Who first offered green and blue sensitive variable contrast paper?

[CMoore]

I assume it was one of the bigger Paper/Film companies, but maybe i am wrong

Who was it that was able to......maybe not the FIRST to invent or produce, but......... Refine, Standardize, Normalize the Green and Blue emulsion that we use today?
The Henry Ford of black and white paper
Thank You

 

[MattKing]

Thread title changed - because I think it helps!

 

[mshchem]

Defender? Dupont, Varigam???

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

VC paper is coated with a mixture of blue-sensitive and orthochromatic emulsions. Orthochromatic emulsions date to the 1870's.

The first patent for VC paper was issued in Germany in the very early 1900's.

Defender introduced Varigam, the first VC paper, in 1939. Defender was later bought out by Dupont who exited the photographic business in the late 60's.

Although the technology is basic it is only recently, with Ilford's MGV papers, that VC papers can match the performance of the graded papers available in the 1960's.

It's a funny rule that once a technology is finally made to work well it is suddenly obsolete. Part of that is tautology: When something becomes obsolete it is no longer developed and so it is, by default, at the pinnacle of its perfection; If something is brought to actual perfection it can no longer be improved on and so it becomes an obsolete dead-end that is superseded by a new technology. Perfection, is in a word, useless. When God finally works something out He gets bored and finds some new toys to play with - just ask the Dinosaurs.

I wonder if MGV is going to be the swan-song for B&W photographic paper. Probably when they introduce it in FB WT.

 

[mshchem]

Here's Lina's information on Ilford site

https://www.ilfordphoto.com/in-focus-lina-bessonova/

 

[wiltw]

Perfection, is in a word, useless. When God finally works something out He gets bored and finds some new toys to play with - just ask the Dinosaurs.

So when athletes in the Olympics are not running and swimming faster and breaking World Records, and when man has finally managed to achieve World Peace, that is a warning sign that God might be getting bored again, and wanting to start over and end Homo sapiens.
But since we are still screwing up the climate and filling oceans with plastics, and still warring with each other, The End must not be near!

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

But since we are still screwing up the climate and filling oceans with plastics, and still warring with each other, The End must not be near!

Global warming, pollution and war - keeping mankind safe for the ages!

But, really, think of a world without problems - it would be death warmed over. Or a world of Forrest Gumps and Chauncey Gardiners.

Give me The Worm Oreborous.

 

[CMoore]

Here's Lina's information on Ilford site

https://www.ilfordphoto.com/in-focus-lina-bessonova/

I remember watching her video when 5 first came out.
I forget Exactly what she said, but she discussed how 5 exceeded 4. That was awhile ago.
Not sure how she feels several months later.

Not sure how many photographers of her age (any age) use an 8x10 enlarger.

From the Ilford Site -------

By the way, the Multigrade system is an ILFORD invention back from 1912, released in 1940 commercially. DuPont had a multigrade Varigam system released around the same time - but it’s still unclear if it was based on the Ilford one or not - maybe you guys could clarify that? I’m curious - We're not 100% sure but this article states that Frank Forster Renwick worked for Dupont in the US for three years in between working for ILFORD so it could be.

 

[Mike Crawford]

Interesting topic and by coincidence, I met the author of this excellent article yesterday about the very beginnings of Multigrade though took a few more decade till Ilford produced Multigrade II.
https://rps.org/news/bristol/2021/may/multigrade/

 

[pentaxuser]

Global warming, pollution and war - keeping mankind safe for the ages!

But, really, think of a world without problems - it would be death warmed over. Or a world of Forrest Gumps and Chauncey Gardiners.

Give me The Worm Oreborous.

All said with tongue in cheek, I presume. For instance, I would not consider a life where I could be sure of accident free motoring, no theft and good health throughout life to name but three things, to be death warmed over. Nor I suspect would you but if we were the wrong two people replying to each other, this might be a good example of how quickly we could derail the topic and get it sent to the Soapbox despite Matt's contention that I was wrong in suggesting that anything beyond "straight photography" is close to automatically being relegated to that famous "box"

pentaxuser

 

[CMoore]

Thread title changed - because I think it helps!

Yep...........10-4

 

[MattKing]

It is impressive how a thread asking about the origins of variable contrast paper can somehow segue into discussion about perfection, global warming and pollution, but please bring it back to being on topic.
The thread topic itself doesn't belong in the Soap Box, but I'm loath to start carefully pruning the rest!

 

[sasah zib]

Kuhn's text aside --

Dupont had Varigam and Varilour -- special printers (split filter) were made for the mass production labs. Reminder: paper came with instructions on making the filters to use.
The smaller lab had something like this analog computer:


[frames only; can't upload MOV]

 

[pentaxuser]

Kuhn's text aside --

Dupont had Varigam and Varilour -- special printers (split filter) were made for the mass production labs. Reminder: paper came with instructions on making the filters to use.
The smaller lab had something like this analog computer:
View attachment 286199 View attachment 286200

[frames only; can't upload MOV]

Thanks for the pics. Now that is the kind of computer that appeals to me. It looks intuitive and I bet it works that way as well

pentaxuser

 

[Paul Howell]

Dupont made Virgrame until the mid to late 70s, snag was only available in large lots for commercial work. A photo shop I brought from in Sacramento would buy boxes of 8X10 and 11X14 and resell in box of 100 or packet of 26. Similar to what Photo Wearhouse dose today. The owner was really pived when Dupont stopped all production has he had been told by the Dupont rep that there were no plans to close the coating line, a week it was gone. Someone told me later than Dupont did not want to spend the money to compete with Kodak to retool for RC production. It was about the same time GAF got of out the photo business. DuPont film and chemistry production did stop in the 60s, when in college I bought some out of date film for a few pennies on the dollar.

 

[sasah zib]

dupont also custom coated... your order would be with Dupont but the shipment would come from Binghamton,NY --ansco plant.[GAF]
we woulld also order speciality dyes/color from ansco/gaf but they would ship from North Carolina, or Rochester.--

 

[AgX]

The first patent for VC paper was issued in Germany in the very early 1900's.

To Rudolf Fischer, the inventor of chromogenic development, who had the basic idea on current tri-layer colour film.

 

[AgX]

I would like to add that when I started with photography I had no idea of such paper. Just because it was not offered in West-Germany. And in hindsight too I only see reference in german textbooks etc. from the 80's onwards.

 

[pentaxuser]

The owner was really pived when Dupont stopped all production has he had been told by the Dupont rep that there were no plans to close the coating line, a week it was gone. .

It's the old story: You need to speak to the organ grinder to be sure what is going to happen. Reps are usually far too low in the pecking order to be other than monkeys

pentaxuser

 

[CMoore]

Interesting topic and by coincidence, I met the author of this excellent article yesterday about the very beginnings of Multigrade though took a few more decade till Ilford produced Multigrade II.
https://rps.org/news/bristol/2021/may/multigrade/

That circa 1940 period of Ilford is rather interesting.
I did not know Kodak tried to buy them out, but the fact they did is not a surprise.

Here is a link to a big discussion on the Ilford site ..............

ILFORD Multigrade Printing Paper
http://photomemorabilia.co.uk/Ilford/Multigrade.html

 

[DonW]

I used Varigram in the late 60's. It was nice stuff. I only just chucked out the box of filters for it. Probably should have kept them.