Who DID buy all of the AZO????

[Curt]

Again Dave is right on the button. By the way Dave I received the 11x14 GG yesterday and it is, of course, beautiful.

 

[wbryant]

I originally made this post, and have since seen it spiral out of control. The blaming, finger pointing, accusing, etc is not necessary.

My original intent was to find out if the recently purchased AZO was coming to market. If not, that is the buyer's right.

I still have some AZO left, and I will use it all up (unless Alex Hawley wants some. I will gladly give up my amateur attempts to further his wonderful art)

To Michael Smith: Thanks for your hard work. I enjoyed speaking to you when I bought my box of AZO. I patiently await a new paper that you would feel good enough about to print on yourself.

To the moderators: Since this thread has served it's purpose and is no longer constructive, please feel free to close it.

Thanks, Will Bryant

 

[laz]

What I've always wanted to know was who bought up all the ochre red paint? That stuff made the greatest cave wall pictures ever! When P-Kodak (Prehistoric Kodak) stopped producing it folks said that they had a whole quarry full! Some Neanderthal by the name of Og Smith was rumored to have bought the remaining stock.........

 

[ongarine]

When a Pope die it is sure another will be made.
Azo is dead like many products in the last five years. It is the conequence of this epocal changement, but history of photography is full of changements.
Some with great regret, some others with no regret.
The positive side is that a new contact printing paper is coming.....
It is a waste of time fussy and fight ghosts on the forum.
Everyone of us has some regrets about something about the post industrial photographic world that is disappearring.
Be positive.

 

[DKT]

hi clay -

i since the federal government stopped accepting submissions on locally significant properties, state's historic preservation commissions set the rules for what submissions will be printed on. a lot of the states aren't set-up for large format submissions, so unfortunately they take 35mm film+4x6 or 5x7 enlargements. and i know kent, who sometimes contributes here on apug ( works at a state archives )has suggested that everything is kind of gearing up to all digital submissions.

as for national register guidelines, that is a different thing altogether. they *used to* ( 80s and early 90s) require everything be printed on fb paper (read: archival) but fewer and fewer labs were able to print on that, and people complained of the cost of a fiber print, so they began to accept rc prints, and now, at least here in new england, i've been told, they accept digital outputs in some states. i've talked to fellow preservation people, and have been told that things may be going back to traditional film because no one has any idea of archival-ness of digital-stuff, but i have no idea ...

as for who has all the azo ...
maybe the library of congress bought some of it. i know the habs office prints all their own projects &C on azo ... and they shoot 8x10 format too.

Hey, jon & clay--

yeah this is true. the SHPO office processed film and made prints for both the staffers and the outsiders who were doing the historic register work, and they've been using 35mm b/w and making RC prints for this. there was a little bit of 4x5 being used, and they printed fiber for a long time as well, but sometime in the 80s, they went heavy into RC prints, and it's been that way ever since.

On top of that, not every state even has a darkroom or any photo staff. So they were relying on local labs and outside vendors for this work, and now with a lot of these labs going out of business, or going over to digital output, it's really changed the way a lot of institutions work. Then you have to kind of consider the budget realities as well, and what happens when film & paper prices rise up off the traditionally dirt cheap nature of gov't contracts.

The NHR went digital for submissions though, in the early part of this year. The new requirements are sort of based on the NARA requirements for digital archiving, but they also require b/w inkjet prints to be made in addition to the digital files, and then there's a list of approved products--inksets, printers and papers. The whole thing is confusing to me, but that's not my job really, so I'm not in on the details. where I am, the only thing keeping us from going totally digital is that those of us working in the studio prefer to shoot film. When all of us "old timers" in the labs retire or move on, I don't think they'll stick with film or paper very long. There's a lot of pressure inside & outside of the community to move into digital. Don't kid yourself thinking otherwise.

my opinions of course, not my employers.