"Keith Tapscott."
wrote in message
...

Richard Knoppow;927979 Wrote:


There ARE better developers than D-76 but its very
reliable and works for nearly all films coming close to
the
results from the better developers, so I continue to use
it.

--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
ou mention that there are better
developers (plural, not singular) than
D-76, which one's are you referring to?

Xtol is supposed to be more eco-friendly and is often
cited as giving a
slight improvement over D-76.




--
Keith Tapscott.

Kodak indicates that Xtol will yeild slightly higher
speed, slightly finer grain, and slightly greater acutance
than D-76. The only problem with Xtol is that it got off to
a bad start with the sudden death syndrome. I have not heard
anything about this for some time so perhaps its been cured.
Xtol is also a self-replenishing developer, that is, the
same solution is used for replenishing so one does not have
to stock two different solutions. Its probably the optimum
developer for most B&W use. AFAIK no one else makes an
identical developer although some may have names that
suggest they are the same. The patents for Xtol are
available and I suppose one could mix the stuff from scratch
but I think some of the components might be a PITA to find.
Having said that D-76 works for nearly everything and
while not quite as good as Xtol its close. Its easy to mix
from scratch if necessary and is absolutely reliable.


--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL