One Company. One Complete Range Of Baryta Papers

HARMAN technology to promote its extended portfolio of Baryta based products at PhotoPlus 2007

PhotoPlus 2007 looks set to be quite an event for HARMAN technology Limited. This year, for the first time in its history, the leading imaging specialist will be able to showcase an extended range of Baryta papers which allow it to cater for the photographer’s every printing need.

Through its monochrome business which was born of the original ILFORD company formed by Alfred Harman in 1879 and which still trades under the name ILFORD PHOTO, HARMAN technology has long offered some of the most respected silver gelatin baryta papers on the market. This includes its ILFORD MULTIGRADE
IV FB FIBER and WARMTONE papers as well as its ILFORD ILFOBROM GALERIE FB product.

More recently the company has complemented its black and white products with an enhanced range of digital media. As the diagram shows, HARMAN technology has introduced (under the brand name HARMAN PHOTO) a MATT FB Mp and a MATT FB Mp WARMTONE paper, both of which were exhibited as prototypes at PhotoPlus 2006 before being fully launched earlier this year.

Both these papers have already built up quite a following with imaging communities on both sides of the Atlantic thanks in no small part to their ability to let photographers create superior quality images. Then, in August 2007, they were joined by a gloss paper of an equally high calibre – HARMAN PHOTO’s PROFESSIONAL INKJET GLOSS FB AL.

In addition, and typifying HARMAN technology’s progressive approach and belief that analogue and digital photography can coexist, the company also offers a hybrid product. Formerly known as ILFORD Galerie FB Digital but recently renamed HARMAN GALERIE FB DIGITAL to avoid confusion with another product from a different manufacturer, this black and white paper has been designed for use with digital files but is developed in chemistry to realize a true silver gelatin look.

All these papers, from the ILFORD MULTIGRADE FB IV™ paper to the inkjet range to the hybrid product, offer the photographer a number of technologically driven advantages. However, perhaps their most notable advantage is one they all share in common - their use of real photo fiber Baryta.

This special coating is traditionally applied to a fiber photographic paper base prior to coating with the emulsion layers. The technical benefits of the Baryta layer include greater detail and definition, extended tonal range and excellent archival properties. In addition, Baryta coated fiber papers have a unique look and feel which have become the standard for fine art photographers worldwide. Also, as all the papers are manufactured entirely at HARMAN technology’s dedicated production site in Mobberley, England, the company can maintain consistent levels of quality at every stage of the production process.

Speaking of the company’s extended range and plans for PhotoPlus 2007, HARMAN’s president of marketing for North America, Steven Brierley, said: “There may be other Baryta products out there but no one can surpass the history, pedigree or extent of the HARMAN range.”

“We have long been a pioneer and advocate of this photo-imaging technology because of the benefits it delivers to the end user – something perhaps best demonstrated by our track record of using Baryta, which stretches back to the original ILFORD days, and by the fact that HARMAN technology is now the largest consumer of Baryta in the world. We look forward to exhibiting at PhotoPlus 2007 and to showing the photographic community how we now use Baryta to provide a superior solution to all their printing needs – analogue and digital alike.’

Aside from showcasing its Baryta products at its booth, HARMAN technology will be giving people the chance to experience Baryta’s many advantages firsthand. Not only will they be exhibiting a gallery of images showing fine art prints on its three inkjet papers, but it will also be giving away 4000 packs of its GLOSS FB AL paper to mark the recent launch of this product. The company’s booth number is 1436.

More information about HARMAN and its entire range of products can be found at www.harmantechnology.com

Photo Quote: The meaning of quality in photography's best pictures lies written in the language of vision. That language is learned by chance, not system. - Walker Evans