some cheap brands of multigrade RC paper made for students, etc do not give a full range of contrast grades).
It depends upon where you live.
For example, Foma paper in Berlin is considerably cheaper than Ilford and the FOMA Fomabrom Variant 111 that I use as my standard paper is excellent. Add this to the fact that, for a box of 50 sheets of 30 x 40cm, the Foma is half the price of ILFORD Multigrade FB Classic and you can use a top grade paper for learning.
I would personally suggest that learning on poor quality paper will hinder your learning (for example some cheap brands of multigrade RC paper made for students, etc do not give a full range of contrast grades). Use the best paper you can afford and follow best developing practice from day one:
Good luck with learning to print - it is a great experience and helps all areas of your photographic development.
Bests,
David.
www.dsallen.de
Can I suggest you name them, and offer some evidence for your claim?
Otherwise it appears to be both unhelpful (as the OP won't know what to avoid), and no more than an unsubstantiated personal opinion (and there there are already far too many of those floating about)
Can I suggest you name them, and offer some evidence for your claim?
Otherwise it appears to be both unhelpful (as the OP won't know what to avoid), and no more than an unsubstantiated personal opinion (and there there are already far too many of those floating about)
Rather than buy a box of 100 10x8, I'd suggest for starting off, getting 3 or 4 packs of 25 in small sizes in different makes and finishes.
Not the best way to get good quick but it will help to satisfy the 'what if?' thoughts that we can all have. Whatever you like the best can then be bought in larger sizes and quantity.
Guys, I know you wouldn't touch RC paper with a barge pole, but let's get realistic. IMHO, someone who is just starting out wet printing should better use RC paper. It is much easier to properly process and wash an RC print and it always lays flat. It is also a lot cheaper and whoever wants to learn, will only learn through mistakes. These mistakes can be expensive (FB), or not (RC). And no, a badly washed FB print isn't more archival than an RC print. I also agree with Roger Cole with regards to contrast grades. The extremes of contrast grades are normally only used when you want to rescue a ruined negative.
I'd say get a pack of 25 8x10 for contact prints and some packs of 100 5x7. Yes, different finishes would be a good idea. Contact prints are a valuable tool, but don't try to make them look good. I use a grade 2 filter and expose for the minimum time for maximum black through the clear base between frames. This way you can determine if you under-overexpose, if your develop your film too flat - hard etc.
If you find that the cheapest paper is Fomaspeed Variant, then use it. It's nice.
I would have thought that my limited contributions to this site have demonstrated that, when I offer an opinion, it is based on personal experience. Also, I stated that the OP should use the very best materials that he/she can afford - thereby implying one should avoid cheaper materials.
At your request I would give as an example, ADOX Easy Print RC 311 as this does not (having tried it with students who bring it along because it is cheap) deliver the full range of grades as claimed. Furthermore, it has a tendency to move very quickly towards an overall grey appearance (fine if that suits your personal requirements) and develops so fast as to encourage pulling the prints.
Far more helpful, I would suggest, were my comments about using good materials from the beginning and a few tips about best practice in terms of developing prints.
Too many people suggest (and as was implied by the OPs original post) that by using cheap paper one can progress at less cost. This is, in my 40 years of teaching photography, a total fallacy. By using the best materials you can afford, you can move swiftly towards finding your own style of printing with the materials that best support you in your journey.
You will also note that I started my post with a question about where the OP lived. Why? - well in Berlin you can buy the excellent FOMA Fomabrom Variant 111 for half the price of Ilford's equivalent. In the UK the difference is a mere £9 - £13.
Bests and looking forward to your own tips to help the OP move forward,
David.
www.dsallen.de
Hi, I'll be starting to print on my own, was looking into Ilford paper, they are not really low budget paper. I'm not complaining, just don't want get expensive paper before I learn how to print. What will be a good paper to start for beginner like me? If there are other brands please let me know.
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What papers are available to you locally? Do you need to order online?
I love Ilford and Foma papers but they are extremely expensive here in Japan, whereas the Fuji papers are quite cheap (no surprise there). I mostly use the Fujibro papers (all RC) for contact prints, work prints, and the postcard exchange. They dry extremely flat and have a good range of tones.
As others have said, it might be worth buying a few smaller packs of 25 sheets of different brands and finishes to see what you like, before committing to one brand and learning on that.
When I was learning to print I used a variety of different papers (mostly Adox and Ilford I think - Kodak had just killed their papers) and it certainly didn't hurt the learning process. It also allowed me to figure out what was important to me as a photographer, and what images were worth fighting for the darkroom - important when I made the move to printing on fibre papers. Anyway...just my two cents.
you might look into photo warehouse / ultra fine
they are an apug sponsor as well
and they sell good papers ( and film! ) at
very affordable prices.
i bought paper from them, the last i bought it,
to print a large portfolio ... and do do a printing-gig
500sheet box of rc paper cost a fraction of what it cost elsewhere
and i got 50sheet boxes of 11x14 FB the same, very affordable ...
and they had a flat rate, no matter how much it weighed 2 lbs or 50lbs it was something
like 10$ to ship .. again, not sure if the prices are the same as when i bought from them last
but they were a good deal for the beginner or experienced photographer !
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