Kodabromide papers

keithwms · Jan 15, 2007

Whilst going through the darkroom of a long-retired professor, I found quite a lot of old stuff, from obsolete chems to plates and mounts and papers and films.

One thing I found in fair quantity was kodabromide paper. Mostly 5x7" and 8x10" F3 and F4 stuff, unopened and stored in a cool cabinet... probably for two decades or more. Does anybody know what one might do with it? I've never worked with it.

Zathras · Jan 15, 2007

keithwms said:
Whilst going through the darkroom of a long-retired professor, I found quite a lot of old stuff, from obsolete chems to plates and mounts and papers and films.

One thing I found in fair quantity was kodabromide paper. Mostly 5x7" and 8x10" F3 and F4 stuff, unopened and stored in a cool cabinet... probably for two decades or more. Does anybody know what one might do with it? I've never worked with it.

I used the Kodabromide papers when I was a kid. It was a fiber base enlarging paper, available in a variety of surfaces and 5 contrast grades, in single or double weight. The F surface is glossy. At the time, I printed my photos on the #3 paper most of the time. I recall the #2 paper as being rather flat, and the image tone was not as good as the #3 or #4. It may still be usable if it was stored properly since it was new.

Kodak used to put datasheets in their paper packages, paper this old will have them. Open a package under a red or OC safelight, and you should find instructions for using the paper.

There may be some fogging, due to the age of the paper. This can sometimes be cured by adding a restrainer or anti-fog to the developer.

Give it a shot and see what happens, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Hope this helps,

Mike Sullivan

Jim Noel · Jan 15, 2007

The "F" kodabromide papers are single weight glossy. Chances ae there is overall fog which as has been said can probably be cleared with any anti-fog chemical. If not too heavily fogged they may be useful to add tone to burnt out highlights in some images.

jim appleyard · Jan 15, 2007

Ahh, but didn't Kodak also market a Kodabromide RC?

Ckeck the label and datasheets as suggested. This paper may still be good, check it out. An art-teacher friend takes his old photo paper and has his students run in thru inkjet printers for their digital work. Perhaps an odd use, but maybe better than just chucking it.

chrisf · Jan 15, 2007

Check this thread out and see if it helps:
Dead Link Removed

Zathras · Jan 15, 2007

jim appleyard said:
Ahh, but didn't Kodak also market a Kodabromide RC? ....snip......

Yes, sort of, it was called Kodabrome RC, and I believe that it had a developer incorporated emulsion. I used this paper too, liked the N surface.

The original poster should try the paper and see if it is still usable, what has he got to lose?

Mike Sullivan

Zathras · Jan 15, 2007

Jim Noel said:
The "F" kodabromide papers are single weight glossy. Chances ae there is overall fog which as has been said can probably be cleared with any anti-fog chemical. If not too heavily fogged they may be useful to add tone to burnt out highlights in some images.

Back in the '70s , Kodabromide was available in single and double weight. The "F" designation was for the paper surface only.

Mike Sullivan

Mark Layne · Jan 15, 2007

keithwms said:
Whilst going through the darkroom of a long-retired professor, I found quite a lot of old stuff, from obsolete chems to plates and mounts and papers and films.

One thing I found in fair quantity was kodabromide paper. Mostly 5x7" and 8x10" F3 and F4 stuff, unopened and stored in a cool cabinet... probably for two decades or more. Does anybody know what one might do with it? I've never worked with it.

I have quite a bit of this in 5x7 F3 single weight dated around 1984. It works fine with no significant fog but is more like grade 2 now. The paper base is hard to describe- more mousy than true warm.

I use it in 5x7 film holders to make paper negatives where its lack of contrast may be an asset.

Of course it should probably be sent to me for proper disposal.

Mark

keithwms · Jan 15, 2007

Thanks for all the useful information! I didn't know there was such as thing as anti-fog!

Mark, I did indeed think about making paper negs with these, but I haven't even opened them yet to see whether they have any annoying labels on the back. This is off topic but have you thought of making paper negs with a panchromatic paper such as oriental hyper seagull or the new ilford rc digital? That thought has been on my mind for some time. I am thinking that there might be some contrast control with those as well as boosted sensitivity.

Kodabromide papers

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