Update from the LRF - December, 2015

The continuing saga of Film Ferrania continues, with Making the Rewards - Part 3. After many months, the Big Chiller and Little Chiller are installed, new fencing around the factory perimeter is installed and a power transformer with line conditioner is also installed. These are all the remaining touches to the next step of inspection by the Italian government. The project did not reveal when it might start production of transparency film yet, but one can only suspect that that will be next.

Many a Kickstarter project has been felled by fewer problems, so there is still risk. While the initial Kickstarter rewards were first released in January, no film has been produced yet. If the founders stay strong, one can expect production to start as soon as possible. Hopefully, Film Ferrania will put Italy back on the map for producing silver gelatin film.

Previous news on the Film Ferrania project:

• October, 2015: LRF Engines Restarted!
• July, 2015: News form the LRF
• April, 2015: Film Ferrania Delayed By Harsh Winter
• March, 2015: Film Ferrania Starts Toward Making Film
• February, 2015: Film Ferrania in the News

Profile - Adox Fotowerke of Berlin, Germany

Adox is a film manufacturer that caters to film enthusiasts and artists. They plan to be around for the years to come with a complete line of B&W films, papers and chemistry, and even an experimental colour film called Implosion, designed for the look of 70s film. Lets take a brief look at where the company came from and what the it has to offer.
Adox is a brand that has been around since 1860, founded by Dr. C.  Schleussner. By 1956, they introduced a colour film and soon after a colour reversal film. Adox cameras were manufactured from the 1920s to the 1960s. Adox produced a full line of papers, films and cameras in Germany.
Eventually, the company was sold to Agfa, then production ceased when Agfa closed down its consumer film line. In 2005, the brand was revived and the Agfa MCP, MCC, APX (Silvermax) films and the entire Agfa B&W chemical line were revived.
Today, a small micro-factory brings us Adox films, papers and chemistry. There is a research lab used to formulate emulsions, sensitization dyes and prepare coatings. A sample preparation area has machines for preparing film samples by hand.
A production area has an Agfa precipitation machine that can prepare any emulsion in 35 liter batches, a coater, a film sheeter for sheet film, a master roll slitter for roll film, 35mm and 120 spooling machines and a 35mm film perforating machine [YouTube] that is accurate to cinema film specifications. The room is absent any visible light in production, but is instead lit with IR light. Workers wear goggles to ``see'' in the room.
It is worthwhile to list their B&W films as an example of the breadth Adox has. The Adox SilverMax film is a high silver content film with a clear base that offers both negative and positive (slide) options for processing. This film is available in 35mm and Super8 format.
Adox CHS 100 Type II is a classic emulsion film with two emulsions in one layer, giving a wide exposure latitude.
Adox claims that CMS 20 II developed in ADOTECH II developer has an up to 800 lp/mm of resolution at ISO 20(!). With a good enough lens, Adox claims the equivalent of 500 megapixels resolution from 35mm film! Handheld shots are possible in daylight with a sufficiently open lens, preferably an f/1.4 lens stopped down one or two stops. The developer is expensive though, at US$26 for enough to develop 6 rolls. Fans of the former Kodak TechPan may want to try this film.
See this 90MP scan of CMS 20 II depicting a Porsche [Adox], processed with Scala reversal process, that demonstrates what the film is capable of.
Similarly, the company offers traditional B&W papers and inkjet papers, a full line of chemistry including developers, stop baths, fixer and toners. Of special note, is a B&W paper that the company is working on, Polywarmtone. This is a resurrection of the Forte Polywarmtone paper, with warm blacks and a potential for lith processing. This paper will be formulated to print identically to the original Polywarmtone paper, but have greater choice of gradations.
With this depth and breadth in product line, they will be around for a while.
ADOX - Lets make film!

LRF Engines Restarted!

Film Ferrania is pleased to announce that its engines are restarted! The Big Chiller and Little Chiller are being prepared for permanent installation. This is the final step and the elimination of a huge roadblock in the progress of making film. Both Chillers are involved in the climate control of various rooms in the LRF building and for cooling the film after coating. The film is coated with chemistry in a gelatin suspension (called the emulsion). Like supermarket gelatin, the emulsion must cool and set before the film is wound onto a spool for cutting.

The next major hurdle to overcome is accreditation of building's services by the Italian government. More surprises are expected, so a there is no schedule for delivery of Kickstarter rewards yet. The Domino effect that has delayed production so far is being righted, so stay tuned for more developments.

Ilford Bought Out by Pemberstone

Yesterday, Harman Technologies, which manufactures Ilford photographic materials, was sold to Pemberstone, a UK based investment company. Ilford was last bought out by the employees of the company, who have since maintained the profitable production of black and white photographic materials and even expanded the selection of materials available. One example of a new product is the positive image paper introduced recently. Pemberstone is impressed by the adoption of analogue photography by young people, and would like to reach out to this sector. A brief press release is available here.

News from the LRF

Film Ferrania has released more news. Sadly, a domino effect of cascading events is slowing them down. First, asbestos was found in the LRF building where the film will be manufactured. This led to the shutdown of the building until remediation could be completed. However, in that time, the supply of steam to the building was cut off, necessitating the installation of new boilers at the building. No steam, no power, so it was necessary. By this time, though, the emulsions that were prepared earlier had expired and the weather had changed.

The film needs to cool and solidify the emulsion layer before it can be wound into a roll for later cutting to size. Due to the warmer weather, this now requires chilling equipment to be installed that was not planned until September. The first run was planned for cooler temperatures that did not require this equipment.

Despite these setbacks, Ferrania continues to plan to release its Kickstarter products, just on a different timeline.