Velox Paper

Wyno · Dec 3, 2008

I have been asked to do some prints from xray film fo r a friend and he has given me some unopened Velox 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch paper. I've never used this before and know nothing about exposure times and chemicals for it. He has told me that he can get me more in various sizes up to 16x20 unopened. Would I be better off using Ilford multigrade (having to pay for it myself) or should I just go with the Velox?
Mike

drpsilver · Dec 3, 2008

03 Dec 2008

Wyno:

I used Velox almost exclusively when I first began "my life in the dark". At the time I used Dektol (1:2 or 1:3). The whites are clear and the blacks rich, but I foud the paper to be slow. Any print developer should work with this paper, nut I would suggest developers that give neutral to cold tones. My advice would to be get as much of it as possible and experiment.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Darwin

Rlibersky · Dec 3, 2008

Hi Mike
I have been printing on Velox paper for a couple of years now. Some as old as 90 years. Most from the 40's-70's. It is easily printed on with the right developers. I will PM you on how to contact me if you would like more information.

Randy

Ian Grant · Dec 4, 2008

The Nepera Velox developer formula - as published by Eastman Kodak in 1905:

Hydroquinone 2 g
Sodium Sulphite (anhyd) 7 g
Sodium Carbonate (anhyd) 13g
Metol 0.5 g
Potassium Bromide 10% 40 drops
Water to 300 ml

More recent Kodak recommended D-158 or the Metol free D-173 developer for Velox papers.

D-158 "Velox" Developer ( available as a "Kodak" packaged developer)

Metol 3.2 g
Sodium Sulphite (anhyd) 50 g
Hydroquinone 13.3 g
Sodium Carbonate (anhyd) 69 g
Potassium Bromide 0.9 g
Water to 1 litre

Use 1+1 Develop "Velox" for 30-40 seconds @ 18°C

Hope these help

Ian

nworth · Dec 4, 2008

Velox is a silver chloride paper. Handling is similar to Azo, but it has about double the speed. Dektol works fine, although you may want to try one of the contact paper developers if you mix your own. Kodak recommended diluting D-72 (Dektol) 1 + 1 for use with Velox. The main difference in processing is that Velox develops much more quickly than enlarging papers, usually developing fully in 45 seconds to one minute.

fschifano · Dec 4, 2008

I'd expect development to be a lot quicker with Dektol at 1+1 rather than at the usual 1+2. That shouldn't stop you from trying it with Dektol at the usual dilution. Chances are that it will work fine. But remember that any Velox paper you have will be very old. It is not uncommon for old enlarging papers to develop some fog with a resultant loss of contrast over a period of years. Don't be too surprised if that's what you find. However, slow silver chloride papers are not nearly as sensitive to age fog as are enlarging papers, so your Velox might be just fine.

Photo Engineer · Dec 4, 2008

Velox develops rather quickly and this becomes a problem as sheet size increases. Uniformity suffers.

It is slow, as stated above, about 1 stop faster than Azo and is remarkably similar to Azo in formulation. It is UV/Blue sensitive and can only be used well for contact printing.

PE

Wyno · Dec 4, 2008

Thanks for the advice everybody. I think I have some Dektol that my father gave me. I'll have a hunt round the garage and check.
Mike

bleachershane · Nov 23, 2023

I hate to bring an old thread back to life, but I was wondering something about Velox paper. I know it's a slow paper and not designed for enlargement prints, but contact prints, but:
1) could you make contacts prints with a standard enlarger light source, or do you need to use UV light as someone about says it's UV/blue sensitive?
and
2) Would it be possible to develop it in modern developers such as Ilford Multigrade?
I ask this as I have a few unopened packs I'd like to experiment with and my college has enlargers and uses standard RC paper developers such as Ilford Multigrade, and I'm interested to see if old Velox paper can be contact exposed and developed with the equipment and chemicals they have on-site.

chuckroast · Nov 23, 2023

bleachershane said:
I hate to bring an old thread back to life, but I was wondering something about Velox paper. I know it's a slow paper and not designed for enlargement prints, but contact prints, but:
1) could you make contacts prints with a standard enlarger light source, or do you need to use UV light as someone about says it's UV/blue sensitive?
and
2) Would it be possible to develop it in modern developers such as Ilford Multigrade?
I ask this as I have a few unopened packs I'd like to experiment with and my college has enlargers and uses standard RC paper developers such as Ilford Multigrade, and I'm interested to see if old Velox paper can be contact exposed and developed with the equipment and chemicals they have on-site.

I used it primarily with a contact printing box that had a 75W bulb in it and developed it in Dektol from a Tri-Chem pack. So, yes, modern developers should work fine, but the paper will likely be too slow for enlargements and only useful for contacts (for which i was intended). The enlarging paper of the day was Kodabromide graded.

MattKing · Nov 23, 2023

bleachershane said:
I hate to bring an old thread back to life, but I was wondering something about Velox paper. I know it's a slow paper and not designed for enlargement prints, but contact prints, but:
1) could you make contacts prints with a standard enlarger light source, or do you need to use UV light as someone about says it's UV/blue sensitive?
and
2) Would it be possible to develop it in modern developers such as Ilford Multigrade?
I ask this as I have a few unopened packs I'd like to experiment with and my college has enlargers and uses standard RC paper developers such as Ilford Multigrade, and I'm interested to see if old Velox paper can be contact exposed and developed with the equipment and chemicals they have on-site.

Welcome to Photrio.
This actually is a good example of where it makes sense to continue posting to an old thread. Information about how to make use of any existing, unused Velox won't be likely to become dated.
Yes, you can use an enlarger as a light source for contact printing with Velox. You will have to experiment with adjusting the intensity of light and duration of exposure.
As Photo Engineer (RIP) posted 15 years ago, Velox has some sensitivity to UV, so UV can fog it, but it also has sensitivity to the light coming from an enlarger.
All Velox is fixed contrast, so you won't have available to you the contrast control tools available for variable contrast papers.
The advice earlier in the thread about using standard developers is fine.
The paper will be old, so check it for uniformity and usable contrast.

mshchem · Nov 24, 2023

UV emitting bulbs came in an old contact printer I have. This made the process of production runs of contact prints very fast even something like Azo or similar contact prints could have 2-3 second exposure times.

No problem using an enlarger, use it with the lens wide open, brightess bulb focused as close as will cover the negative(s) you are printing. Times could be longer than normal.

MarkS · Nov 29, 2023

When I tried using a standard paper developer with Azo, 20+ years ago, I got noticeably blue tones. Not really attractive. Photographer's Formulary sells a paper developer designed for Azo and (the very similar) Lodima, which might work better. It was formulated by the late Michael A. Smith and his wife, Paula Chamlee, just for those (and any other) chloride contact-speed papers.

A note of trivia: in Rochester, NY, there is a Velox Street. It's only one block long, and is adjacent to Kodak Park, EK's giant manufacturing facility. Which is now smaller and renamed "Eastman Business Park" but still there.

BrianShaw · Nov 29, 2023

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Velox Paper

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