An Ilford Memory.

Stephen Frizza · Mar 24, 2008

Does anyone remember the days when Ilford used to make Resin coated monochrome papers where the paper base was not white? where rather it was Green, or Red or Blue or Yellow or Silver? etc....I just thought Ide mention it to recall an obscure range of by-gone products. Did anyone here use any of these and if so what was your application? and if you still have a print on this material can you please scan and show it here?

Ira Rush · Mar 24, 2008

An Ilford Memory

Stephen,

Don't recall an Ilford paper, but sure do remember a "Spiratone" paper, similar to what you describe.

Spiratone, (a loooong gone store/mail order shop) had two items, one was called Color-Brome, the other called Psycho-Brome, (hey it was the 60's-70's).

See the attached jpg file from a catalog of the time period (read towards the bottom of the page).

Back in the 60's-70's I had tried it, and back then I probably thought it was great. Ironically, a few months ago I found a print I had made on the red paper, and lets just say "my taste as changed" and threw it away because it really looked like garbage!

Towards the bottom of page 5 on the jpg scan, they mention Special Surfaces, "Silksheen, Tapestry, Crystal, and Oxford Black". Now those were papers!, they were great.

Anyway, like I said don't recall Ilford, but this I do.

Ira

fschifano · Mar 24, 2008

Spiratone, now that's a place I remember fondly. I'd go to the store on 32nd St (or was it 31st?) back in the late 60's to early 70's for all sorts of oddball stuff, house brand papers, short dated bulk film, oddball lens attachments, etc. I even bought one of their Doubleogram enlargers, for a whole $70US. Believe it or not, that enlarger is still in service. It sat unused for many years under my basement steps until my friend's son mentioned that he was interested in using it. "Take it home with you," I said. He did, and it's now making prints again.

spijker · Mar 24, 2008

I remember Argenta paper in the late 1970's and early 80's that came in various colours. This was in the Netherlands where I lived at the time. The packaging was bright blue. I once accidentally bought a pack of green instead the regular stuff. The (uncoloured) paper was nice. It was a silver chloride instead of silver bromide paper and thereby a bit warmer than the Agfa Brovira which I also used. It was also a bit cheaper than the Agfa paper which was important to me as a high school student.

Menno

Alex Bishop-Thorpe · Mar 25, 2008

I actually have two packets of this sort of paper, colourbrome if I remember correctly. A blue base and a yellow base, I think. I havent had the courage to try them out yet, but I might next time I get to my darkroom...

EDIT: On another note, I have a spiratone autowinder for my FM2, I was wondering about the brand.

Stephen Frizza · Mar 25, 2008

hahaha yep colourbrome that was the Ilford product!!! when u do use it scan some and show it here!

Nige · Mar 25, 2008

I got a postcard or print exchange with a paper that had a silver base. Pretty funky stuff!

wazza · Mar 25, 2008

Coloured Papers

There was a range of Agfa coloured papers also, mainly used in the Graphic Arts area. I remember using a bright red paper, I think it was a chemical transfer paper, or PMT paper as it was called in the early 80s. Great for high contrast poster work that was all the rage back then.
Regards
Warren

Mike Crawford · Mar 25, 2008

Kentmere used to make coloured papers many years ago I think. I still get a headache thinking about some prints I did on their lime green surface!

Ira Rush · Mar 25, 2008

fschifano said:
Spiratone, now that's a place I remember fondly. I'd go to the store on 32nd St (or was it 31st?) back in the late 60's to early 70's for all sorts of oddball stuff, house brand papers, short dated bulk film, oddball lens attachments, etc. I even bought one of their Doubleogram enlargers, for a whole $70US. Believe it or not, that enlarger is still in service. It sat unused for many years under my basement steps until my friend's son mentioned that he was interested in using it. "Take it home with you," I said. He did, and it's now making prints again.

... 130 W.31st Street, NYC... yeah, can't even begin to tell you how much cash I dropped in that place. Not to mention, all the other places in that area at the time, like Olden, Camera Barn, Willobees-Peerless. When I was even younger and not allowed to venture into the city by my self, I shopped in the Flushing, Queens location, dropped a bundle there too!

Oddly enough much of the darkroom stuff I bought is still functioning and functioning well. My 1st enlarger was the cheaper (wow a whole $20 bucks cheaper; $39.95 vs $59.95) D356 model. It cried when I was able to afford a Beseler 23 CII Dual Dichro.
A Nikon mount 135mm lens, not as sharp as a "Nikon", but served me well until I was able to afford better.

Yeah, those were the days!

unicorn57 · Dec 3, 2008

Any hints on using

I have come across a package of the blue paper - Spiratone Color-Brome Enlarging Paper. I tried using regular B&W enlarger and chemicals and it came out black. I was using a safelight, so I was wondering if this is ok. Any suggestions would be great.
Unicorn57

Ian Grant · Dec 3, 2008

I never heard of an Ilford paper like that, I used quite a lot of Kentmere paper on various metallic & coloured bases, and still have some left in the UK, along with some prints.

There was another brand available which I never tried but I think was made for Pal in Germany, coated by by EFKE, this is probably the Spiratone product.

Unicorn57, welcome to APUG. It sounds like your paper is fogged. Try processing an unexposed strip in total darkness, don't expose it to the safe-light either. That will tell you if the paper is still useable.

Ian

Simon R Galley · Dec 3, 2008

I do not think we ever coated on coloured bases, KENTMERE did, but the big player I recall was a company in London who sold the Argento product from Germany.

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited

Ian Grant · Dec 3, 2008

Simon, you probably mean John Blishen, in London, he sold the German products along with Photolinen and Opaline. They specialised in Graphic arts products and advertised regularly in the BJP.

Ian

Trevor Crone · Dec 3, 2008

I'm sure Ian's right. John Blishen sold the Argenta range of papers. I was a big fan of Argenta Brom glossy. It gave the most wonderful split tone in selenium then any paper I've used. I still have just one pack of their BN122, semi-matt which is on a very creamy base. It's so old that I think it is only fit for the museum.

Simon R Galley · Dec 3, 2008

It was John Blishen !...I knew it started with a 'B' could'nt remember...age catches up on all of us...I also remember we sold thousands of mural rolls for 'Bleach Etch' ...Inkjet certainly killed that in the mid to late
90's...

Simon : ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

Martin Reed · Dec 3, 2008

unicorn57 said:
I have come across a package of the blue paper - Spiratone Color-Brome Enlarging Paper. I tried using regular B&W enlarger and chemicals and it came out black. I was using a safelight, so I was wondering if this is ok. Any suggestions would be great.
Unicorn57

It's possibly the material manufactured by Argenta, and I believe these may have been orthochromatic. Try using a dark red safelight and it will probably be ok.

Ira Rush · Dec 3, 2008

unicorn57 said:
I have come across a package of the blue paper - Spiratone Color-Brome Enlarging Paper. I tried using regular B&W enlarger and chemicals and it came out black. I was using a safelight, so I was wondering if this is ok. Any suggestions would be great.
Unicorn57

Hello,

As you may have read from all the previous posts, this paper has got to be at least 30 or perhaps even close to 40 years old. Any paper that old will have fogged to some degree depending upon storage. A white based emulsion paper would show up as grey, the Color Brome blue paper, along with the fog might come up more black than grey.

Using regular chemicals is fine, but I really suspect that the issue is really more the safelight issue.

What color or safelight type did you use?

The paper made for Spiratone as well as much of the paper at that time was a bromide paper. Recommended safelights at that time were greenish-yellow Kodak OA. Agfa paper long gone, as well as other long gone brands, always stated OA filters. If you were using a safelight such a OC, amber color which is used for MC type papers it should have worked, but it could be that the Spiratone ColorBrome did require that yellow green OA filter.

Hope this helps

Mark Layne · Dec 3, 2008

The coloured papers I used were made by Kentmere and sold by Christie Chemical in Montreal. Hank Wall was one of the founders of this company and a good friend.
Spiratone was started and owned by Fred Spira.
Mark

Anscojohn · Dec 3, 2008

Ah, yes, Spiratone!!. I am STILL using those ss reels and tanks I bought there in the mid 1960s!!

And I actually had one of their 135 2.8 pre-set T2 lenses which had two scratches placed under the first lens element by Bill Pierce!!. I bought the lens from a guy with whom I worked, who had lent the lens to Bill so Bill could see what it was like and got it back so scratched. But Bill was mentoring him, so........

Stock Dektol · Dec 3, 2008

My school photo dept. just got a donation of various darkroom stuff. We got some red based paper from the 70's. It works great.

An Ilford Memory.

Stephen Frizza

Ira Rush

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fschifano

spijker

Alex Bishop-Thorpe

Stephen Frizza

Nige

wazza

Mike Crawford

Ira Rush

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Ian Grant

Simon R Galley

Ian Grant

Trevor Crone

Simon R Galley

Martin Reed

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Ira Rush

Mark Layne

Anscojohn

Stock Dektol

An Ilford Memory.

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