Fotokemika paper test -- results and question.

There seems to be a great deal of confusion regarding these papers.

This is what I thought to be right:

Fotokemika EMAKS = graded chlorobromide paper, slight warm tone, aka J&C Nuance, Adox Classic Arts. (I have a box in the DR, so I'm quite sure of this one)
Fotokemika VARYCON = variable contrast, slight warm tone (as I remember it), medium weight paper (as I remember it).
Adox VarioClassic Fine Print FB = variable contrast, neutral tone, triple weight paper. (Have several boxes and rolls in the DR, pretty sure about this one.) Rumor says it's based on old DuPont formula.

As I understand it, there is no EMAKS Varycon.

Of course, my memory can be clouded, changes might have occured in the emulsions/stock of these papers. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

timeUnit said:

There seems to be a great deal of confusion regarding these papers.

This is what I thought to be right:

Fotokemika EMAKS = graded chlorobromide paper, slight warm tone, aka J&C Nuance, Adox Classic Arts. (I have a box in the DR, so I'm quite sure of this one)
Fotokemika VARYCON = variable contrast, slight warm tone (as I remember it), medium weight paper (as I remember it).
Adox VarioClassic Fine Print FB = variable contrast, neutral tone, triple weight paper. (Have several boxes and rolls in the DR, pretty sure about this one.) Rumor says it's based on old DuPont formula.

As I understand it, there is no EMAKS Varycon.

Click to expand...

Don't take this as the absolute truth, since I'm not quite familiar with rebranded products sold under different names in the USA, but this is what I know, and it comes straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak (i.e. my source of info comes straight from Fotokemika in Croatia):

Fotokemika in general produces 3 types of paper, sold in Croatia under three names:

1) EMAKS is graded paper, in FB and RC variants (it has slightly warm tone)
(Paper named EMAKS is ALWAYS graded paper!)

2) EFKEBROM (mostly FB, AFAIK) = bromide paper, pure white base (not produced regularly), graded paper

3) VARYCON = multigrade paper, in FB and RC variants

All three types of paper are/were produced in two variants, I think - FB and RC, and FB papers are of "full-weight" (karton) and "medium-weight (polukarton) variants. (I'm not sure about EFKEBROM - it might have been produced only as FB variant.)
Full-weight is thicker, full FB, while medium weight is - well - medium weight

There are also three types of finish - "kristal" (or "Pearl"), "sjajni" (glossy) and "mat"...

EMAKS comes in three grades - 1 (soft), 2 (normal) and 3 (hard).

That's it. There are some extra batches of other papers now and then, but, AFAIK, the only multigrade paper they produce is VARYCON - only one type, one formula.

There was also "Chamois" - they don't make it any more, which is a shame - it was lovely warm tone

I'm not sure under what names these papers are sold abroad, but that's mostly it. So, there are really no different types of Fotokemika's VARYCON paper with different formulas... Maybe the second multigrade paper mentioned is from another manufacturer?

PS: attached snap shows three main variants - EMAKS, EFKEBROM and VARYCON in their original Croatian packaging.

Hope this helps,

Denis

I just printed half a box of 8x10 Varycon this past weekend. Just for the heck of it, since Sanders was comparing it to Agfa MCC, I used up my last few sheets of that paper too, to compare.
I saw similar renditions of tone, but with a difference in base color of the paper. The Agfa is creamier.

I was using both Kodak Dektol and Ilford Multigrade developer. I liked Dektol the best. More punch in the blacks.

I can only draw one conclusion - Fotokemika have real consistency problems.

- Thom

Agfa MCC

I never used Agfa MCC myself but read, that the 111 has a significantly brighter base than the 118, which is sort of ivory.

Denis and TimeUnit, You've basically got it right. Emaks is graded, Varycon is VC. Freestyle sells Emaks in Grades 2, 3, and 4.

Thom, I was comparing the Emaks graded paper (not Varycon) to Agfa MCC 111, and found the comparison striking -- the two papers seem quite close, with a slight edge to Agfa in highlight separation. The Emaks Grade 4 prints about the same as the Agfa using a Kodak 3 1/2 VC filter -- a touch softer than I would have liked, but definitely in the ballpark.

Sanders

I made the mistake and called the Varycon Emaks in my last post, it is none the less VC Varycon.
Use the graded JandC Nuance also and i don't see any similarities there, the Nuance tone easily in selenium but i can't get any change to the Varycon.


jan

I had yet another printing session with Varycon and I'm very cloven. If there are problems with consistency such as those experienced by photographers here then that's a definite reason to leave this paper alone. But on the other hand it's oh so beautiful. It prints absolutely great in Ansco 130 or Dektol developers. The other paper I have really fallen for is Kentmere Bromide Grade 2, 3, and 4. They seem to have much greater consistency than Fotokemika, so I think those good folks will have my support from now on.

- Thom

Thomas Bertilsson said:

I had yet another printing session with Varycon and I'm very cloven. If there are problems with consistency such as those experienced by photographers here then that's a definite reason to leave this paper alone. But on the other hand it's oh so beautiful. It prints absolutely great in Ansco 130 or Dektol developers. The other paper I have really fallen for is Kentmere Bromide Grade 2, 3, and 4. They seem to have much greater consistency than Fotokemika, so I think those good folks will have my support from now on.

- Thom

Click to expand...

I think treating the paper as a product of the 50s rather than more recent styles of production - so using paper from one batch rather than from many for consistency is necessary - something I am prepared to live with. Until not so very long ago I believe that the Agfa graded papers could also suffer a degree of batch to batch inconsistency.

It is higher contrast than Multigrade for example and takes a bit of practice to get used to it. When you do it is stunning.

I don't know why the British made Kentmere Bromide is only available in Grade 2 in UK but in Grades 2, 3 and 4 in the USA - I think I'll e-mail Kentmere.

Good luck and have fun!

Lachlan

About 15 years ago there was a rather inexpensive graded paper touted as "high silver" that was sold under the name "Talbot." I can't remember the source, but it was something like "photographic industries" in Spanish, leading me to think it was from South America. It didn't say which country though. Like the Emaks, grade 2 was "special" and 3 "normal." Was this Emaks? Had a neutral, almost charcoal look to it. The 2 was nice. The 3 was a disaster, at least with the batch I got -- flat, lifeless and looked scratched.
Charles