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New own-brand paper from Germany

Witold said:
Sorry, but don't you need actual hard proof to be 100% sure? Photos of shelves with stocked products are not it.

Not that it matters all that much, if this product meets expectations at given price, it is all that counts.
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See: https://tinyurl.com/v6vwx37
 
Post 25 has what appears to be an official announcement and it is dated with todays date 20 January 2020, just below the top banner which I find just a little bit too convenient to be 100% true. I may be wrong but I smell a very decomposed rat! An announcement of a takeover/buy-out on a weekend is almost unheard of.
 
Hilo said:
I saw some sample envelopes in Amsterdam and believe it is made by Ilford Japan.
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I have just done a search for Ilford in Japan and there is no mention of anything concerning Ilford in Japan since 2013

There is however mention of an oriental takeover in 2014 which was already known, but this appears to be to do with the digital products that Ilford made/sold under the Harman name.
 
AgX said:
Miha, what makes you think that this paper is made by Harman?

Keep in mind that the Ilford brand never was owned by Harman, and that the owners of that brand also still use the Ilford design for their products.
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The company that evolved into Ilford was founded by Alfred Harman back in the 19th C.

Extract for Wikipedia. :-
Britannia Works Company


Logo of Ilford Ltd. from 1930s
The company was founded in 1879 by Alfred Hugh Harman as the Britannia Works Company.[1] Initially making photographic plates, it grew to occupy a large site in the centre of Ilford. (Ilford is a town in the county of Essex, just to the east of London.)
 
macfred said:
https://www.organiclesson.com/get-rid-of-dead-rat-smell/
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Interesting link,macfred. I especially liked the last question: How long does the dead-rat smell last? On Photrio it is usually only as the next post which says: "Don't worry; be happy, rejoice at a new analogue item and asking tiresome questions

On a slightly more serious note such smells will arise whenever we see new announcements that either deliberately or by accident have a hint of snake-oil about them.

The one person, Henning Serger, who appears to know the real answer as to who makes the paper can only "tease us" with true statements no doubt but ones which do not give us the full answer we are looking for. He may be constrained by NDA agreements of course but I'd rather he mentioned this to those of us( it may be just me) who'd like to know if that is a constraint to his giving a full answer.

Is this the case Henning. A quick yes or no will suffice. it may have to suffice anyway if the NDA is constructed well

Thanks

pentaxuser
 
bikerider, I know.
BUT the only company of the name "Harman" is the current one, founded in 2005 and they do not own the Ilford brand. The reason for this lies in the splitting of Ilford after their insolvency into two, and the fact that only one company can own it.
 

Some Japanese B&W papers are marked made in the UK (it's also why they aren't exported), and that's after Ilford took over Kentmere for their OpaJet display paper, a world leader.

Ilford have made papers for other European companies they made one for Fotoimpex and neither company made a secret of it.

Ian
 
  • pentaxuser
  • Deleted
  • Reason: off topic, political.
Post 25 is a link to the 2014 sale of the Ilford name etc.
 
mshchem said:
Post 25 is a link to the 2014 sale of the Ilford name etc.
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That is correct - the content is from a May 9, 2014 press release.
That press release is reported on through the linked Pro Counter Australia Professional Photography website which, somewhat confusingly and for no clear purpose, has the updated current date (in this case January 20, 2020) always showing in its header area.
 
miha said:
See: https://tinyurl.com/v6vwx37
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This looks like ILFORD JAPAN is releasing a "digital film" that is used to make large inkjet negatives for contact printing from a digital file. These negatives can then be used with their platinum print paper and chemistry, or used to contact print on their own brand of VC silver halide RC or FB black and white papers.
The beauty of promoting such workflow is all you need to make a nice black and white print is a printer, a couple trays, chemistry, and paper.
The one big thing Harman is struggling with is a lack of growth it paper sales. Maybe a way to easily make large inkjet negatives from a digital camera or film scan would spur use of paper.
 
This is the Google translation of the details of the Silverchrome ppaer:

Print blog

Print tutorial
inkjet Media
laboratory
artgrey website
Contact

Silverchrome darkroom portfolio

laboratory
Silverchrome photo papers and chemical chemicals from Japan

Ilford Japan announced at Photokina 2018 in Cologne to develop a complete black and white portfolio for the darkroom! The products were presented to the public in Yokuhama today - artgrey Photoproducts is the first company in Germany with further information.

The company Chugai Photo Chemical Co. Ltd, co-owner of the Ilford Imaging Europa GmbH brand, is a well-respected traditional company in Japan for both photo chemicals and coatings and has so far mainly supplied the Asian market. To meet the growing demand for darkroom products, Chugai Photo Chemical decided to develop an entire portfolio for the global market.

Baryte and plastic paper in two surfaces

The papers called Silverchrome will be available both as beard papers and as plastic-coated papers. The image tone should be neutral to slightly warm, so far nothing can be elicited from the manufacturer via optical brighteners and embedded developer substances.

Wetting agent wetting agent

The agent is used as a final bath to prevent limescale deposits on the surfaces of films and papers.

Wash Aid

The wash-out aid opens the paper felt, which means that the fixing residues can be flushed out of the paper faster and more thoroughly. This feature helps conserve resources and extend the durability of the prints.

Rapid Fixer

The quick fuser has the advantage of a short process time, which not only reduces the total working time, but also shortens the length of time the paper stays in the fuser and thus the washing time of the paper.

Stop Bath - stop bath with indicator

So far nothing is known about the composition of the stop bath, further information will follow shortly.

Developer - developer

The Silverchrome developer is a concentrate that is highly alkaline. According to the manufacturer, the developer should be diluted in a ratio of 1 + 9, but to be able to exert more influence on the development process it can also be diluted in a ratio of 1 + 14 or 1.19.


So it's conventional darkroom paper, however there's no mention of paper grade so we don't know if it's going to be a Graded paper or Variable contrast paper, It's not an Inkjet paper as some here have suggested.

Ian
 
Ian Grant said:
So it's conventional darkroom paper, however there's no mention of paper grade so we don't know if it's going to be a Graded paper or Variable contrast paper.
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As I stated above, it does not show up on the Ilford site, but above in this thread there is a photo of a flyer by Ilford on this paper. And there it is designated as Flexgrade.
You also see this designation on the label of the packaging that I posted above and which I took from the site of the dealer that actually trickled the OP to start this all.
 

I agree with your reasonings.
 
@pentaxuser:
No, I don't have a NDA concerning that topic. All I know for 100% I have written here. And I will not post any assumptions or speculation.

@all:
The "Silverchrome Flexgrade Paper RC / FB" are listed in the current printed catalog of Foto Brenner (this is the biggest German general online photo distributor (digital, general photo accessoires, and a certain amount of film and darkroom stuff; their printed catalog has about 300 pages and is send 2x p.a. to all their customers). I have the current catalog here in front of me.
The papers are described as (quote, translated by me):
"The new, especially cheap SW photo papers with variable contrast and neutral to slightly warm tone are available both as fibre based and resin coated papers".

Concerning the prices: In the Brenner catalog Silverchrome is a little bit cheaper than Ilford Multigrade IV and Multigrade FB classic. But not cheaper than these Ilford papers at Fotoimpex, by the way.

I consider it this way:
1. This may be of interest for BW darkroom users only.
2. If you are satiesfied with your current Ilford, ADOX or Foma papers, excellent. Than this Silverchrome paper is probably irrelevant for you.
3. If you are not satiesfied, try this new offer and look whether you like it or not.
Case closed .

I am very satiesfied with ADOX and Ilford Photo / Harman technology BW photo papers. I will continue to use them. Not only because of the excellent quality, but also because both companies have kept up in difficult times and have always been fully committed to film and photo paper / darkroom work. And I really appreciate that!

Best regards,
Henning
 
Henning Serger said:
@pentaxuser:
No, I don't have a NDA concerning that topic. All I know for 100% I have written here. And I will not post any assumptions or speculation.

Henning
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So from what you have already stated in an earlier post this paper is to all intents and purposes made by one of the existing paper manufacturers but you are not aware of which one

Thanks

pentaxuser
 

Thanks Henning, for your input. It helps. I have the same appreciation for Ilford, not only for the papers they make, but also for their service when something goes wrong. Excellent company. Printing, showing, selling, it is my life and it has been vital this company has not stopped the paper production, like Agfa did with Record Rapid - one of the most beautiful papers on the market.

Since 1978 I have used mainly two papers: Agfa Record Rapid and Ilford Warmtone, both fiber based papers. Even though I like Ilford warmtone a lot, I am always hoping another paper will surface that is closer to Record Rapid. The brochure I saw in Amsterdam, about this new paper was not conclusive. But I can always hope.
 
I know that this thread is mostly about the Silverchrome paper (which I somehow just discovered, however, it is on backorder here in Japan). Since I'll be working from home for the next 4 months, give or take, it will definitely give me more time to work in the darkroom. I thought that I would stock up on some papers and chemicals and found out that most everything is sold out, or nearly so, across all my usual suppliers, except for products made in Japan. Since this is clearly a supply issue, and since I don't know how long it will last, I made a big order to make sure I have enough to hopefully last me until the beginning of summer.

For many years now I've been using Chugai chemicals (known as "My Paper Developer" "My Stop" "My Fixer" "My Washaid", etc.) as they were much cheaper than the Kodak or Ilford equivalents. Well, now I've discovered they've been rebranded Ilford, with the Silverchrome name attached to it. Clearly though, it's just a name change, the packaging and the directions are all the same. I'm curious if they'll be released to the global market, or stay in Japan as they have been for the past many years. FWIW, I only ordered the new Silverchrome developer and fix, since the "new" stop and washaid are about triple the old price (and double the Ilford prices). I like the Chugai chemicals, except for the stop, which I find very strong and dilute twice as much to avoid pinholes in my film developing (paper no problem).

In the meantime, I'm going to keep my eye open for the Silverchrome paper - I'm interested in trying it, especially if it's a cheaper alternative to what is normally available here (at least for RC papers) and, ideally, if it liths like the currently discontinued Fujibro papers do. Has anyone here tried it? In theory I could order some from the Brenner website, but as I have been waiting over a month for a delivery from Fotoimpex (due to the fact that Japan is not accepting any deliveries of packages from DHL) it looks like I'll be waiting a while.

 
Very interesting, @mooseontheloose. I have some old Ilford paper from the 60s(?), which is marked Ilford Australia, so I guess branding for a particular market is simply good business sense to help sales.

If it means a company can break/stay in foreign markets, it's all good in my book - the more opportunities to sell analog products and keep film shooters happy, the better.
 
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