Kodak X-Dev is a powder developer for black and white film making 5 litres of working solution, the official successor to XTOL. It comes in the five-litre size only.
What it is for
An ascorbate-based developer: it uses the film's full box speed and pushes well. The working solution keeps for a long time and development times need no extending from film to film — a rare convenience for anyone processing in batches. The supplier singles it out for Fomapan 200.
How to dilute it
The working dilution is 1+3 для одноразового використання.
The solution is replenishable — kept and reused, with development time extended as it exhausts. Keep count of the films put through it; that is the only way to avoid an underdeveloped roll at the end of its life.
One mandatory warning, common to every ascorbate developer: look at the solution before each use. If anything has precipitated out or the liquid has darkened, the developer is finished and must not be used. This is not fussiness — ascorbate formulas can die suddenly and without visible cause.
Storage
Sealed powder keeps for years; mixed solution keeps far less well, so mix what you will use. Dissolve at the stated temperature and in the stated order — getting the order of components wrong ruins a developer more reliably than any timing mistake.
How it compares
A close relative of D-76 in versatility, with finer grain and better behaviour when pushed. The one constraint is the pack size: five litres has to be used up in time.
