Despite assurances from a year ago, we regret to report that Harman Technology (the company that bought and shut down the Kentmere production facility in December, 2007) has informed us that they will not be able to produce Centennial™ printing-out paper.  Unfortunately, in the current economic climate, the cost of procuring the Centennial™ POP formula and the R&D required to bring it to market through another manufacturer prohibits us from attempting to re-establish this product. 

To our knowledge, there is no POP being manufactured today.  Introduced in Munich in 1884, it has been one of the most long-lived printing products in the history of photography.

We thank you for supporting our efforts to maintain POP over the last 2 decades, and we are sorry that Centennial™ will no longer be available to you.

Chicago Albumen Works
1/8/09
 

 

The Chicago Albumen Works' Centennial™ Printing-Out Paper (P.O.P.) is a gelatine silver chloride emulsion, manufactured with an excess of silver nitrate. It is available on a double weight fiber-base stock, and the emulsion surface is glossy, with a fine lustre. First marketed in 1885, P.O.P. was continuously available until Eastman Kodak made its final production run in 1987. Not willing to accept the demise of such a venerable product, the Chicago Albumen Works immediately sought another manufacturer. Today Centennial™ P.O.P. is manufactured in England by Kentmere Photographic, Ltd.

 

The image on a printing-out paper appears during exposure, so no developer is required. Processing determines the tone of the final image (through a simple gold-toning formula) and arrests the light sensitivity of the paper (through fixing in a plain hypo bath). These two solutions produce fine quality permanent prints which may range in color from ruddy brown to purple-black, and which have a long tonal scale.

 

The Printing speed of P.O.P. is very slow, requiring contact exposures of a minute or more in sunlight or other strong ultraviolet light sources. Because of the slow speed, all processing can take place in subdued, artificial light, making a special safe-lit darkroom unnecessary.

 

Beyond its obvious appropriateness for printing turn-of-the-century negatives, P.O.P. is also used as a proofing paper and to produce final exhibition-quality prints. Teachers of younger students frequently use it for classroom projects demonstrating the photographic process, making photograms, and testing the absorption qualities of various UV absorbing substances. Centennial™ P.O.P. is available in 8"x10", 11"x14" and 20"x24". Special orders for other sizes, including rolls, are produced once a year, with a modest minimum order requirement.

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