What is Azo?

[plaubel]

From time to time and concerning paper, I can hear the term "Azo" in this forum.
Can you please tell me, what exactly Azo was, and what the meaning of this word is?

Thanks a lot,
Ritchie

[Kevin Crisp]

AZO was a Kodak product. Slow graded contact printing paper. People talk about it because it has an excellent product.

[jbenedict]

Very slow! I never had the opportunity to use Azo with my contact printing but those who have used it praise its' ability to render tonality in shadows. It also took selenium toning very well. As I said, I never used it. It would be cool if someone who has used Azo extensively could comment on its characteristics.

It was not the only slow contact printing paper which was available but I believe it was one of the last. When you read about old-school contact printers like Weston who printed with 10 watt bulbs in desk lamps, contact speed paper was what they used.

Perhaps someone knows of a substitute product. Some of those Eastern Bloc factories kept producing the old school stuff long after everyone else had stopped (I think the expensive part is the machine to make the material. The Impossible Project is able to make some Polaroid products and not others because they were only able to get some of the production machines out of the dumpster when Polaroid went belly up. One of the Eastern Bloc film producers (Efke?) stopped making film a few years ago because the machines broke and they couldn't fine a way to repair them any more and a replacement would be far more expensive to make it reasonable.)

[Alan9940]

AZO is what's referred to as a silver chloride printing paper and, as such, has a slow printing speed intended only for contact printing (as Kevin said) under a bright light. Using this paper for enlargements would be nearly impossible, though some have. Reportedly, it has a longer straight line portion to its curve vs bromide enlarging papers which should allow a wider tonal range to be printed. Nowadays, the closest thing we have (actual better IMO) is Lodima which is produced by Michael A. Smith and Paula Chamlee. This paper souped in Amidol from a good negative is something to behold.

[djdister]

Perhaps someone knows of a substitute product.

You mean this? http://www.michaelandpaula.com/mp/Azo_Main.html

[plaubel]

Good to know, what Azo has been, and bad to see day for day what we miss today.
Thank you all for the informations!

In Rumenia there has been a company called Azo-something, which produced film and, if I'm right, paper too.

Ritchie

[Lee Rust]

I attended a workshop at George Eastman Museum a few years ago and was surprised to find that it's not very difficult to make your own AZO... aka "gaslight" paper... using commonly available artists drawing paper and a fairly short list of chemicals and equipment. Here's a link for an upcoming workshop: https://eastman.org/event/workshop/g...es-“azo”-paper

If you don't have the money or time to attend something like that, there are other sources of information, including photo process books from the 19th century or contemporary alternative process resources like http://www.thelightfarm.com/

[Wayne]

Ron Mowrey's book/DVD has a section on making an Azo.

http://stores.photoformulary.com/pho...by-ron-mowrey/

I can't afford the book but my birthday is coming up in case anyone is wondering.

[Duolab123]

Foma makes a silver chloride double weight contact paper, Fomalux is the name as I recall. It's only available in one contrast grade. I've used it it is a lovely paper, very similar to Azo. I have some 11 X14 sheets, that I look forward to trying with 11 X14 negs from my Folmer camera. I was luckily in finding a Arkay contact printer with Argon long wave uv source, gives very short exposure times.
If you intend to use this with an enlarger it will work fine but, you will have very long exposure times. I have found the chloride emulsions tone very nicely, selenium, or the Kodak Blue toner (Gold) make for stunning images.

[plaubel]

So I may buy some Fomalux for getting an idea of the results of the Azo?

Ritchie