Cibachrome/Ilfochrome Classic paper

[DarkroomExperimente]

A friend of mine recently gave me some cibachrome/ilfochrome paper & chemicals

....the chemicals were old so I disposed of them - but what to do with the paper?

the paper is ilfochrome classic medium contrast 8x10 25 sheets (expired 2008 but stored in refrigerator)


If there's anyone out there dying to get their hands on some ilfochrome paper this is your lucky day

 

[DarkroomExperimente]

to be clear -- if you want this ilfochrome paper...just ask and it's yours

 

[StoneNYC]

PM sent

 

[DarkroomExperimente]

we have a winner!!!!

I'll mail it to you tomorrow

 

[Wayne]

Not to be a party pooper, just so nobody gets their hopes too high. Its probably no good anymore. IME it doesn't keep that well for 8 years (assuming mfg in 2006) even when frozen.

 

[DarkroomExperimente]

it's in the mail....good luck with it

 

[StoneNYC]

Thanks, I'll test a sheet, if nothing else I think I can use it for alternative processes if it's no good for cibi or B&W transparency. Or something.

 

[Photo Engineer]

It is NG for most anything being just an inert black sheet of paper until properly processed.

It is good for experimentation in an effort to find a good substitute process that will work, and that hinges on the bleach solution. I've considered doing these experiments for a while, but I've had no paper. And, well, not much time. I would consider giving aid to someone in an effort to come up with a viable process.

However, that keeping problem is a real bear to get around!

PE

 

[StoneNYC]

PE are you saying it's the chemical process that needs a "work around"? I always thought it was the paper that was the real problem? Or an I misunderstanding?

 

[Wayne]

Both. The paper doesn't last, and nobody is making it. And the bleach has never been satisfactorily home brewed.

 

[Photo Engineer]

And I have "home brewed" a bleach for Cibachrome years ago, but not with the new paper with extra layers.

PE

 

[Wayne]

Ok, but you're different because you're a Photo Engineer. For all the threads about it here and elsewhere in the last 10-15 years, only one person achieved any success at all and then they disappeared without getting close to perfecting it, IIRC. And also IIRC, he's the only one who even got as far as actual printing! I remember he posted some early results and that was the end of it.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Yes Wayne, I remember. And he published some formulas as I did from old memory. He may have used some of my ideas as well. IDK. But, nevertheless, this work is no harder than mixing a developer. It is knowing how much of what to use. And the chemicals are not too exotic. There is KI, Sulfamic Acid (drain cleaner), Sulfuric Acid (battery acid), KBr, and a few other odds and ends. Then there is the catalyst, which must be one of several choices and this is the critical chemical. These can be bought just like Metol or HQ from chemical suppliers once you know what to buy.

PE