Forte Polywarmtone

[ADOX Fotoimpex]

Question 1: Does anyone out there want Polywarmtone back ?

Question 1a: If yes will you still buy it if it is sold at about the price of Variotone ?

Why am I asking when with MCC we will have a perfect neutral- to warm-tone paper and with Variotone we have a brilliant warmtone enlarging paper ?

Because.... we don´t have a variable contrast silver chloride warmtone paper which can be lith developed.
Also we had a long tradition with this paper in our company.

ADOX has purchased the Forte PW replicator (emulsion making equipment) in 2007 and licensed the technology in 2008. But sofar we have not pushed the project because of the high costs involved in dismanteling and mooving the equipment.
It will be a highly complex procedure to remanufacture this paper because we will have to set up the replicator in our factory in Bad Saarow were we will make the raw emulsion. The emulsion will then need to be shipped to our partners to Monheim near Leverkusen. There it will be finalized and coated.
The rolls then need to be shipped back for converting to us.

By the time we are ready to sell the paper the price will be much higher then what it was when Forte still produced it all in house.

From a German market perspektive Polywarmtone was the cheapest high quality paper available and thus successfull. In the US Polywarmtone was never really cheap and still successfull.

So feedback from US customers is valuable for us in the decision making process.

Kind regards,

Mirko

 

[L Gebhardt]

I still have a few hundred sheets of 11x14 and 16x20 plus a 42" roll I got from a darkroom I bought at auction. I would love to have new stock for when this runs out. I don't know how well it keeps, so I'm trying to use up what I have.

So count me in if you start remaking this paper in glossy FB.

 

[Ian Grant]

Mirko, I'd like it back.

I was a big fan of Record Rapid, then had to switched to MCC when Record rapid wasn't available in the UK. When Agfa went I began using Polywarmtone. I found it to be far better suited to my needs which was unexpected.

Personally I rate Polywarmtone alongside Ilford Galerie as one of the finest papers I've used.

Ian

 

[KEK]

I'd like it back

But depending on which side of varitone your pricing falls it's Ilford warmtone pricing and thats the reason I tried PWT to begin with. They weren't the same papers I know but PWT was cheap compared to Ilford warmtone and I liked it better.

If it ends up being Ilford warmtone pricing I probably won't be a big user

 

[Markus Röhling]

What I'm really missing is the graded Fortezo. If available in three grades, I would be ready to pay the same as for Ilford Galerie. But as for variable contrast I'm quite happy with Fomatone.

Markus

 

[bdial]

Mirko,
I'd like to see it return, and I would certainly buy it if it did.
Could I order some now?

Barry

 

[panastasia]

I stocked up on PWT when it was discontinued and would like to see it return, or something similar. It has a semi-matte surface texture that's hard to beat for hand tinting - I think it's the best since Ektalure G became unavailable.

Paul

 

[Roger Thoms]

Absolutely, just yesterday I was looking at some prints I did on Polywarmtone and admiring the paper. I would be very happy to buy it if it were priced the same or close to Variotone.

Roger Thoms

 

[Peter Schrager]

pwt

I thought that the graded matte was one of the finest wt papers ever and it seems that foma has sort of copied this paper but is charging over $100/box for it...grade 2 and 3 would be sufficient....that was the paper that was the great unknown!!
Best, Peter

 

[Marc Leest]

forte polywarmtone is priceless. Go !
I have made tests with adox variotone and i am very pleased. great ! it IS another paper as the forte but i am in !

go ! go ! go !

Marc

 

[ADOX Fotoimpex]

Fortezo (fixed grade) and Polywarmtone use the same technology and can both be made from the raw emulsion made in the replicator.
So if there is demand for more than 10.000 sqm per year/grade we can also add the fixed grade version. But all of them together (PW and graded versions) have to justify the moove.
It´s economics now. Nothing else. We currently consider a raise of sales leads similar to what Michael and Paula have done for their Lodima paper.

Kind regards,

Mirko

 

[Dan Williams]

PWT was my standard paper for several years for both regular prints and for lith. I used the last of my supply two weeks ago and am now looking for a replacement. I would love to see it back again.

Dan

 

[mikebarger]

Thanks for asking, but I'll stay with the white paper when it comes out.

Mike

 

[Fintan]

I'd buy it also.

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

I'd buy it! Love that stuff, it's my favorite. Polywarmtone with Kodak polytoner is a super combination, unfortunately the polytoner is gone as well. Argh.

 

[Travis Nunn]

I'd be very happy with PWT. I'd be even happier with the return of Fortezo Gr. 3 Glossy.

 

[Mark Fisher]

I'd buy it in a second....it was a great lith paper.

Mark

 

[Uhner]

I’m definitely interested in Polywarmtone, and actually even more interested in Fortezo, even if only one grade might be economically feasible to produce.

 

[jeroldharter]

It was the only warm toned paper I used. I bought a bunch that I am still using when they went under. Have not tried the Adox paper.

Don't like Ilford warmtone or Kentmere warmtone.
Berger is excellent but expensive.

 

[Bruce Osgood]

Forte PW was my paper of choice until it was discontinued. I did not stock up because I don't do things that way. I began searching for a replacement. I have not found one, so I would be very interested in exploring a new version; but today cost becomes an important ingredient.

 

[Alex Hawley]

Forte PW was my paper of choice until it was discontinued. I did not stock up because I don't do things that way. I began searching for a replacement. I have not found one, so I would be very interested in exploring a new version; but today cost becomes an important ingredient.

Same for me except I had just decided to use it as my sole paper when it was discontinued. I ws buying the re-branded J&C Polywarmtone which was more economical here in the USA than the branded Forte was.

However, I would be torn between using Polywarmtone and MCC so I would need to sample both. Is MCC available in the USA yet? I haven't seen it anywhere yet.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Alex,

I posted a sample of a Adox MCC print in my APUG gallery, for all you can tell from a quick scan. My understanding is that MCC is not yet available to purchase.

Tom.

 

[largely]

Yes please, I'd like some. Would tomorrow be too soon?

Larry

 

[sage]

This would be really awesome, what about the film?

 

[WarEaglemtn]

Are you talking the Polywarmtone fibre from the past few years or the earlier version with Cadmium in it? If it is the Cadmium version I would love to have it back. Looked like tanned leather it was so smooth and rich. After they took the Cadmium out I bought one box, saw it had changed markedly for the worse and never bought any again.

Forte Polygrade V I would buy again in a heartbeat. One of the finest printing papers I have used in almost 40 years of printing.