ILFORD INDUSTRIAL CONTACT PAPER IC-1-1P anybody know about this stuff?

[John Wiegerink]

I was digging through my stash of odds and ends and came upon a full, unopened box of Ilford Industrial Contact Paper. I was given this many years ago and forgot I even had it. I took it in the darkroom and opened it and to my surprise the paper looks like new. It's not mottled or discolored at all. Whether it's still usable or not is up for grabs. If it is I then have 500 feet of 10'' wide paper to play with. Anybody know much about this stuff 'cause I sure don't know how to really test it. I assume it's a very slow speed paper? JohnW

 

[adelorenzo]

Develop and fix a piece of it with no exposure to see if it has fogged with age.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Develop and fix a piece of it with no exposure to see if it has fogged with age.

I did one better! I just now got out of the darkroom after testing it. I had already went to bed after I made my post, but I tossed and turned until it got the best of me. I dug out one of my better 8x10 b&w negs. and then cut a 8x10 piece of the paper. Got my contact glass plate out and put the works under my Omega D2V with no carrier and my 80mm WA Schneider lens wide open. I gave a 40 second hit and came up blank. I then gave it a 3 minute hit and had a very light image. So, I set it up again, flipped the switch and went into the kitchen and had some cookies and milk. Then went and checked my email, let my dogs out to pee and stoked the fire. After 15 minutes I pulled the paper and developed it. Now we're talking! Very good image, but it could still use a little more exposure. The outside borders should have been black, but were just a real dark grey. Still, I don't see any imperfections on the paper at all and that's a miracle. The fellow that gave it to me was a friend who used to setup at camera shows with me and he was killed in a car wreck over ten years ago. Now ten years is bad enough, but he gave it to me probably more than four years before he died and who knows how long it was made before that. All I know is that it's going to be a blast from the past for me and 500 feet is a lot of playtime. JohnW

 

[Simon R Galley]

To the best of my knowledge, well in excess of 30 years old. Certainly pre 1984 ( it was coated at Basildon or ILFORD ) before the new factory was built at Mobberley. It could even be 1960's.

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

 

[John Wiegerink]

To the best of my knowledge, well in excess of 30 years old. Certainly pre 1984 ( it was coated at Basildon or ILFORD ) before the new factory was built at Mobberley. It could even be 1960's.

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

Simon,
Thanks for the info on the paper. I did a search on the "all knowing" Google and could not come up with really anything. That made me believe I was dealing with a possible King George era paper. Not really, but I did figure it to be pretty old. The fellow I got it from would have been in his 80's now and who knows how long he had it. I'd say pre- 84 is for sure. I just took another look at the box to see if there was any other clues as to its age and all I see is that it is "single wt#" "soft glossy" and Ilford Limited - Ilford - Essex, England. Just goes to show the fine quality of Ilford products and this stuff was certainly not stored in an optimum environment either. Thanks again Simon and it's really nice having a person like you, from a company like Ilford, here. JohnW

 

[Simon R Galley]

As its marked ILFORD at Ilford in Essex then its coated pre 70's.

Very surprised you got anything on it.

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

 

[John Wiegerink]

As its marked ILFORD at Ilford in Essex then its coated pre 70's.

Very surprised you got anything on it.

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

I didn't try a sunlight exposure, but did use a "black light" bulb this morning that was left over from the grand kids Halloween party. For my one 8x10 neg. I found an exposure of 2.5 minutes about right for rendering the scene about as it was. I do seem to be having a hard time with maximum black be truly black. When I expose the negative to get good highlight and shadow rendering the edge of the paper that is outside the negative area still doesn't look jet-black after development. I tried some new developer and even gave it a little kick with some Potassium Hydroxide. It was a little better as to blacker blacks, but still not really black. Of course I'm not a PRO contact printer and might not know what the heck I'm doing, but I do think this paper will be usable for something. If nothing else it will be good for the grand kids to experiment and have fun with. Thanks again Simon. John

 

[John Wiegerink]

Well, I think I just solved part of the problem concerning the deeper black problem. I had the contact print just out of the wash, hanging to dry and a thought popped into my little pea brain. An 8 minute dip in selenium toner 1:9 might just help. Well, it sure does look much better with a slight brown/reddish tone and a visibly deeper black. I'll keep playing 'til I get it right! JohnW

 

[John Wiegerink]

It just dawned on me that maybe this post should be in the "Contact Printing" section of of Darkroom, but I don't know how to move it there?

 

[MattKing]

It just dawned on me that maybe this post should be in the "Contact Printing" section of of Darkroom, but I don't know how to move it there?

Click on the little "!" marker at the bottom left corner of your post (the "Report A Post" link) and indicate to the moderators that you would like to have it moved.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Click on the little "!" marker at the bottom left corner of your post (the "Report A Post" link) and indicate to the moderators that you would like to have it moved.

Ahhh! Thanks for the tip and I did click that, but thought it was only for reporting the "bad" guys. I certainly didn't want to report myself even if I am a little bad. JohnW