ADOX attempting a return of Forte Polywarmtone

[77seriesiii]

I'm not sure if anyone here has used the paper, I have not, but it appears that Adox is trying to bring back Forte's Polywarmtone Fiber paper. Here is the story:

http://www.polywarmton.com/index.html

If someone has already posted it, sorry I looked but didnt see it. Has anyone here used the original Polywarmtone and if so, how did you like the paper?

Thanks

Erick

[willwilson]

It has a nice warm image tone, excellent contrast and good blacks. It tones very very easily. I really like it and I don't like warmtone paper.

[Drew Wiley]

Used up the last of my old inventory two weeks ago. Lovely stuff and warmer than
Ilford Warmtone, for example. Quality control was a little dicey on eveness of coating,
but that could be fixed on a fresh run - don't know why, since the Polyrade V I used
quite a bit from Forte had excellent quality control.

[MIke Sherck]

It was my favorite paper and would be again were it available.

[Toyon]

Polywarmtone was superb, but quality control was iffy enough that I stopped using it.

[Andrew O'Neill]

It was a very nice paper, but I would really get excited if they brought back Forte's Polygrade V!

[Don Dudenbostel]

I used the polywarmtone plus and loved it. It's about the same as the polywarmtone but a warmer base. It reminds me of papers I used fifty years ago. I would describe it as having a vintage look.

[Vlad Soare]

I loved that paper. If it ever comes to life again, I'll throw all my other papers away. Polywarmtone FB semi-matte is all I need.

There were four things I loved about it:

1. It was a warm tone paper, but with a perfectly white base. Most warm tone papers have a slightly cream base, which I find unattractive. Not this one. This was white.
2. Variations in tone due to the use of different developers were obvious, even if you didn't tone the paper. I could get perfectly neutral, deep blacks with one developer, brownish blacks with another developer, olive blacks with another developer, and so on. And all these variations were so obvious that you didn't need a direct comparison to notice them.
3. I loved the semi-matte finish.
4. Of all fiber based papers I've used, this one used to curl the least when drying. Flattening it was a piece of cake.

Also, it was said to respond very well to most toners and to lend itself to lith printing, though I personally haven't tried that. By the time I started using toners, Polywarmtone was already gone.

The fourth point I could live without. But I'd be very happy if I could find a paper to simultaneously meet the first three.

[Michael Graves]

Polywarmtone was superb, but quality control was iffy enough that I stopped using it.

That kind of describes my experience with it. I liked the sheets of paper that weren't nicked at the edges. I bought two boxes to try and had to send one back because the first sheet I pulled out had severe fog all along one edge of the paper. The next two sheets got developed without exposure under the enlarger and they too were fogged. Freestyle was good enough to take the box back and allowed me to get Agfa MCC110 in its place (which was still available at the time).

That said, I've never had problems with Adox, however, and their replacement for MCC110 is magnificent. Therefore, if Adox reprises Forte's paper, I would be willing to give it a try. They seem to take quality control more seriously.

[Bruce Barlow]

It was a very nice paper, but I would really get excited if they brought back Forte's Polygrade V!

Me, too!

[77seriesiii]

well that was a resounding high vote for the paper! I submitted tentative orders for the paper. I'm not sure how long it will take for them to start printing or make the decision to fabricate the paper.

So if anyone here is interested in showing support, throw an order in, they dont take credit card info they are only trying to see if there is enough interest to bring the paper back. Based on what I read the machines to make the paper are in Germany or will be shortly and all fabrication will be done w/in Germany. Show support sign up, buy some.

Erick

[Vlad Soare]

I did register and did place a tentative order, though only a small one, just two boxes of 24x30 cm and one of 30x40 cm.
I can't commit to buy a bigger quantity at this time. I want to see it first and make sure it resembles the Polywarmtone as I remember it. If it's close enough, then I'll definitely buy more.
I see they only mention matte and glossy surfaces. There's no mention of the semi-matte finish. I do hope it's just an inadvertent omission, because that's actually the surface I long for. For me, Polywarmtone wouldn't be Polywarmtone without that superb semi-matt finish.

[Renato Tonelli]

To those of you who have used both papers: How does the Forte Polywarmtone differ from the Adox MCC-110?

[Vlad Soare]

I haven't used MCC, but I understand it's a neutral tone paper.
Polywarmtone, as its name implies, was a warm toned one (though you could get perfectly neutral tones in some developers).

Besides, MCC is only available in glossy or matte surfaces.
Polywarmtone was also available in a so-called semi-matte finish, which I really liked.

[Sal Santamaura]

I haven't used MCC, but I understand it's a neutral tone paper...It's nicely warm toned in this developer

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/9421-Compard-Print-WA-Same-Formula-As-Agfa-Neutol-WA-1.25-Liter?cat_id=301

and neutral in this one

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/9424-Agfa-Neutol-NE-1.25-Liter?cat_id=301.

[Arne Croell]

It's nicely warm toned in this developer

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/9421-Compard-Print-WA-Same-Formula-As-Agfa-Neutol-WA-1.25-Liter?cat_id=301

and neutral in this one

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/9424-Agfa-Neutol-NE-1.25-Liter?cat_id=301.
... and nicely cold toned in Ilford Cooltone (which is unfortunately no longer available); I haven't tried other cold tone developers yet.

Even warmer with a WT developer but also on a pure white base is Adox Variotone.

[percepts]

the old polywarmtone was very prone to fogging ny safelights if you had the wrong sort. Easy to overtone it if you weren't careful. I didn't like ginger prints. But a nice when you get it right.

[Greg Blank]

Forte in general was a great Paper and I had my share of it. I did testing of it for Omega Satter the USA distributor-as I work for them. I had a preference for Bromofort which was only sold for a time through us before it was discontinued in the American market. I could have gotten it for some time afterwards but the expense of a lrge quantity dissuaded me.

I did really like the Polygrade when it was good. A lot of the problems people experienced were user or quirks of the paper some people failed to understand.

The toning issues were many times do to the extremely fine grain of the silver used to make the emulsions. The article quoted is an interesting read, I hope Adox is successful. The Warm papers I found were warmer than competitors. Although when the cadmium was removed from all the warm Forte papers it drastically changed the look of the prints.



the old polywarmtone was very prone to fogging ny safelights if you had the wrong sort. Easy to overtone it if you weren't careful. I didn't like ginger prints. But a nice when you get it right.

[2dadadada]

My two cents: I'm just finishing up my stash of 16x20 Forte WT VC and would be delighted to see another production run, even if on different paper (hopefully keeping the neutral base). I've already put in my "preorder."

It will be a bitch to become friends with another B&W paper.

[77seriesiii]

I just took a look at their blog. As of 1 June ADOX had the systems installed and are in the processof checking them out, making sure everything is going to turn on when they flip the switch.

http://www.polywarmton.com/page5/page5.html

based on what I know of Germans, they will be on holiday here shortly for the next few weeks, so nothing will probably happen until september. I wonder if they will have a production run before the new year?

./e

[Vlad Soare]

Wow, that's great news!

[Sal Santamaura]

Will it be the older version with Cadmium or the newer, less rich version without it?Germany is not a place where current environmental knowledge is ignored. :) Don't expect it to contain any cadmium.