Adox MCP 310 vs 312 vs MCC 110 surface finish

[Sal Santamaura]

Sal, do you have an update for us whether you noticed any effect of the X-rays on the paper? It's been 3 months now. I hope you were not locked out of your darkroom for 3 months.

Menno

Coincidentally, last week I made some prints for the first time in three months. Given how limited the opportunity to do this is, I first printed on Multigrade Warmtone RC (MGWTRC), since the negative is from a recent trip and of real interest, not just a "test." After that, I printed the same image on the MCP 312 that had been subjected to X-rays. MCP-312 is faster than MGWTRC, so my first attempt was overexposed. The scene's fairly light overcast sky ended up at about Zone VI-1/2. There was a pattern evident in it that might be X-ray damage. After shortening exposure time and approximately matching the MGWTRC print, that pattern is no longer evident. I can't see it when examining the negative on a light box. Needing to end the darkroom session and 'reconstitute' that bathroom, I cleaned everything up.

I'd not posted to this thread because, in my opinion, it's not yet possible to definitively state whether the paper was damaged or not. I planned to -- and still do -- quickly set up again in the next week or two and flash the MCP to different densities with no negative, thereby establishing whether X-rays made that pattern. I'll post when conclusive results are available.

 

[spijker]

Thanks Sal, much appreciated. I'm considering ordering MCC 110 from Fotoimpex as it is currently the cheapest option for me. Even with Freestyle delivering it to a US destination and bringing it into Canada on the duty free allowance.

Menno

 

[miha]

I can only print on Portfolio RC, everything else in RC is too thin for my liking.

 

[Sal Santamaura]

...I planned to -- and still do -- quickly set up again in the next week or two and flash the MCP to different densities with no negative, thereby establishing whether X-rays made that pattern. I'll post when conclusive results are available.

OK, I just completed that trial. Attached are two images of an optimum density flashed MCP 312 sheet to best illustrate the pattern that was evident in the sky of a pictorial images I'd previously printed. The first shows an entire 8x10 sheet and the second is a closeup of the pattern itself.

I don't know whether this is X-ray damage or a result of imperfect coating. Either way, the paper is not usable by me for most of what I print. If/when ADOX begins coating MCP-312 in Switzerland, thereby taking Inoviscoat's coating line out of the equation, and Freestyle imports such new batches, I'll try again. Until those two criteria are met, the remainder of my 100-sheet box will be held aside for any negatives that have fine detail (which can mask the paper's pattern) everywhere.

 

[Photo Engineer]

It is rare for paper emulsions to be affected by X-Ray, but not impossible depending on strength and wavelength. That said, the example here by Sal seems to show a ripple in the coating itself. This can sometimes be proven by evenly wetting the emulsion with something that swells the paper emulsion such as hot water or Thiocyanate solution and then looking at the paper by incident light. The same ripple pattern can sometimes be seen. This is not a definitive test. The real test is X-Ray Fluorescence analysis of silver in the raw stock.

PE

 

[Sal Santamaura]

...the example here by Sal seems to show a ripple in the coating itself. This can sometimes be proven by evenly wetting the emulsion with something that swells the paper emulsion such as hot water or Thiocyanate solution and then looking at the paper by incident light. The same ripple pattern can sometimes be seen. This is not a definitive test. The real test is X-Ray Fluorescence analysis of silver in the raw stock...

Thanks Ron. I'm curious, but not enough to even conduct an emulsion wetting test, much less seek out a way to have X-Ray Fluorescence analysis performed. Irrespective of the pattern's cause, I'll stick to Ilford for now.