The Efke - Fotokemika factory in Samobor, Croatia manufactured a wide range of black & white films, and papers. These included KB/R/PL 25, 50 & 100. A variety of sizes were available 35mm - KB, 127 & 120 - R, and 9x12cm 4"x5" 8"x10" etc - PL. ULF sheet films sizes were produced occasionally. The EFKE films were originally manufactured by Dr C. Schleussner in Germany, and sold under the Adox brand name. The company was taken over by Dupont who eventually sold the coating plant to Fotokemika - EFKE who continued the manufacture of Adox films under license until 2012. When the licensing agreement lapsed the rights to use the Adox brand name ceased and the film was sold as EFKE. All manufacturing ended mid-2012. Plant has been abandoned and most machinery sold or scrapped.
Efke KB/R/PL 25 was one of the slowest emulsions available. Its single layer technology and fine crystals allowed very detailed pictures. Processing R25 could cause a few surprises. Rinse the film before developing: a bluish layer of paint washes off. When wet, the emulsion scratched very easily. The film had the tendency to curl when drying.
Efke was the last manufacturer making a Black & White 127 film Efke R100, the film has markings on the paper back for 4×4, 4×6 and 4×3cm pictures. It has a very clear film base and gives really sharp images. Efke was also the last maker of cartridged type No. 126 film.
The Adox brand name now belongs to Fotoimpex, Berlin and the company sold EFKE films and Efke films under the Adox brand name, for example the Adocolor type No. 126 film cassettes.
Links[]
- A detailed Efke R25 description in German.
- An efke distributor in the Netherlands and Belgium. Page in Dutch.
- The Wikipedia article on Efke.
- Efke film specs and development times.
- The US EFKE/ADOX distributor Freesyle .
- The fotoimpex site, a German Efke distributor, sells the films under the Adox brand name.
- The current Adox company
Image[]
120 film and 127 film