Ary suggestions on how I can use this paper? Portriga-Rapid

imyself · Jun 16, 2015

Hi Everyone,
I've got two unopened 100 sheet boxes of AGFA Portriga -Rapid paper PRN 118 [3] that were included as part of a darkroom equipment purchase (no idea when the paper was purchased originally). The kicker is that the sheets are 3 x 4 1/8 (74 x 105 mm) in size. In other words, TINY! The only use I can think of is maybe contact printing 6x6 negatives for small desktop/ mantle piece framed photos but I'm open to any/all other suggestions.
Why did the old time manufacturers make paper this small? Who used this size and why?
Im guessing that its grade 3 paper but could anyone tell me if its FB or RC?
Regards
Adam

pdeeh · Jun 16, 2015

why "so small"? - not everyone had an enlarger, and there were many more different sizes of negative materials to print from.
FB or RC? - FB

Daire Quinlan · Jun 16, 2015

For contact printing 6x9 negs maybe ? My grandfather used to shoot an old Kodak 6x9 folder, and contact printed everything. There are a pile of quite lovely prints of probably the size above sitting in drawers, or framed, or filed. 74x105 gives you enough space to contact print and a generous border to mount with.

Simon R Galley · Jun 16, 2015

Dear Imyself...

Quite simply, photo paper was expensive, as was film for people on 'normal' earnings , look at most photographs from the 1920'a to the end of the 1950's and they were very small, often contact printed, it was the rise of miniature film ( 35mm ) and the point and shoot Instamatics that started the boom in 'enlarging' photographs to 'en print' sizes from photofinishers.

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

chip j · Jun 16, 2015

Like paper is cheap now!!!!!!!??????

Xmas · Jun 16, 2015

Simon R Galley said:
Dear Imyself...

Quite simply, photo paper was expensive, as was film for people on 'normal' earnings , look at most photographs from the 1920'a to the end of the 1950's and they were very small, often contact printed, it was the rise of miniature film ( 35mm ) and the point and shoot Instamatics that started the boom in 'enlarging' photographs to 'en print' sizes from photofinishers.

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

Yes 127 mono contact prints was all I could afford for a long time the enprints (postcard size) were too expensive.
Part of the problem is mini labs did not exist till near the tylight days of photography even then prints were expensive before then photo processing was very labour intensive.

I used POP paper when I was seven or so...

Xmas · Jun 16, 2015

chip j said:
Like paper is cheap now!!!!!!!??????

Yes relatively to yesterday...

Simonh82 · Jun 16, 2015

The paper is likely to be age fogged and difficult to work with using normal developers. My suggestion would be to us it for lith printing as Portriga works well in lith. If you are unfamiliar with lith printing there are some great examples of what portriga does in lith developer here https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=Portriga lith and you may want to check out an introductory article like this http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Lith/lith.html by Tim Rudman who is one of the best exponents and practitioners of lith printing. He has also written a couple of excellent books on the subject.

Xmas · Jun 16, 2015

Simonh82 said:
The paper is likely to be age fogged and difficult to work with using normal developers. My suggestion would be to us it for lith printing as Portriga works well in lith. If you are unfamiliar with lith printing there are some great examples of what portriga does in lith developer here https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=Portriga lith and you may want to check out an introductory article like this http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Lith/lith.html by Tim Rudman who is one of the best exponents and practitioners of lith printing. He has also written a couple of excellent books on the subject.

Alas possibly true the other option is to add oodles of anti fog ie KBr to get a warm tone.

Regular Rod · Jun 16, 2015

It's FB. Try a sheet out. I was amazed some years ago when I was given some boxes of similar sized paper that were at least 40 years old to find it all worked perfectly. I used them up making a couple of hundred contact prints from a negative for one of my (larger) prints in an exhibition in York. On the opening night each attendee was given one of the contact prints gratis. Made everyone very happy...

RR

pdeeh · Jun 16, 2015

I have some very old (50-60 years?) Kodak Velox paper in a similar size. It still prints very well, and contact prints this size have their own charms (Size, as we gentlemen like to believe, isn't everything).

Simonh82's suggestion is a good one - here's a little lith (contact) print I made from a 6x9 negative (not a "fine" print as you can see, but that's the printer's fault not the paper )

cl3mens · Jun 16, 2015

Yikes, nice find! Portriga is a sought after paper and I am a fan too. I have a box of it in 18x24 cm which I use with care for lith printing. I have three boxes of Agfa Brovira in the same size as your papers and look forward to using them. 6x9 contacts is one thing, or just small enlargements which goes great in an album. I have toyed around with contact printing 35 mm negs as well, very rewarding with the right subject.

They made 3x3 inch papers as well, but I haven't found anything smaller than that.

Lith prints on Emaks K888. One 35 mm neg, one 6x6 (slightly trimmed) and one 6x9. Size isn't everything.

Thomas Bertilsson · Jun 16, 2015

Get an inexpensive 6x9 folding camera, and make contact prints from 120 film. It's a lot of fun, and the small prints are like little jewels.
It's a good exercise to learn to appreciate the small things, especially today when most photographic work of notoriety is HUGE.

imyself said:
Hi Everyone,
I've got two unopened 100 sheet boxes of AGFA Portriga -Rapid paper PRN 118 [3] that were included as part of a darkroom equipment purchase (no idea when the paper was purchased originally). The kicker is that the sheets are 3 x 4 1/8 (74 x 105 mm) in size. In other words, TINY! The only use I can think of is maybe contact printing 6x6 negatives for small desktop/ mantle piece framed photos but I'm open to any/all other suggestions.
Why did the old time manufacturers make paper this small? Who used this size and why?
Im guessing that its grade 3 paper but could anyone tell me if its FB or RC?
Regards
Adam

chip j · Jun 16, 2015

Xmas said:
Yes relatively to yesterday...

I could get 100 shts. of Fb Brovira at Woolworth's for $6 in the early 70s. Don't tell me that that equals $140/box for stinkin' Ilford now!!

Gerald C Koch · Jun 16, 2015

pdeeh said:
I have some very old (50-60 years?) Kodak Velox paper in a similar size. It still prints very well,

Velow was a slow chloride emulsion paper. Chloride papers keep much better than the faster chloro-bromide papers.

I would suggest that if the OP has no real use for the paper that you sell it on ebay or another site.

Keepfilmalivetyler · Jun 16, 2015

I've used sealed paper and film from the 70's with good results, it's always a surprise what will develop. That paper is roughly the size of some of the polaroid roll films and the 100. If it's good it would make great creative artsy prints. Take a hand full and lay them overlapping and at light angles to each other leaving some gaps here and there and print on it and develop them for the same time or varied time and dry mount them on a board cut to match the layout. Remember photography is an art form and who says it has to be in the form of a rectangular box. Who ever said the could put a photographer in a box...ha! We stand outside the box and look thru it.
Trey

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

removed account4 · Jun 16, 2015

hi OP

i'd use the paper see how it works
and if it doesn't make lumen prints or retina prints from them
its almost as much fum as chum

MattKing · Jun 16, 2015

chip j said:
I could get 100 shts. of Fb Brovira at Woolworth's for $6 in the early 70s. Don't tell me that that equals $140/box for stinkin' Ilford now!!

The 1970s were probably the most economical time for photographic supplies.

The OP's paper was probably most popular earlier than that.

Xmas · Jun 16, 2015

chip j said:
I could get 100 shts. of Fb Brovira at Woolworth's for $6 in the early 70s. Don't tell me that that equals $140/box for stinkin' Ilford now!!

Probably it is called inflation?

Xmas · Jun 16, 2015

MattKing said:
The 1970s were probably the most economical time for photographic supplies.

The OP's paper was probably most popular earlier than that.

The USD was silver certificates OAT (once upon a time) I still have silver half dollars...
The Feds may have debased the currency?

Jim Moore · Jun 16, 2015

Open 'em up and make some contact prints, have some fun. I picked these up last week and plan on doing the same.

Ary suggestions on how I can use this paper? Portriga-Rapid

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