I have been using the two Kodak products, Sep Neg 2 and Gravure Positive,
whenever I had to produce the very very best.
They produce a subtlety of tone and a range of gradation second to none. The
Swiss film Typon comes second in currently available films but even this is 400
pounds a box for 100 40 x 50 cm and comes in a variable contrast version which
demonstrates that it does not have the flexibility of the Kodak product. Agfa
used to make a film that came in grades like paper which was quite good.. The
difficulty with the other Agfa products is that when friends and colleagues show
me their results, I am glad I stuck with Kodak. No matter how you seem to
develop them they do not have the subtlety of gradation that is obtainable with
Sep Neg 2. It's a bit like banging in a screw with a hammer; it may work but it
does not work properly. I have often wondered if Palladio might sell more of
their product if they were to recommend a film that lived up to their
objectives.
The last time we tried to get some big Sep Neg from Hemel Hempstead, the lair of
the big yellow box in the UK, we were told that it was only available through
Kodak's Middle East agent; presumably because only oil sheiks could afford it.
Process Supplies got some for us though. Unless another graphic arts film of
comparable quality can be found, I think I will go over to Ilford FP4 for sizes
above 10 x 8 when Kodak stop production, ( they probably already have). Then I
would be using the same film on the baseboard as I do in the camera. You have to
work in total darkness but that is also the case with Sep Neg.
Terry King