Response to The Problem with Xtol - Some After Thoughts

Conrad, yeah I think they probably do. At least anyone running a large E6 tank line would be concerned with pH at some point, as well as spec. gravity. I have never done this for a b&w deep tank, I haven't run a b&w control strip here in at least 7 years...we do check the sp. gravity when we mix up our E6, though. Not all the time, but it is important to do everything the same way (with that proc.). As far as pH, we don't have a meter. But we do "tweak" the color biasing on the color dev., based on what our control strips say. For us, we usually have to add Sodium Hydroxide to the c.d. to adjust the pH. I think if you wanted to test the actual chemistry (i.e. mixed Xtol), you would need an electronic pH meter. I've got a book here that lists a model that's good for E6, it's a bit dated, but it's under $100. I'm sure you could pick one of these up from a science lab supplier. If you were just checking your water, you could probably use a tropical fish water test kit, to check for hardness, pH, stuff like that. If you wanted to check the sp. gravity, Kodak can probably tell you which hydrometer to use for that. They do have a process manual for b&w but it's not available online. (the E6 manual is pretty $$ too). They do, however, have a publication online (Pub. O-3) that's called "B&W Tips and Techniques for Darkroom Enthusiasts". There's alot of good info. in here regarding repl. developers, etc. It's interesting how they talk about adjusting dev. times in TMAX RS by tweaking the pH as well. Again, what does it all mean. You got me!? But, I think the message is that this stuff is sensitive to just how it is mixed up, if it's anything close to E6, it could be very finicky....

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