Ilford announces new Multigrade paper, Ortho film and developing kit

GaryPageau ,
Ilford Multigrade
Ilford Multigrade RC Deluxe paper

Ilford announced new MULTIGRADE RC papers, Ortho Plus film and film-processing kit.  The fifth-generation RC papers have a slightly warmer base tint than their predecessor as well as better, deeper blacks, improved mid-grade spacing for easier printing and more consistent contrast throughout the tonal range, the company says.

“Improving them was not going to be easy but we wanted to bring the manufacturing in line with the latest emulsion making technology used in our other RC and fibre papers and so we have redesigned the emulsion from the ground up,” says Giles Branthwaite, sales and marketing director, Ilford. “This project has been in development for 8 years and we are extremely pleased and excited with the final product.”

Ilford also added ILFORD ORTHO PLUS in 135 and 120 formats. This is an orthochromatic black and white film – as opposed to other ILFORD and Kentmere panchromatic films are – rated at ISO 80 in natural light and ISO 40 in Tungsten. The company says blue and green sensitivity of this emulsion enables the film to be handled in deep red safelight conditions making processing and inspection easier. Its lack of red sensitivity also means reds and oranges are rendered darker than panchromatic film

“Our Ortho film was designed as a technical, high-resolution copy film for negatives and has been available in sheet format for some time,” says Branthwaite. “We know photographers want choice and love to try new films and so we have now coated our Ortho emulsion onto an acetate base for 35mm cassettes and 120 rolls. We believe ORTHO PLUS offers superb photographic potential thanks to its fine grain and sharpness and some of the results we have seen are stunning.”

Building on the launch of the ILFORD Simplicity range of film processing chemicals in 2018, Ilford collaborated with legendary darkroom product maker Paterson to create a starter kit for processing film. The kit contains: 1 x ILFORD 35mm Film Cassette Opener, 1 x ILFORD Simplicity Film Starter Pack (containing developer, stop bath, fixer and wetting agent), 1 x Paterson Universal Film Tank, 2 x Paterson Super System 4 Reels, 3 x Paterson 600ml Graduates, 1 x Paterson Thermometer, 1 x Paterson Stirrer and 2 x Paterson set of 2 film clips.

“ILFORD Simplicity chemicals are pre-measured for simple, convenient use and while they can easily be used in most tanks their volumes work perfectly with the Paterson two-reel Universal Film Development Tank as they hold 600ml of diluted chemicals,” says Branthwaite. “Working closely with Paterson we have now created a kit that offers film photographers a convenient and affordable way to start processing their own films.”