Ernie,
I switched to Kentmere multigrade papers after Kodak stopped offering Polymax. I am also very pleased with the results. I use Ilford Multigrade developer. What developer are you using?
John Powers
After AGFA is not available I changed to Kentmere multigrade papers which were starting to be imported then.
I love Kentmere even better than AGFA. It's somehow easier for me to handle, especially for dry-down and warpage afte drying FB.
Pity it's only available in Grade 2...
I also use Ilford Multigrade developer (liquid).
RC 60 seconds, FB 90 seconds.
The image in the developer appears quite early also for FB, that is also what I like.
Thanks: I must admit that Amidol is more hands-on than I am used to (i.e. bung it in the developer for 3-4 mins and swish it about a bit is my usual approach with Ansco 130, Neutol WA, etc...) but that is very interesting for future reference.In amidol one can obtain excellent contrast control with Kentona. To reduce contrast, use a water bath just as you would with Azo. To increase contrast, back off on the exposure a tad and leave the print in the developer for up to 4 minutes. I've developed both wafer thin negatives and ones that were nearly bulletproof in the same batch of amidol with perfect results.
Using Kentona reminds me a little of making hollandaise sauce, another activity involving emulsions. You just have to get involved in the process as it unfolds and stop it at exactly the right instant.
Kentmere makes excellent paper and has recently added more production capacity due to demand.
They are a subsidiary of a much larger company that makes diverse products.
PE
I have not tested any recent production.
I have been involved heavily with my emulsion work and have used Ilford MGIV as my standard. I have several boxes of Kentmere in the freezer, and will use it as a comparison as soon as I get a chance.
Sorry, but that is all the information I have now. Production from a few years ago was quite good though.
PE
Kentmere is made in their factory at Kendall in the English Lake District, a very beautiful area of the North East UK, and a landscape photographers dream.Actually, Kentmere is a real manufacturer with a plant in England, that truly does coat its own papers. The only other plant in England would be Ilford.
Kentmere is made in their factory at Kendall in the English Lake District, a very beautiful area of the North East UK, and a landscape photographers dream.
UN: you are right: I apologise - you caught me in a bad mood there. At least when we get annoyed at someone we tell them and do not sneak around!You are really tachi don't you? I quote somebody whom talked about Forte!
Listen if you don't like what I write than don't read it the next time! in that way you can get off my back!
UN: you are right: I apologise - you caught me in a bad mood there. At least when we get annoyed at someone we tell them and do not sneak around!
Again, my apologies for my snapping at you.
Cheers, Bob.
I am a "from-Agfa-to-Kentmere" convertite, too. The Fineprint (FB) is a fantastic paper, which gives a very "clear" look, and is a very good replacement for the Agfa MCC, apart from the slightly cooler base. It also tones very nicely in Viradon. I was definitively not very happy when Agfa cancelled paper production, but now I do not miss them at all.
It is very nice to see that one can still produce a high-quality paper in a western country without asking for almost prohibitive prices (like other UK-based producers do).
Regards
Georg
Try starting up a paper coating operation for 970 quid now...Kentmere, then as now, thanks to tight managerial and financial controls, preserved its autonomy and continued as the only small privately-owned photographic coating operation in the UK. As a company it is unusual in that it has always maintained a fierce independence, which possibly has something to do with its origins. Whereas other photographic paper manufacturers originated in the Victorian age as plate producers, Kentmere was set up in the Edwardian era by two Windermere chemists, purely to produce photographic papers.
One illustration that may give an idea of the economic climate of the early days is from when the Kentmere factory was first operated. The entire plant was installed in 1906 by a firm of London engineers, V. L. Scott & Co, for a total price of £970.00. Difficulties when starting up any new factory are to be expected, but an early one was in connection with storing the coated printing-out paper. This needed special storage facilities, and although this store had been on the 'shopping list', Scotts had failed to install it. Asked about the ommision, Scotts replied that they had fitted out several photographic paper factories, and as they had all failed within a matter of months, they thought they would save Kentmere some needless expense! Kentmere's survival to this day must also have had much to do with its adaptation to conditions which would have floored other managements. During WW1 Kentmere was instructed to close down paper production, and was left wondering how to survive. By an excellent piece of lateral thinking they went into jam production! The kettles used for emulsion preparation were ideally suited to bulk jam-making, and Cumbria had a bumper damson season in 1914. So successful was the venture that it continued through the War and for some years afterwards, and it is recorded that in 1919 one company was anxious to order 100,000 jars. When WW2 broke out, they were even contacted by old customers, anxious to find out if they were going to make any more of the jam.
Some of the other holdings, from what I've been told, are in the frozen food industry. They are all very healty indeed.
PE
I think you misunderstand. I was told that Kentmere was involved in other companies in the food processing industry, not the other way around.
So, yes, in that sense you are right. But Kentmere may, due to their jam endeavors, be now involved in holding shares in the food industry.
PE
I have not tested any recent production.
I have been involved heavily with my emulsion work and have used Ilford MGIV as my standard. I have several boxes of Kentmere in the freezer, and will use it as a comparison as soon as I get a chance.
Sorry, but that is all the information I have now. Production from a few years ago was quite good though.
PE
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