color negatives enlarged on BW paper

I have been succesfull in printing my color negatives on Ilford multigrade paper although the grey scales look different compared to a print from a BW negative. Is this only an impression or real ?

BBonte said:

I have been succesfull in printing my color negatives on Ilford multigrade paper although the grey scales look different compared to a print from a BW negative. Is this only an impression or real ?

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No, this is quite real. The tonal response of regular B&W paper is different from a color negative. The are (were?) special papers made for printing color negs onto B&W. I'm not sure what is still out there.

David

Specifically, conventional B&W papers are insensitive to red, which of course is present in most color negatives.

The "special papers" to which David refers are the Kodak Panalure line. It seems to have vanished from store shelves before other Kodak B&W papers, but if you're lucky you might still be able to find some somewhere. (I noticed an eBay auction for some a week or two ago.) Panalure is sensitive to red as well as to blue and green, so it produces better results from color films, at least in theory and if you want to match what you'd have gotten with B&W film in the camera. The red sensitivity also means that you've got to treat it like a color paper with respect to safelighting. (Panalure is developed in conventional B&W chemicals, though.) AFAIK, no other manufacturer makes anything akin to Panalure.