That may be a processing problem. Dmax of Fomatone is good, but you'll need to tone it (hence the name). The main limitation IMO is the paper base which is very off-white. That does cut back contrast of course, since you can't make a very bright white on a paper that's not white to begin with.Fomatone I find doesn't have the highest dmax and low contrast when compared to other papers
That may be a processing problem. Dmax of Fomatone is good, but you'll need to tone it (hence the name). The main limitation IMO is the paper base which is very off-white. That does cut back contrast of course, since you can't make a very bright white on a paper that's not white to begin with.
Not better, no. In some cases, definitely not as good as papers from the 1970s/80s.There were some great old papers. Anyone who says modern papers are better probably wasn't there or they are having memory issues.
The good old days are often the product of a failing memory.
There was more selection. More choice when it came to image colour and toning properties, more surface types.
Just returning to darkroom work (contact print) after ehhh… 20 years and my biggest surprise is that contemporary photo baryta graded paper offerings are on heavy paper base - no single weight?
I mostly use MGFB, but recently tried some Fomabrom Variant 111 and thought it was pretty good - but not dramatically better/different than MGFB.
Well as long as there is no danger of anyone telling me that Gary Cooper aided by Grace Kelly in "High Noon" didn't manage to kill the bad guys, I'll be happyThe good old days are often the product of a failing memory.
I’ve been printing on fibre based papers for over 40 years, mostly Ilford warm tone until switching to classic a few years ago. Mostly because of the price difference. For the past year I’ve been using Ilford Portfolio RC pearl. The surface sheen and slightly warm look are pleasing to me. Processing and washing are easy. Permanence is possibly a question but right now it’s my preferred paper. I know this doesn’t address the original question but thought I would mention it.
Just returning to darkroom work (contact print) after ehhh… 20 years and my biggest surprise is that contemporary photo baryta graded paper offerings are on heavy paper base - no single weight?
Or fantasies about a past that never existed, fuelled by highly competent duo/tritone offset reproduction that made some prints out to be much more than they ever were in reality.
Only up to a point - wonder if they'd be so nostalgic if they realised that the variety of surfaces were often rather chintzy impressions of fabrics or high end mouldmade papers - and were often only available on limited (or one grade, if it was a 'portrait' paper) grades, and that some other papers had very drastic characteristic curve differences between some grades (owing to manufacturers trying to fill out the grade range on extant products - cf. Kodabromide). The other half of the mythos was simply that particular manufacturers were the first to achieve universally desirable results, like Agfa delivering a true grade 5 (by today's standards) on an enlarging paper, or Ilfobrom having a much more consistent character across grades (and such a close relationship to Multigrade that I suspect Ilford could very easily do a new Galerie if there was the market).
Negatives which were hell to print back in graded days are downright easy now on today's premium VC papers. But I'm glad I got to experience the special look of numerous papers of the past.
There were some papers I liked a lot. Seagull was good. Galerie was a really nice paper although I also liked Elite which some people hated for some reason.
At that difference I would use the Ilford paper as well. Around here Ilford is like 60-70% more expensive or so (comparing MGWT 8x10" to Fomabrom 111 100 sheet packs). Of course, this is likely because we're spoiled with Foma being a mainland EU producer, so we get to enjoy comparatively low cost for their papers. Ilford needs to be imported; for you, both papers need to be imported and then there's the special rates issue.
the difference is that Ilford is about one third more expensive
Luckily, that’s not the case. At Fotoimpex it’s €118 vs €160. Fomatone vs Ilford Warmtone comes in at €174 vs €198. Just setting things straight.I think on fotoimpex it's still close to 50% or so. I haven't specifically looked for the lowest price for either. Either way, the difference is significant and it's a lot bigger here in Europe than over in the US. We can argue until the cows come home about the last % but it doesn't change much about the bigger picture IMO.
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