Badly Fogged Blue Box Oriental Seagull

I recently purchased an old box of Oriental Seagull grade 3. I check old paper by running one piece through developer, stop and fix and one piece through fix only. Checking this box using a sheet from the middle of the pack showed a gray tone of around Zone IV. I tried another sheet with the same results. I’ve never seen this amount of fog on blue box Seagull. My own supply and various purchases. Sometimes I’ve seen a very slight gray tone. My 1988 and 1991 paper prints very close to new MGIV. This new package looked like it just came off the store shelf and was properly sealed.
I’m wondering if anyone else has seen this amount of fog in old blue box Seagull? I’ve seen a similar dark gray tone on some old Forte Polygrade I bought but no other paper near that bad. The Polygrade was also in a mint, unopened package. I wonder if somehow the paper was X-rayed in shipping. It was sent from CA to the Midwest via Priority Mail and must have come by air.

I have had "newer" boxes of G2 10 to 15 years old go off, as well as the Forte Polygrade you mention.

Anti-fog??

Any chance that benzotriazole would help? Although I imagine you've already tried that.

Probably stored badly.

Zone IV fogging is way too much to cure with a little BTZ. Chuck your paper.

Best,

Doremus


www.DoremusScudder.com

Might be worth trying for lith printing before chucking.

Michael W said:

Might be worth trying for lith printing before chucking.

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Definitely. It's amazing what can be done with papers that are completely fogged in standard developers.

This is what it looks like. I've been lucky buying the old Oriental and having no problems. Is paper this fogged usable with Lith printing?

ChuckP said:

Is paper this fogged usable with Lith printing?

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Yes! Most likely it is. I have paper that basically goes pitch black without exposure in standard chemistry, and still produces wonderful results with lith chemicals.
There is no guarantee, but just try it! It's fun! Seagull was notoriously a paper that produced very beautiful colors in lith, but was an explorer of your outer limits of patience. I know some prints have taken a very long time to develop, upwards half an hour to forty minutes. But that's like a worst case scenario.

If you don't want it, I'll happily take it and use it.