Orwo, the company and brand, has existed for over 100 years. Founded in Wolfen, in 1909; as an off-shoot of the AGFA film company. During the last decade, ORWO has become renown for its cutting-edge range of black and white film products, which incorporates negative film for motion picture production, duplicating film, print film, sound recording film, and film leaders for the processing and distribution business. Fast forward to today, ORWO is excited to release the first professionally finished photographic films launched by the company in 50 years, alongside new and improved classic motion picture emulsions.
|
|
The original factory was founded in Wolfen in 1909; as an off-shoot of the AGFA film company. The ORWO name was established in East Germany in 1964 as a brand for photographic film and magnetic tape, mainly produced at the former ORWO Filmfabrik Wolfen. The Wolfen factory was founded by AGFA (Aktien-Gesellschaft für Anilin-Fabrikation) in 1910 and developed the first modern colour film, which incorporated colour couplers, Agfacolor Neu, in 1936, which simplified processing compared to its contemporary Kodachrome from 1935. |
|
On 20 April 1945, the Wolfen plant was taken over by US forces, and important patents and other documents regarding the Agfacolor process were confiscated and handed over to Western competitors, such as Kodak and Ilford. As the plant was located in what was to become the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, the US forces then handed it over to the Soviet military administration, which dismantled large parts of the plant and moved it, with key German staff, to the Soviet Union, where it formed the basis for the Soviet colour film industry.
AGFA was split into two companies each with one of the two plants: Agfa AG, Leverkusen in West Germany, and VEB Film und Chemiefaserwerk Agfa Wolfen in East Germany, which later adopted the brand ORWO. Following German reunification in 1990 the holding company was privatised as ORWO AG with Folienwerk Wolfen GmbH an early spin off. Film production ceased at Wolfen in 1994. The Industry and Film museum Wolfen now occupies part of the original factory. In 1996, ORWO films were put back on the market. However, they were no longer produced locally. A number of separate successor companies emerged from the remnants of the former industrial behemoth.
|
|
In 2020 ORWO FilmoTec was brought under common ownership with film coating company InovisCoat, based in Monheim am Rhein, Germany to offer products for the film industry under the traditional brand “ORWO”, both companies sharing AGFA heritage. In particular the new ownership structure with FilmoTec and InovisCoat together with a number of other companies unites the ORWO brand, its Intellectual Property, Recipes and Research & Development with Film Manufacturing capabilities for the first time since ORWO AGs liquidation in 1994. |
|
Its corporate mission is leadership in specialized professional film markets throughout the world, through the provision of products of technical excellence in performance and quality. Products are particularly aimed towards the technical needs of the world's archiving, motion picture, and holographic industries. FilmoTec is with Kodak now one of only two companies still producing black and white films for motion picture use. |
|
The ORWO vision is to bring back high quality analogue films for photography and cinema, and for use in archiving of data, paper and audio visual. ORWO and their partners are now investing greatly in Research & Development to bring further innovations into this important cultural space.
|
|
WOLFEN NC500
500 ISO 35mm x 36 Color Film
|
|
This is the first brand new color photographic film, launched by Orwo in decades, and proudly produced in Bitterfeld-Wolfen on the original site where film manufacturing has been a tradition since 1910. |
|
See a review of NC500 by The Darkroom
|
|
WOLFEN PF2
3 ISO 35mm x 36 Black & White Film
|
|
Wolfen PF2 is a high quality fine grain orthochromatic stock with a perfectly transparent film base, and insanely slow speed of ISO 3. |
|
WOLFEN DN21
13 ISO 35mm x 36 Black & White Film
|
|
Wolfen DN21 film comes into its own when shooting portraits and storytelling scenes. Its high dynamic range produces detailed tender renderings. |
|
WOLFEN DP31
8 ISO 35mm x 36 Black & White Film
|
|
Wolfen DP31 film features a low ISO and a small exposure latitude, making it perfect for pinhole, portraits and street scene snaps. |
|
WOLFEN UN54
100 ISO 35mm x 36 Black & White Film
|
|
Originally used to make monochrome movies, the black and white tones of UN54 will capture cinematic scenes in photographic format. |
|
WOLFEN NP100
100 ISO 35mm x 36 Black & White Film
|
|
Wolfen NP100 film is an exceptionally fine grain 100 ASA, black and white photographic film. This film differs from WOLFEN UN54 in that it has an additional dyed antihalation layer, which improves image sharpness. |
|
WOLFEN NP400
400 ISO 35mm x 36 Black & White Film
|
|
Wolfen NP400 is a 400 ISO 35mm x 36exp. black and white film. |
|
12231 Florence Avenue
Santa Fe Springs, California 90670
(323) 660-3460
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
