Re: New HSI

[Clive Warren <Clive.Warren@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 8:43 am -0800 17/11/99, Stan Patz wrote:

>To the group,
>
>Much to my surprise, Dick Johnson at Kodak sent me some new 4x5 HSI to test.

Snippety snip
>
>Now the bad news. Clive's information is correct; the emulsion is on a new
>thinner base. It feels and acts like the same stuff HIE is on. I am talking
>about floppy, curly stuff that is a bitch to load in cut film holders. After
>I "liberated" the film from its foil package, it rose in the box to meet me.
>During loading, the heat from my hand made it curl even more.
>
>In processing, the film is so thin and floppy, one sheet fell out of my
>processing reel when I inverted it. After processing, a number of sheets had
>slipped out of the reel's tracks. I think 6 of the 8 sheets I processed had
>damage, either from loading (I used gloves) or processing. It has to be held

Sniplet



Stan,

Thank you for the feedback on your testing.  Seems as though its one step
forwards and two steps back.....

Clearly it makes economical sense to rationalise low volume products when
there are manufacturing problems.  It is unfortunate that the higher volume
sales for Kodak infrared film are on a thinner base. The only way forward
for processing the new HSI seems to be the use of tanks and film holders.
This is a backwards step for anyone who has invested in a 4x5 processing
machine solution such as the Jobo.

If it will help I would be glad to write something to Kodak asking them to
continue to supply 4x5 HSI in the usual filmbase thickness. Please let me
know off the list.

Ordered a couple of boxes of the old stuff a week or so ago and it has just
arrived.  Guess I should really test it for pinholes - it seems likely that
there will be problems with it.

I still find it hard to understand how a tried, tested and established
process can suddenly cause problems.  Given the controls that Kodak must
have on their internal manufacturing process and materials I can only
assume that the 4x5 HSI production has been outsourced.


All the best,

             Clive   http://www.cocam.co.uk
                     Photographic Services, Filters and Equipment, Infrared FAQ
                            http://clive.bel-epa.com
                            Adventures in Cyberspace - Digital Art and Photos


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