Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/04/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]One of the prime difficulties in finding 'good' b&w printing papers is that the production of such is an environmental disaster. Thus, large-volume producers such as AGFA and Kodak have been forced to reduce the silver content in their papers to comply with environmental regulations, and this has led to greyer blacks and muddier whites in a lot of papers. Ilford used to be a small company by world standards. Then they got bought out by International Paper. British environmental laws are stricter for the large than the small, and Ilford found itself moving from quite mild to quite harsh regulation. Thus, Ilford papers now suffer under the same strictures as most other manufacturers. The 'Original Wolfen' -- ORWO -- papers were produced in an environmental hell-hole, which is why they were the best on the market until the re-unification of the Germanies caused AGFA to clean up the plant, and the quality became that of everyone else. Forte papers, made at the old Kodak plant in Budapest -- which dates back to Habsburg days -- retain a high content but are quite old-fashioned in construction and effect. Ilford probably does the best job on mass-produced b&w papers at present in my opinion, especially Multigrade IV. After all, they developed the idea! Marc msmall@roanoke.infi.net FAX: +540/343-7315 Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!