Kodak technical data sheets for Verichrome Pan (VP) & High Speed Infrared (HIE) film

I found a stack of Kodak Technical Data publications that I had printed out 15-20 years ago, so I'm going to scan and post them here for reference.

Here is publication F-7 dated Nov. 1996, for VP Verichrome Pan film; and publication F-13 dated Jan. 1999, for HIE High Speed Infrared film.

A sad day when those films were discontinued. I just wish that Kodak would have made VP in sheet sizes. But they never asked me...

I had heard that the particular grain size and distribution was such that it was too difficult to get an even dispersion across sheet film sizes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by John Schneider

I had heard that the particular grain size and distribution was such that it was too difficult to get an even dispersion across sheet film sizes.

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Doubtful, especially as it was available as 8in rolls and several other wide rollfilm sizes. More likely to have been the costs involved in modifying the emulsion for working on Estar base & that the only R&D done in the last decades of its production was the minimum necessary to keep manufacturing it. The need to re-engineer it to move to B-38 was probably what killed it.

John, that sounds plausible, but in fact Kodak coats film in 46" wide master rolls and then slits it to size. A problem may have been due to differences between acetate and Estar bases, though. When I worked at EK I sometimes had interactions with film designers and production engineers, and came away amazed at the complexity of the process of film manufacture, and the brilliance, dedication, and pride of the engineers and technicians. (See Bob Shanebrook's "Making Kodak Film"). But my best guess is that the company didn't see a market among "professionals" for an "amateur" film.
I didn't discover VP until I bought a TLR around 2005- and was very pleasantly surprised by the 'look' of VP. Something about that film and the cameras' humble Schneider Xenar lens just 'clicked'. It was very easy to get beautiful results, which I did until I used up all my VP and sold the Rolleicord.