Originally the speed was 270 H&D, this was raised to 700 H&D in 1923.

Special Rapid Panchromatic appeared around 1918 replacing an early plate called simply panchromatic. The speed was 270 H&D. Around 1926 this was increased to 400 H&D and around 1938 to 700 H&D.

These were intended for studio use where the soft gradation gave better tones under artificial light. The speed rating was 700 H&D in daylight or 2000 with half-watt illumination.

Fast orthochromatic emulsion especially suited for half-watt illumination. Production probably ended around 1946.

This was a fast emulsion when introduced.

Thin-Film Half-Tone was intended for photo-mechanical processes reproducing half-tone dots extremely sharply. The speed when introduced was 25 H&D.

H.P.3 was a fast panchromatic emulsion introduced in 1940 as Selo H.P.3 roll-film. In 1942 a plate version appeared and in 1943 35 mm and cut-film versions were introduced. The speed when introduced was 32° Sch. (Ilford group F) which was soon increased to 33° Sch. (Ilford group G). From around 1948 the name was written as HP3.

Very high speed emulsion.

An emulsion of extreme contrast and high resolution producing exceptionally dense and sharp-edged lines and dots. Particularly suitable for producing line and screen positives and negatives.

Surfaces included glossy, matt, satin and cream rayon.

This was originally introduced in the 1880s, by the 1898 it was available in Smooth and Rough surfaces and in Slow and Rapid grades, a Platino-Matt surface became available at this time.

Some of the packets listed above have a new range of contrast values, these were probably introduced in the 1940s. Ilford Grades:

Produced rich, warm, colours, initially aimed at portrait photography.

Initially aimed at portrait photography.

Multigrade is a variable contrast paper. The original version of the paper was coated with two emulsions one is sensitised into the blue/green part of the spectrum and is 'contrasty', the other is an ordinary 'soft' emulsion and not colour sensitised and therefore largely responsive to blue light only. Filters are used to adjust the proportion of blue to green light reaching the paper thereby altering the contrast; yellow filters will reduce the proportion of blue light giving higher contrast characteristics, magenta filters (used in the 1954 version) would reduce the proportion of green light giving softer characteristics.

Multigrade was first introduced in 1940, this original version was improved during the early part of the war but was then withdrawn. At first four filters were used, blue (M.G.20B) and three yellow (M.G.3, M.G.7, M.G.20). These gave the contrast grades of: very soft, M.G.20B; soft, no filter; normal, M.G.3; contrasty, M.G.7; ultra contrasty, M.G.20. The later filter set comprised five filters, ranging from pale yellow to deep yellow (labelled 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12).

Multigrade was withdrawn during the latter part of the war and re-introduced in 1954. Only three yellow filters were used at this time labelled Low (pale yellow), Medium and High (deep yellow). In the late 1950s the filter set was increased to five with the addition of two magenta filters, (these were labelled 1, 2 for magenta and 3, 4 and 5 for yellow). Presumably the emulsion was changed at this time.

The paper was again withdraw and re-launched as Ilfospeed Multigrade around 1978. Newer versions of Multigrade use three emulsions rather than the two of the original version.

Multigrade was developed by F. F. Renwick, a director at Ilford, it was made public at the Royal Photographic Society meeting held on the 21st May 1940, the paper was published in the August issue of the Photographic Journal. At the time Ilford must have had very high hopes of Multigrade, these were not fully realised in the following years leading to the paper being withdrawn.