Agfa was one of the first tape manufacturers, if not the first, starting production at the Wolfen facility in the former East Germany. Later, this plant lost the rights to use the Agfa name and became ORWO, whose tapes we also have abailable. Agfa production was started in West Germany in Leverkusen, and produced the PE 31 / 41 Standard (type 1) tape starting in 1952. In 1969 they introduced the PE 36 / 46, classified here as a Low Noise formulation (type 2). These Agfa tapes are considered to be some of the best tapes ever made, with excellent frequency response due to their smooth finish and longevity – no sticky shed or LBL issues. We source these tapes from Germany and recommend them highly.
Like BASF tapes from this era, the tape formulation is marked on the green leader tape for easy identification.
Later they introduced back coated versions called 368, and these were also excellent, classified a type 3 (Low Noise High Output) tapes. At the end they developed the famous 468 professional tape which is considered by many to be the best tape ever made.
Agfa tape production was wound down in 1991 and folded into BASF, who continued 468 production under the SM 468 code. Follow the rest of the history on the BASF page.
We offer the full range of AGFA tapes in our store, directly imported by us from Germany. These excellent tapes were not normally available in the United States at the time, so they are hard to find.