Kodak Polymax Fine Art Paper

darrylgbaird said:

I have a half freezer full of Polymax fiber paper... 8x10, 11x14, 16x20, F and N surfaces. I moved, lost my darkroom, and probably won't go about building another. I'd sell this to you if you're interested. I could test in a makeshift darkroom (blackout windows in a bathroom).

BTW, I don't suppose you went to the Naval School of Photography back in 1969?

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If it's been frozen, it's likely good. But I have found most of Kodak's 1990s-2000s paper has now gone to mud.

Don Heisz said:

If it's been frozen, it's likely good. But I have found most of Kodak's 1990s-2000s paper has now gone to mud.

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That's true, although I've found a lot can be accomplished with benzotriazole added to the developer.

Polycontrast papers used to go bad while they were still fresh. Absolutely HOPELESS paper even back in the day.

NB23 said:

Polycontrast papers used to go bad while they were still fresh. Absolutely HOPELESS paper even back in the day.

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Polycontrast papers are a lot older than Polymax papers.

MattKing said:

Polycontrast papers are a lot older than Polymax papers.

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Not really “a lot”, in the sense that I remember a time when they both existed simultaneously.

darrylgbaird said:

That's true, although I've found a lot can be accomplished with benzotriazole added to the developer.

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Benzotriazole is not efficient for fogged papers with incorporated developers. Those papers aren’t salvageable except for drawing and painting and bricolage

NB23 said:

Benzotriazole is not efficient for fogged papers with incorporated developers. Those papers aren’t salvageable except for drawing and painting and bricolage

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You beat me to it. Kodak's papers don't even fog evenly. They're a mottled mess.

I thought that Polymax Fine-Art was the best modern (post-1980) paper that Kodak ever made. It was easy to make good prints with it, and they looked great when finished. When they discontinued it (along with all their b/w papers) in 2005, I used up my stock rather quickly. I lacked the means to buy and store a large quantity of it, just as well. Luckily, Ilford MG IV was easy to learn, and was a fine substitute.
I am a bit sorry that my old employer's product hasn't lasted 15 years past its sell-by date... but it was never meant to do that.