[LargeFormat] Kodak Azo Paper

[Richard Knoppow]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Clive Warren" <cocam@blueyonder.co.uk>
To: <largeformat@f32.net>
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2002 10:50 AM
Subject: RE: [LargeFormat] Kodak Azo Paper


> >Hi,
> >
> >Nobody? really?
> >
> >Huib
> >
> >  > Azo paper seems to be a wonderful invention for
anyone considering
> >>  contact printing. If 8x10 film in the UK didn't
require a second
> >>  mortgage then maybe Kodak would have allowed us to buy
Azo over here.
> >  > Yep, that's right, Kodak don't sell Azo papers in the
UK....
> snip
>
> Hello Huib,
>
> Was beginning to wonder if it was something I had said!
>
> Nope, I made a call to Kodak UK and spoke to one of their
honchos.
> Apparently Kodak have never supplied Azo to Europe. They
did say that
> they may have tried to introduce it through their dealer
network many
> decades ago but there were no takers.
>
> I guess we are just unenlightened here.....
>
> Cheers,
>         Clive
>
  Azo may have been sold under another name. Kodak seems to
have used different names in England than in the U.S.
  The name Azo came to Eastman Kodak from one of the
companies it aquired in the period around 1900, the same era
it aquired Velox, Aristo, and others.
  For several decades Kodak made at least three slow contact
printing papers. Velox was originally a "gaslight" paper,
with sensitivity so low it could be processed in dim room
light. Later, Velox became a "fast" contact paper meant for
amateur darkrooms and photofinishing. It had a definite
blue-black image color. Azo was the neutral tone
professional contact paper. About one third the speed of
Velox. It was made in six grades and a dozen or more
combinations of surfaces, textures, and support colors. The
third contact paper was Athena, a slow (even slower than
Azo) very warm tone contact paper. Athena also came in a
wide variety of surfaces and textures and in single and
double weight stock. Athena and Opal (slow enlarging paper)
were aquired from the Vitava company and bore that name
until after WW-2.  Kodak also made a medium warm tone
contact paper under the name Illustrator's Azo.
  I suspect a survey of _The British Journal Almanack_
whould show what papers Kodak sold in the U.K.
  Agfa certainly made contact papers, as did all nearly all
other makers of photographic papers. From the samples in old
Agfa/Ansco paper sample books I think their papers were even
better than Kodak's.
  Agfa and Ansco's equivalent to Azo was Convira, the
equivalent to Athena, Cykon. Cykon had a nearly brown image
color. Again, these papers were probably sold under other
names in the U.K. and in Europe.
  Micheal and Paula's prints are beautiful indeed. I suspect
they could get excellent quality out of any paper but they
seem to find Azo perfect for what they do. The use of their
Amidol developer is recommended.
  AFAIK, Azo is the only contact speed paper still in
production.
  Kodak confirmed to me not long ago that it is still a
chloride emulsion.

---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@ix.netcom.com