Velox 35mm

jprofita · Jul 20, 2023

I was given a box of photo stuff recently and this oddity was inside. Was this used in a machine to produce proofs or something else?

MattKing · Jul 20, 2023

Photo booth paper maybe?

MarkS · Jul 20, 2023

Velox paper was a contact-speed material similar to Azo. It came in many sizes. MattKing's idea about its use in 35mm is as good as any.
Trivia; there's a Velox Street in Rochester, NY, adjacent to Kodak's once-enormous factory complex, Kodak Park.

jprofita · Jul 20, 2023

Thanks for the responses.I haven't thought about photo booths in awhile! This makes sense. I have made a few prints on Velox developed in Dektol...wasn't that impressed. I have read there was a developer made for the paper.

MattKing · Jul 20, 2023

Velox was a very slow paper designed for contact printing. Most likely it would give best results if you contact print a fairly dense and contrasty negative.

Xylo · Jul 20, 2023

Yeah, Velox is not what we're used to today.
I have a few packs and once you get the exposure close enough, it's actually pretty good.
I processed mine in PQ Universal and it went fine. Don't forget that it's a fixed grade paper, so you do need to match the negatives to it in order to get the best results.

On the back of the pack of 8x10 Velox F-3 I have, it says that it's used for low contrast negatives and to process in Dektol.

I know that the F in the code is for Glossy surface finish (E would be Luster). And I believe that the following number is the actual grade of the paper. I'd have to see if I have an old book that describes the paper codes in order to get a proper description.

One thing's for sure though, by being so slow it's incredibly resistant to fog, so you don't need to use Benzo in order to get clean whites.

MarkS · Jul 20, 2023

That's right, "F-3" means a grade 3 glossy surface. "Specification 16" refers to how the paper was packaged, perhaps on a particular spool, wound emulsion in or out, etc. Xylo is correct; it might still be usable (if you can find an application for that odd size). As for developer choice, I'd just try Dektol or any standard paper developer. Photographer's Formulary sells a paper developer that was used by Michael Smith for the similar Azo paper (both Azo and Velox are silver-chloride emulsions), but that's probably not necessary.

MattKing · Jul 20, 2023

My very first darkroom prints were made on small sheets of Velox from 2.5" x 4.5" 616 negatives, using a Contact Printing box.
I developed those in the same 5x7 trays I used to see-saw develop the roll of 616 film.

btaylor · Jul 20, 2023

MattKing said:
My very first darkroom prints were made on small sheets of Velox from 2.5" x 4.5" 616 negatives, using a Contact Printing box.
I developed those in the same 5x7 trays I used to see-saw develop the roll of 616 film.

Ha! Me too. I recently found the box and the instructions. I was curious about how they were going to recommend roll film development with that kit, and indeed, they had a photo of a guy see-sawing a roll. I developed my 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 sheets from my Miniature Speed Graphic in the trays and contact printed them on the Velox paper.

Bill Burk · Jul 21, 2023

Might have worked in a Varityper Headliner

Don_ih · Jul 21, 2023

It's probably for contact printing 35mm negatives - maybe for passport photos or doing layouts of newspapers (the headshots that you see next to articles). Your photobooth wouldn't work for very long on 100 feet of paper. I also thought they used a faster paper, double weight, and reversal processed it. (Not sure why I think that - read it somewhere - but it might be wrong.)

jprofita · Jul 21, 2023

Bill Burk - I had to look that one up...interesting dead tech.

MattKing · Jul 21, 2023

Bill Burk said:
Might have worked in a Varityper Headliner

Bingo!

Don_ih · Jul 21, 2023

MattKing said:
Bingo!

Probably not. Linotype paper is not the same as Velox. Those machines, from what I can tell, all took extra light ad-type paper - thinner than single weight. And they didn't use graded paper - although I guess you could say they used only grade 6 paper.

MattKing · Jul 21, 2023

Don_ih said:
Probably not. Linotype paper is not the same as Velox. Those machines, from what I can tell, all took extra light ad-type paper - thinner than single weight. And they didn't use graded paper - although I guess you could say they used only grade 6 paper.

Good point - I had forgotten about the thickness of the paper, despite having "waxed" a fair bit of in place back in the day.

Xylo · Jul 21, 2023

MattKing said:
I had forgotten about the thickness of the paper, despite having "waxed" a fair bit of in place back in the day.

I had totally forgotten about the sticking stuff with wax part.
I know the graphic design team Modern Dog used this technique quite a bit for a very long time, even after the first digital workflows came about.

ThomasW · Jul 22, 2023

jprofita said:
View attachment 344365I was given a box of photo stuff recently and this oddity was inside. Was this used in a machine to produce proofs or something else?

When I first started in photography in 1968, I used Velox F-3 in (I think) 2.5 x 3.5-inch size to contact print the 620 roll-film negatives I developed by sluicing through 5 x7 trays of Dektol. The Velox was also processed with Dektol. With good reasonable exposures, using a contact print box, it produced good prints. In 35 mm form like this box, I expect that this was being used in an automated fashion (in some long-forgotten machine) as most people that did a contact sheet with 35 mm negatives in those days used 8 x 10 sheets of Velox.

Todd Barlow · Jul 22, 2023

I also have a box.
Mine is perforated on both edges just like 35mm film.

Molli · Jul 22, 2023

You could buy contact printers for strips of 35mm.
I recently bought a half dozen tins of rolled up, exposed 35mm. One of them was jammed full of individual 35mm contact prints. They're currently residing in a very small flower press in an attempt to kill the curl.

I use a Paterson Contact Printer occasionally for individual 6x4.5, 6x6 and 6x9 on Velox papers and have little pocket photo pouches and albums to show the quizzical when I'm out with old folders,TLRs or my 4x5.

mshchem · Jul 22, 2023

Leica produced contact printers for papers and films. This paper would work in these printers. Kinda freaking

snusmumriken · Jul 23, 2023

Some labs in the UK used to offer contact strips off 35mm negatives in a continuous roll, presumably using this kind of material.

mshchem · Jul 23, 2023

jprofita said:
View attachment 344365I was given a box of photo stuff recently and this oddity was inside. Was this used in a machine to produce proofs or something else?

Is this perforated? Leica made contact printers for making black and white (positive) transparencies and film strips, also for making cool Velox contact prints. These printers require perforated strips for transport in sync through the little printers.

Bill Burk · Jul 25, 2023

Ah you’re all right Velox wouldn’t be for headliner.

I remember seeing them on eBay when searching for Panatomic-X

People used to get contact print strips with their film in these long rectangular boxes…

Velox 35mm

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