Washi Y - what kind of emulsion?

kuhyraco · 2025-10-01T06:04:20-0400

Hello,

I've always liked Washi products with ortho emulsion, an now I came across their Y film, which is supposed to have a panchromatic emulsion with a sensitivity of 100 iso.

Applying orthochromatic emulsion, such as that sold by Foma, to paper.....I can imagine that.......but does anyone know what the source of this particular emulsion is?
I guess it's not easy to develop something of your own.

Thanks.

kuhyraco · 2025-10-01T06:35:24-0400

Ohh, color film category...

I'm sorry, is it possible to move/delete?

koraks · 2025-10-01T07:22:41-0400

kuhyraco said:
Ohh, color film category...

I'm sorry, is it possible to move/delete?

No worries, I've moved your post to its present location.

kuhyraco said:
Applying orthochromatic emulsion, such as that sold by Foma, to paper.....I can imagine that.......but does anyone know what the source of this particular emulsion is?

Well, the paper/substrate doesn't really mind what kind of emulsion is applied to it, so there's no technical reason why a paper base would have to use a non-panchromatic emulsion. There's a practical reason why in a home setup it's more challenging to work with a panchromatic emulsion: part of the work needs to be done in the dark, including the coating/application and drying steps. In an automated process as is likely used for the manufacture of Washi products, this is less of a concern since it can simply be done within a dark space.

As to the emulsion - I don't know what they use, specifically, but also here there's no major technical challenge involved as it's fairly straightforward to make a simple, panchromatic emulsion. This is even true in a home darkroom, although as said part of the process needs to be done in the dark. IR night vision goggles can be used in this case.

kuhyraco · 2025-10-01T07:44:22-0400

koraks said:
No worries, I've moved your post to its present location.

Well, the paper/substrate doesn't really mind what kind of emulsion is applied to it, so there's no technical reason why a paper base would have to use a non-panchromatic emulsion. There's a practical reason why in a home setup it's more challenging to work with a panchromatic emulsion: part of the work needs to be done in the dark, including the coating/application and drying steps. In an automated process as is likely used for the manufacture of Washi products, this is less of a concern since it can simply be done within a dark space.

As to the emulsion - I don't know what they use, specifically, but also here there's no major technical challenge involved as it's fairly straightforward to make a simple, panchromatic emulsion. This is even true in a home darkroom, although as said part of the process needs to be done in the dark. IR night vision goggles can be used in this case.

Thanks for the help and answer!

I didn't really mean the paper, more like, it would probably be easier to get ortho emulsion.
After reading some posts from Rowland Mowrey (Photo Engineer) here, I got the impression that making your own panchromatic emulsion is not such a simple thing

koraks · 2025-10-01T08:55:48-0400

kuhyraco said:
I didn't really mean the paper, more like, it would probably be easier to get ortho emulsion.

Sorry, I was thinking about the original Washi 'film' that was on a paper base.
Anyway, either Washi is competent enough to make a panchromatic emulsion, or they farm out this task to someone who is. It's not insanely complex technology. Anyone could do this at home (making a film on par with let's say Tri-x or even Fomapan is a different story).

Washi Y - what kind of emulsion?

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