Resurrection of MCC progressing

[Uncle Bill]

This is great news Mirko and I replied to the email. Now the next big skill testing question once the paper production is up and running and along with it the "new" APX 100 and 400, how are you going to distribute them? Will you have distributors in different parts of the world and they sell to retail or will it direct through the store in Berlin?

Bill

 

[Rolleiflexible]

Sanders, Terri,

making MCC118 again depends on the availability of the paper base from the base manufacturer. Making "a matt" surface definitely won´t be a problem because they stock it, making "a specific matt" surface very quickly gets you into the struggle of "minimum order quantities".

We will definitely look into this when we start coating on a large scale. Switching the base- even in a running campaign- is theoretically possible. So if we can get the base I am very positive we will be able to offer this product at least once a year.

Best regards,

Mirko

Mirko, thanks for the reply. I always thought the MCC 118 had a different base and a different emulsion from MCC 111. Was I mistaken? Was the emulsion the same, with only the base changing? I loved the color of the MCC 118 paper and the prints on it. But I never liked the pebbly texture. In an ideal world, a new MCC 118 with a matte or satin finish rather than a pebbled one would be fantastic. Sanders

 

[ADOX Fotoimpex]

MCC 118

Sanders,

the emulsions themselves are the same (there are several necessary to make the paper).
The differences are in the coating additives and the color of the base.
The base color has a great impact on the appearance of the paper.

This is all possible, even the manufacturing of the special "to order" base.
It depends on volume, price and sales. We have to postpone this discussion until we have more data available from first actual sales.

Bill,

we are obviously interested in strong and dedicated distribution partners in every respective geographical region. Final talks will taker place once we know more about production costs. First we have to get the Paper to a definite production stage (also taking into consideration all of the testers feedback).
At this point I could only act as a stock market broker selling "MCC futures"

Best regards,

Mirko

 

[terri]

I am resurrecting this thread to ask about an update.

Has anyone received their sample packet yet? (Assuming the paper was cut and sent on the schedule previously mentioned by Mirko.)

Anyone?

 

[Aurelien]

Nope, but very impatient

 

[Harry Lime]

Two: films identical in parameters to films formerly sold as APX 400
Three: films identical in parameters to films formerly sold as APX 100
Four: films identical in parameters to films formerly sold as APX 25

All in 35mm, 120 and Sheets.

Mirko

You're my hero.

I loved APX100 in Rodinal.

And of course the AGFA papers....

HL

 

[Rolleiflexible]

Mirko: Any update?

Best,

Sanders McNew

 

[AgX]

If you look at this factory from the economical standpoint the idea is to get the fixed costs down to almost zero and work with variable costs only (at least idealy).
So whenever we actually emulsify, coat or confectionate products we have costs, but when we don´t we don´t.
The reason why so many photo factories went into receivership in the past was directly conected with the way they were operated coming from a HUGE worldwide market.
They had very high fixed costs (staff, building, size of machinery) and extremely large capacities. Once you reached a certain production volume your fixed costs were covered and extra output cost you next to nothing. In this case you were making money (serious bigtime money). In return if volumes decreased and you fell below this certain volume you were loosing (serious) money. To run such an operation sucesfully and long term with the markets continously decreasing is quite a challenge and I would be sceptical if a big company promises me today that they will definitely be there 10 years from now happily putting out a few thousand films or sqm of photopaper for analog photo artists every month.

Mirko,

The same you are trying now could have been done by Agfa or AgfaPhoto with the same people and the same machinery. So, to me it is not, or less, a question of rentability but rather of lack of intent not to do so.

 

[Daniel-OB]

Once the paper and film are set for production, and production is run, there is no more room to change it, because of cost and customers habit and perception for some specific product. As you now are integrating former AGFA scientists that learned a lot from the past emulsion design, and also your own guys, I am sure "New Agfa" product are even and "better" than in past. Well ilford, Berger and EFKE got gas from behing, but hope there will be place for all of you on photography market.
Mirko, I can tell that photography is picking up, at least in my comunity here in Canada.
I have art show sell organized by the city and many artist will be there. They do not allow digital prints to be exposed. Organizator say only hand made product that we select can go, and digital is not hand made product. And more so often guys with digital camera bring me dig. print to make reproduction on photo paper. So it is it. Never more it will be "kodak" market but always will be photographers around to buy your products.
All the best, and you have in your hands really good stuff.

www.Leica-R.com

 

[catem]

I am resurrecting this thread to ask about an update.

Has anyone received their sample packet yet? (Assuming the paper was cut and sent on the schedule previously mentioned by Mirko.)

Anyone?

I received a second email this evening confirming that the samples are about to be sent out - so I guess we will receive them soon! (the message says within the next few weeks).

 

[ijsbeer]

I've had the email too. I'm sleeping under my mailbox.

 

[Uncle Bill]

I got the email with the PDF form but the paper has not shown up yet.

 

[Andrew Moxom]

Same here. I got the 2nd email, and then proceeded to remove my second from last batch of Agfa MCC 111 from the freezer ready to be able to do a side by side comparison, with the Adox version. I cannot wait!

 

[terri]

Cate, I got the same email. There was some minor delay, apparently, but yes, it certainly looks like it's on the way.

We're an impatient little bunch, aren't we?

I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing everyone's results and opinions on the samples!

 

[Matthew Gorringe]

Can't wait, the fact that this product can be made at all gives me more hope for the future of silver photography.

 

[ADOX Fotoimpex]

Samples

The samples are cut and on their way to the US since about two weeks.
Freestyle will help us with the distribution of the samples in the US and Canada.
We are holding samples for Germany until Freestyle receives their parcel in the US and then we will simultaniously drop them in the mailbox both in the US and in Germany for the first participants on the list.
Meanwhile we are cutting more samples for those who applied later.

There has been a delay of one week now because for whatever reason the DHL parcel to Freestyle has not yet shown up.

Samples to European participants from other countries than Germany were dropped in the mailbox in the beginning of this week so if DHL takes any longer to deliver the parcel in the US these people will get theirs earlier.

I would like to mention that on some samples you might expirience minor coating defects like streaks or bubbles. They are often invisible unless you use a microscope or do lith printing and they will not have any influence on the image properties.

The reason is that the small research coater for first roll to roll coating tests does not have a controlled and constant degasing unit while feeding the hopper and there was no final quality inspection done (laser for bubbles and grey sheet for streaks).
With research coaters this kind of quality inspection is uncommon because for doing the analytics you want to do with these samples they work just fine the way they are.

Needless to say that the final product will not show this because it will be coated on a regular production machine.

Enjoy your samples !

Best regards,

Mirko

PS the feedback sheet can be downloaded here: http://www.adox.de/english/ADOX_Papers/MCC/MCC.html

 

[Uncle Bill]

Thanks for the update Mirko.

 

[George Papantoniou]

I just recieved (this morning) the package with the sample from Mirko and Fotoimpex... I haven't opened it yet but I plan to enter the darkroom tomorrow or - the latest - in two days. I'll post my comments here...

 

[GeorgesGiralt]

Hi !
My wife called that the postman has left a packet from Fotoimpex Berlin!
Can't wait !!

 

[Jean Noire]

Samples received in UK today !!
Will evaluate as soon as possible.

 

[pedropolis]

got my sample today too, can't wait to get into the darkroom with it!

The samples beeing sent out are still very fresh and not hardened fully.
Please dry them at room temperature.

mirko, how do you reccommended we dry them? the only way i can think of is to hang them up in a darkroom or maybe to stick the sheets in a papersafe?:confused:

cheers
pete

 

[GeorgesGiralt]

Hi !
I opened the Fotoimpex envelope.
The paper box looks very profesionnal, I think the actual production boxes will look like that.
I'm impressed by the effort Fotoimpex had put into this Agfa product resurrection ! I think this is a huge investment and I _do_ hope it will be successful !
I do not know if I will be able to test the paper soon because I leave foR 3 weeks abroad on sunday, so as I'm late on packing and checking my cameras, I may have to wait for my return home.
Thanks a lot Mirko and all the staff for the hard work !

 

[munz6869]

What an awesome discussion thread!! And I thought I was mad for hording so many bottles of Rodinal... I will buy nothing but APX100 in 120 when it reappears!! Bliss....

Marc

 

[mikeg]

I don't want to sound like me too, but I just went home for lunch and found my package had arrived! As Georges has said, it does look like the finished product. Well done to the Fotoimpex marketing department as well as the R&D people.

It's a public holiday weekend here in the UK, summer seems to have arrived at last and some friends will be here this evening, so I won't be able to get into the darkroom until next week at the earliest. Thanks to Mirko and everyone at Fotoimpex, you've obviously put a lot of effort (and money) into this. Just these free samples can't have been cheap. I hope it succeeds.

Mike

 

[ath]

got my sample today too, can't wait to get into the darkroom with it!



mirko, how do you reccommended we dry them? the only way i can think of is to hang them up in a darkroom or maybe to stick the sheets in a papersafe?:confused:

cheers
pete

As far as I understood Mirko, he is talking about drying after processing.