Experimental Emulsion Lab (old photo)

[Emulsion]

Attached is a photo of an experimental Emulsion Lab. Note the water bath, stirrers and dropper funnel.

If there is any interest in more emulsion related photos from this era I'll post more.

 

[Photo Engineer]

And where would this be???? And what era????

Note the propeller mixers. These are archaic. Any comments?

PE

 

[Emulsion]

Approx 1940's. Here is another photo of a plate coating machine.

 

[rmazzullo]

I would like to see more of these. Can you please tell us more details about these (and other) pictures?

Thanks,

Bob M.

 

[Emulsion]

They are from an old textbook on photography. Some of the photos credit Kodak, others have no credit so their origin is unknown.

 

[rmazzullo]

Can you please give details of the book you got these from? It might have some material worth looking into.

Thanks,

Bob M.

 

[Emulsion]

The book is called "The Science of Photography" by H.Baines (Fountain Press). It is a book written for the "layman" however I have found it useful.

I have seen that this book is available from Abebooks. (They have copies for approximately $3). Mine was published in the 50's.

 

[Kino]

Kodak 1920's

1. Nitric Acid production

2. Emulsion Production

3. Slitting motion picture film

"Moving Pictures", Talbot, 1924.

(Sorry, I had to convert them to JPG for them to show up as thumbnails-- poor scans of yesteryear to boot!)

 

[Photo Engineer]

The middle picture, AFAIK, is a picture of buckets of raw silver nitrate crystals. It probably isn't emulsion due to the covers on the containers.

My, I have not seen these for years. Some of them are on the corridor walls at Kodak Park.

PE

 

[Kino]

More Kodak from 1920's...

PE,

Here are a few more, mainly dealing with base casting... Same book...

 

[Photo Engineer]

That was the old cellulose nitate base (explosive) that was eliminated in the 30s when Kodak went to the safety base.

Here you are seeing the cotton being dried before treatment with nitric acid which turned it into cellulose nitrate.

PE

 

[Kino]

OK, OK, I'll stop!

1. One of the original base casting glass tables for roll film -- Kodak

2. Lumiere Bros Plant -- brewing emulsion

3. Lumiere Bros Plant -- coating glass plates

"Memoirs of a Photochemist", by Dr. Fritz Wentzel, American Museum of Photography, 1960, LOC #59-14970

 

[rmazzullo]

Actually, I'd like to see a few more, if you don't mind...

Thanks,

Bob M.

 

[Kino]

Ok, three more

Here are three more appropriate to the topic; again from
"Memoirs of a Photochemist", by Dr. Fritz Wentzel, American Museum of Photography, 1960, LOC #59-14970

1. Silver coated manual press to form emulsion noodles for washing.

2. Helibronn Emulsion Kitchen for the Gustav Schaeuffelen'sch Papierfabrik in Heilbronn am Neckar -- makers of baryta coated papers.

3. Emulsion Kettle at Agfa Leverkusen.

That's all for now, gotta go do some work.

 

[Photo Engineer]

I have seen the hydraulic press at work at EK pressing out 80 liter (20 gallon) tubs of solid emulsion at one crack. I have also had a hand version of the press. It was like a potato ricer, but heavier and very hard to squeeze manually. I used to exercise my hands with a hand coil spring so that I could work one in my lab. I still do.

PE

 

[Emulsion]

Does anyone have any photos of:
-Film perforating machines
-Film coating and drying?
-Inside of a coating plant?

Emulsion

 

[Photo Engineer]

Basically, the machine is totally enclosed except at the head where the coating hopper is and at the end where the takeup roll is. There is nothing much to see sorry to say, unless the drying cabinets are opened up.

The turnaround on air bearings is fascinating to watch though.

PE

 

[Mike Crawford]

As a sometimes contributor, I have diplomatically not become involved in the boring thread about Black & White Magazine (UK) that has been going on this site. However, an article on these photographs is what I would like to see in the mag. Why not get in touch Kino with the new editor and suggest they do a feature on these photographs. They are wonderful. I especially like the 'Old Hand Emulsion Noodle Press.' It reminds me of a marvelous device used to make spaghetti ice cream (?) in my favourite ice cream parlour in Cologne!
Thanks
Mike

 

[Photo Engineer]

Mike;

I have posted here a picture of Mark Osterman of GEH using a potato ricer to shred emuilsion for washing. This is what we used at Kodak as well, heavy duty potato ricers.

I share your interest in getting such photos published and that is why I have been doing what I've been doing on APUG.

PE

 

[Emulsion]

I have found the following excellent diagrams/photos in 1958 book "The Science of Photography" by H.Baines. This book is available at Abebooks for only a few dollars. I would recommend it as it is a very interesting book.

Anyone have any more recent photos?

Is festooning of film/paper still a current manufacturing process? Are there any books that describe this part of the process in more detail?

Emulsion.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Festooning went out in the 50s or earlier.

The two items above are obsolete.

Coating hoppers are extrusion, slide or curtain. Coating uses a chill cabinet and a series of heating/drying cabinents that condition the film or paper to the proper final conditions. Festooning causes coating defects based on the spacing of the top and bottom rods in the festoon.

AFAIK, EFKE is the only plant that uses festooning outside of the former Soviet Union. IDK about those within it.

PE

 

[Emulsion]

Thanks PE,

Can you recommend any books or journal articles that describe coating and subsequent manufacturing processes of film? I have found some patents but nothing more. E.g. Patent 2620285 (Dupont).

Emulsion.

 

[Ian Grant]

Emulsion, you really aren't trying hard enough !!!!!

Just try looking in the right places, here's an advert from 1954, I remember it well

Dixon's are still around, see here.

Ian

 

[Philippe-Georges]

Just an little question of a non English speaker : what is festooning?
I could not find the word in my (Oxford) dictionary...

Philippe

 

[Ian Grant]

Festoon, means decorate with strings of flowers, or hanging them

In this case festooning is the hanging system the paper is looped over as it dries.