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Agfa photo-paper blast from the past!

MattKing

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Thanks, I didn't think it would take that long for it to be recognised for what it is

pentaxuser

Most of us saw who posted it, and assumed .....
 

Peter Schrager

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As I've scooped up many boxes of old papers and you are 100% right that many were useless when still usable
Paula Strand once said that as soon as he finds a paper he likes they discontinue it!!
 

Sharktooth

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I was working in the basement today and found an old stash of photo paper, as well as some film.

I have a couple of 25 sheet packs of 8x10 Portriga Rapid in grade 3. It still had a couple of price labels, and I think the price labels had a date from 1978. The regular price was $9.95, and the sale price was $8.45. These would be in Canadian dollars.

I also had a large package of Kodak Ektamatic SC paper that was 16x20. I'd forgotten all about this, but it jogged my memory when I saw it. This was a B&W stabilization paper, meaning it would be developed in a special stabilization processor, which was only two baths, and provided very quick prints. It's something a newspaper might have used to get quick proofs. It might also have been used by wedding photographers for proofs. The images were just stabilized, so they would fade quickly. I used to use this paper in regular B&W paper chemistry with regular fixing. It was nice, since it produced very nice deep blacks. It was also relatively inexpensive, if I remember correctly. The only disadvantage was that it was on a fairly thin base paper.

The last one was Kodak Kodabrome II RC. It was a 25 sheet pack of 8x10, and still had a price tag from Woolco for $16.10. I don't know the date, however, so I'm just guessing at sometime in the 80s. I don't think anyone would miss this paper.

I also found a box of Kodak Pan Masking Film in 8x10 from the early 80s, and a box of Kodak Royal Pan film in 5x7 from 1978.

 

Don_ih

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@Sharktooth - good finds and I'd expect about half of it is still ok. The Agfa is most likely good. The pan masking film will be like new, the Royal Pain (not a typo) will probably develop a nice shade of tar. The Kodabrome II is probably good for photos of clouds on foggy days. I guess you could test the Ektamatic paper?

I kinda miss Woolco. Wouldn't it be great to walk into a department store and buy enlarging paper and chemicals?
 

Sharktooth

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I used to work in the camera department at Woolco for a short time in 1976. Definitely a different era. I was surprised that the Kodabrome II RC was almost twice the price of the Portriga Rapid. Both were 25 sheet packs of 8x10. I guess it was the due to the big inflation due to gas shortages in the late 70s. I would have used the Pan Masking film to make masks for printing colour transparencies on Cibachrome or Ektachrome paper. I have no idea why I bought the Royal Pan film, unless I was also trying it for masking too.