Forte paper

[severian]

I've searched but can't find any thing current on the availability of Forte paper. Are they still in business? Will they continue to make paper?
Jack

 

[JHannon]

Here is a link on another discussion about forte (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

I believe J&C sells it under a different name?

--John

 

[Marc Leest]

I have an confirmed order fot PWT 14 so I see no problem here.

 

[lee]

Jack,

Have you checked with Camera Co/Op in Houston for Forte paper? Last time I was in there they had Forte. Might be worth a phone call or a trip since you are off work for a month.


lee\c

 

[severian]

Lee

Jack,

Have you checked with Camera Co/Op in Houston for Forte paper? Last time I was in there they had Forte. Might be worth a phone call or a trip since you are off work for a month.


lee\c

I'm on my way to the Co-op right now. This morning I made some really amazing prints with Forte warm tone then selenium then gold. Looks a lot like portriga rapid before they took out the casdium, the bastards!
Jack

 

[lee]

that is good to know I think Forte w/t split tones too

lee\c

 

[Alex Hawley]

that is good to know I think Forte w/t split tones too

lee\c

It does. Leave it in the selenium long enough and you will see it happen.

 

[Lee Shively]

Freestyle sells some of the Forte papers as one of their store brands. I think they identify it as "Made in Hungary". B&H also had some types of Forte the last time I looked.

I've been using Forte Polywarmtone for a good bit of my printing recently and I really like the stuff about as much as Ilford MG WT. I particularly like how it responds to a short bath in dilute selenium.

I do have one concern, however. On my last printing session, I found several sheets where the paper base had thin spots. Not thin enough to rip through but thin enough to show up when the print is held in front of a light source. The paper with the faults came about halfway through a box of 11x14 Polywarmtone. I'm hoping it's only a couple of sheets and not a problem with the rest of the box.

Has anyone else had any problems with Forte consistency?

 

[gwatson]

I've never had any probs with consistency; hopefully just a one-off. I use it for most of my printing (pwt 17 current fav) and would be at a loss if/when it goes. Dilute selenium works very well to take the edge off the olive tones, but slight overprinting and a quick soak in very dilute ferri is wonderful. If you haven't yet tried it, it's well worth a go. Available in the UK at moment (Silverprint).

Geoff

 

[Louis Nargi]

Calumet has Forte' placed an order with them last weak.

 

[Marco Gilardetti]

Received my order from fotomatica.it last week

 

[kapro]

I visited the Forte factory in Vac, Hungary today. There is still in production:
Baryta:
Bromofort
Fortezo
Fortezo Museumweight
Polygrade-V.FB
Polywarmtone Plus FB
RC:
Fortespeed
Polygrade-V.RC
Polywarmtone Plus RC

I've bought also Forte paper developers:
CTD Fortespeed Cold tone
WTD Fortespeed Warm tone

 

[Marco Gilardetti]

Good news good news!!! Will be glad to read how good their warmtone developer is (though, unfortunately, it's not imported here).

 

[Ole]

Great! Fortezo Museumweight is one of my favorite papers. Maybe it's the same emulsion as "regular" Fortezo, but it feels so much better

 

[hal9000]

Hi Kapro,
did you do a factory tour? I love to do that, my last was at Hasselblad in Göthenburg. I would like to visit Vac, was the tour interesting?
Regards,
Hal

 

[kapro]

Ole: I have the same opinion. I’ve never tried Fortezo so I can't say if there is any difference in the tonality. Definitely Museumweight feels much better according to the samples I was given in the factory.

hal9000: I was a bit embarrassed during the visit. It looked like the time was stopped there. Factory outlet (very very small shop)- more less empty, just couple of Forte films, few small boxes of paper and stuff that has nothing to do with photography.
Sales department - two older ladies speaking just Hungarian. They had just couple of boxes of Polywarmtone Plus Fb on stock (PW-14 and PW 15- bigger sizes/ 40x50cm, 50x60cm, 11"x14" and 18x24cm) which I intended to try since I had some experience only with Bromofort from the past. Bromofort B 10 was always my beloved paper!
After a while a sales manager came, she was speaking fluent English. She informed me they produce to order and deliver to more than 50 countries all over the world. Since the importer in my country-Slovakia didn't work properly, she offered me an option to order directly from the factory provided I agree with couple of my friends and we make decent order.
Old ladies spoke something about lack of raw materials, maybe something about emulsion. My friend, who was with me as interpreter didn’t understand the “special photographic” Hungarian expressions. But the sales manager reassured me that everything is fine with Forte and they should produce papers (production to order), films and chemicals in future. She just informed me that there might be “longer” delivery time for some grade 4 papers.
As I wrote I have ordered their developers and Forte 400 films to make some tests.
Sorry, I didn’t do any factory tour because I came quite late to the factory because of the snow storm in Slovakia and Hungary that day.

Dead Link Removed

Take a look on the attached table of available Forte papers which I received in the factory. There is problem with delivery of the products that are marked with question mark.

 

[Peter Schrager]

Bromofort

Never seen the Bromfort papers here in the USA. Has anyone else? Cetainly hope this company stays alive. Where were they hiding all the Bergger papers and films? (which we all know is made somewhere deep inside France-right?)
Peter

 

[Marco Gilardetti]

Since the importer in my country-Slovakia didn't work properly, she offered me an option to order directly from the factory provided I agree with couple of my friends and we make decent order.

This would be a great opportunity. Too bad it would be nearly impossible to gather a bunch of italian photographers and place a decent order. And then the postage costs, in the end, would raise the price for the end-user to the stars. SIGH

 

[doughowk]

Is Forte Bromofort & J&Cs Bromoprint the same paper? I've used the Bromoprint paper, a non-supercoated paper, for bromoil & hand-coloring with some good results. J&C also recommends it for Lith developer.