Agfa Portriga low contrast

This is a follow up to an earlier thread. I was gifted some Agfa Portriga Grade #3 paper and I finally got around to testing it and using it.

The paper was cold stored, but given its age I tested it for fogging and to make sure it was safe with my amber lights. The paper passed the fog and safelight test with flying colours. The paper was labeled as Grade 3 paper, but it was not in the original packaging so I would have to trust that the previous owner labeled it correctly. The paper was clearly packaged with care so I have doubts of incorrect labeling. Additionally the paper was clearly fiber based, though it does seem to be a slightly lighter weight paper than the modern stuff I use.

After first making a print on Ilford Classic FB Matte paper at grade 2, I decided to test printing the same image on the Agfa Portriga to see how it compared. I was expecting to see an image that was higher contrast than the one on the ilford, but to my surprise it was extremely flat and dull. Thinking I did something wrong with my exposure, I made some test strips that were exposed to match the highlights of the Ilford print and then another to match the shadows. All my test strips looked flat and lacked the punch I wanted for what was originally a high contrast night scene. It almost looked like I was trying to print the image at Grade 0.

I was using fresh Liquidol developer and I validated I could get deep blacks with the Agfa paper by exposing it to a bright light then developing it. When the test strips dried it appeared there was slightly more contrast on the one printed to match the highlights, but not nearly enough compared to the grade 2 print.

Could I be doing something wrong or is this expected from Agfa Portriga? It could also be possible that this is not a Grade 3 paper I received. If that is the case I suppose I could try saving it for Lith, but that feels wrong in a way.

It's a fact, old papers lose contrast. Was yours really cold stored since purchase? And before that how long did it sit on a shelf at the store? And does cold storage really arrest paper aging?

bernard_L said:

It's a fact, old papers lose contrast. Was yours really cold stored since purchase? And before that how long did it sit on a shelf at the store? And does cold storage really arrest paper aging?

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I thought loss of contrast from from the highlights being fogged. Wasn't aware that contrast can be lost without fogging.

I don't know how long it has been in the previous owners freezer for sure. I saw how it was wrapped up and stored in there and from what I was told, it likely has been in there for many, many years. I don't think that cold storage completely arrests aging of photographic materials like paper and film, but it can extend their viability for decades. I think this is more effective with slower speed material as faster films will still become fogged due to increased sensitivity to background radiation.

Portriga Rapid loses contrast with age, and its not about highlight fogging - it simply loses contrast. I have some packages of Grade 3 Portriga and it prints like grade 1.5 at best. Find a negative to match this contrast degradation.
You can try diluting the Liquidol 1:7 or even 1:5 to boost contrast slightly, and develop Portriga for a full 3 minutes, adjusting exposure to match a 3 minute development time.

Its worth mentioning as well that Portriga was always a bit softer in tonality than most other fiber papers, even when new. It has a unique tonal scale that - when whites are clean and blacks are at D-max - it still has a softer look compared to modern silver gelatin papers.

Humidity.

Rich Ullsmith said:

Humidity.

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???

As I recall Grade 3 Portriga was lower in contrast then Brovia grade 3 which was a little lower in contrast than Kodabromid. But as noted like film paper loses speed over the decades, you can try a developer that is higher contrast. Dektol stock, Beer's fromula allows to increase contrast by one grade.