlDbGxVRHQmS1Flt8JgXK_k_c1mK5BrsQl3QseeeM1g_cIy3oqL4Rv8hmZKhA-QDr-GLwQC1-kV-kDkf1z6D1mIQp135vAs8cL76CmQwUfdeA6I&sig=AHIEtbT9pFWCtgPUg_7wPi36MCH8aD2O6w
Click to expand...
 
Best thing about 5L xtol is that when i mix it, i store 4L of it in a jug and immediately use the other liter for developing 5-8 rolls of 35mm film in stock solution. the oxygen free 4L keeps well until i have to do 8-10 rolls again.

I will go stock up aswell... you never know..
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
The problem is that in the USA you cannot buy 5L containers to store it in. Do they sell 5L jugs in Europe?
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Yep. I've got a 5L water jug I in which I obtain distilled water from my school. You can also buy distilled (well, de-ionised) water from auto parts stores in 5L jugs and, when emptied, they come in handy for mixing up batches of developer that volume.
 
rulnacco said:
Yep. I've got a 5L water jug I in which I obtain distilled water from my school. You can also buy distilled (well, de-ionised) water from auto parts stores in 5L jugs and, when emptied, they come in handy for mixing up batches of developer that volume.
Click to expand...

Yep. I mix mine in empty 5L distilled water jugs too.
 
Ilford fixer comes in 5L bottles, which you can reuse. The 5L size makes sense from the standpoint that it fills two 8-reel Paterson tanks (well, at least on the first run, after which you lose some and then you can only run one tank at a time.

On the other hand, distilled water in the U.S. comes in gallon containers. It also comes in 5L containers, but those are designed to be put on their sides with airholes poked in them to give a good flow. Air holes are terrible for chemical storage. The bottles are also very flimsy.

Now, on the contention that 3.8L U.S. gallons are difficult for people to comprehend - it's 3 x 1000ml plus 1 x 800ml in a graduated cylinder (the 15ml difference if you actually convert the units is not in any way significant to the dilution of photographic chemicals). If that's too challenging, most graduated cylinders sold for photographic use are marked in U.S. ounces, imperial ounces, and ml (I use different measures all the time depending on what chemical it is). The ability to multiply to two digits of precision may be a personal issue for some people - but diluting chemicals even in a foreign unit of measure is far less complex than recomputing development times for temperature, compensating for the reuse of developer, etc.

Now, while (whilst?) we are taking various cultures to task, perhaps someone can explain to me why - in the midst of a list of many metric measurements - Italian cookbooks often revert to the bicchiere unit of measurement, which has no precise definition? I don't imagine that is an imperial "cup" (8oz by volume) - does that mean the 200ml (6.75 oz) tumblers used in restaurants and used as small wine glasses? This actually makes a difference with pizza dough.

Dante
 
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