Re: [Leica] Excuse me, I actually have photo question.

[Aaron Ruby <aruby@rci.rutgers.edu>]

Thanks to those who've been kind enough to offer suggestions for putting an end
to my HP5+/XTOL travails. Several people asked what dilution I use. I have been
using it undiluted. Is that bad or just wasteful? On that note, when expressing
dilution, I find that some people use 'x + y' while others use 'x:y'. Now it is
clear to me what the dilution 1+2 is. What is not so clear is what 1:2 is. Does
that mean 'one volume concentrate ADDED TO two volumes water' OR does it mean
'one volume concentrate IN two volumes final solution'? Anyway, back to HP5+.

As I said, I've been using XTOL UNDILUTED and have been agitating by inversion,
rotating the canister around the lengthwise axis while inverting it. I do this
for the first 30 seconds and then ten seconds each minute. One thing I found in
my notes was that the most recent set of film I developed was done with XTOL
that had been used twice before. Kodak seems to indicate that this is okay, but
I've heard much to the contrary. If the problem is partially due to
underdevelopment it seems to make sense that weakened (ie, previously used)
developer would exacerbate this problem. What do you guys think? It seems that
for consistency's sake I should probably use it once and toss it. But then
dilution seems an attractive prospect, economically speaking. What dilution do
you all use?

Some people asked what paper and contrast I've been printing with. I use Ilford
MGIV both RC and FB, and I print on a Saunders 6X7 VCCE enlarger. The HP5 negs
have been pretty thin, forcing me to stop down the lens to avoid short exposure
times. I process the paper in Dektol, either 1+1 or 1+2.

Again, thanks for all the help, and thanks in advance for any other advice that
pops up.

Best,

Aaron