So I shot up this roll of Ilford XP1 400

[Pirate]

...and now find out it hasn't been made in a while.

I have two rolls in the fridge along with some colour stuff.

So, there's no chance of me developing this XP1 here at home, is there? I don't have C-41 stuff, just Black and White Negative chemicals.

I want what is on this roll, it's not for experimenting.

P^)

 

[Beemermark]

It just takes standard C41 processing. XP2 replaced it, same basic film.

 

[Pirate]

Yeah, I just found a youtube video that helped, and found the developer kit at Freestyle which I'll be ordering.

Cool

 

[sig]

C41 is the same process as color film, so you can drop the film at any shop that process color film.

 

[xwhatsit]

Don't forget you can process C41 with traditional B&W chemicals. With colour film you end up with a grainy B&W image; with a C41 B&W film you'd get a B&W image just like normal, but made from grains instead of dye.

The nice thing about C41 is because it's a `standard' process (unlike traditional B&W), the times for using traditional developers with C41 are identical for all C41 films.

Not really something you'd do for amazing image quality, but something fun to try.

I wish I could get C41 kits here in NZ.

 

[Doug]

While XP-2 calls for a standard C-41 processing, XP-1 comes out a bit flat if taken to the local lab. Ilford's XP-1 processing kit, apparently a slightly non-standard variation of C-41, perks up the contrast to a more normal level.

I kept a dozen or so rolls of hand-loaded XP-1 in the fridge for a bit over 20 years before using them. They were fine, still a bit flat in standard C-41, and my cooperative local lab gave most of the rolls about a 1/2-stop "push" processing that worked well, as I found their 1-stop push blew out highlights too readily.

Pirate, you should be fine with the C-41 kit from Freestyle, especially if you extend the developer step by 15-20 seconds.

 

[Pirate]

with a C41 B&W film you'd get a B&W image just like normal, but made from grains instead of dye.

Does this mean I'd get smoother results if I processed standard B&W film in C41 chemicals, and less grain?

 

[Roger Hicks]

Does this mean I'd get smoother results if I processed standard B&W film in C41 chemicals, and less grain?

No. The dye precursors are in the film.

From the other direction, the few results I've seen of XP-series in B+W devs tend to have good highlights and mid-tones and blocked-up shadows.

As the newest XP1 expired well over a decade ago, you may find the stuff you have to be a bit foggy.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Pirate]

Just got the C-41 stuff ordered so I'll let you know how it comes out in about a week.

 

[xwhatsit]

Does this mean I'd get smoother results if I processed standard B&W film in C41 chemicals, and less grain?

The image would still be made up of grains, because as Mr Hicks says the dyes that the C41 process activates aren't present in normal B&W film. So it wouldn't look smooth.

But I think it would be possible to get something printable -- I see on the Massive Dev Chart there's some times for Technical Pan in C41 dev. They say to use B&W fix (which is interesting, there's some folks on APUG who buy C41 colour fix to fix their B&W because it's cheaper in bulk), and obviously not to bleach, as there won't be anything left 😱