Current crop of silver gelatin enlarging papers - preferences?

[TheFlyingCamera]

You are right, but I don't think Freestyle would go that route when they already buy Foma film for the Arista EDU series. To be honest I have no concrete proof. What I don't like about buying Freestyle film is that you get used to a certain film/emulsion and Freestyle switches film/supplier or drops it. I really wish they or somebody, would leak out the real manufacture so a person would know. You'd still buy from them since that film with their name would likely be cheaper, but the original manufacture might not like that.

Call Freestyle and ask. When I wanted to try the Arista.EDU Ultra and compare it to Fomapan 200, the Freestyle telephone rep told me not to - they were one and the same film. There was no hiding it - they just don't publicize it.

 

[Richard Jepsen]

I've been away from silver gelatin printing for a while. I know the landscape has changed, alot, since I last did it. It wasn't something I was terribly worried about as I was off in alt process and large format la-la-land. I've rediscovered the joy of working with roll film in the guise of my Rolleiflex, and so I'm wanting to get back in to enlarging silver prints.

Welcome back to simplicity.

The Rollei experience rocks. Simple! Deliberative! Classic! Super results!

I've noticed alt processes and fuzzy grunge-like images are popular. Perhaps the thinking is different helps sales. More like art. What photography did to painting digital is doing to silver printing.

I prefer flat drying, warm, not yellow, papers. WT keeps shadows open. Each paper has attributes. All Ilford's papers and especially Galerie are top notch. Not a question of what is best but the papers characteristics.

 

[Richard Jepsen]

Yes, ILFOBROM GALERIE FB was a major omission from Scott's list. I find it to be the best paper available today. It can be warm or neutral depending on developer. It has a surface that's just glossy enough for solid blacks but not so shiny as to make viewing light placement critical.

With one's process under control, it's amazing how little need there is for paper softer than grade 2 or harder than grade 3. Simon Galley refers to GALERIE as Ilford's premium product. I agree and could be happy using nothing but.

I've been printing with Galerie lately and agree with the comment about paper surface. It has a nice finish and base color more pleasing than Adox. You can bend Galerie's image tone to the warm side of neutral by pulling the paper. Also there is limited contrast control with exposure. If you have two heads (dichro and condenser) you have more control. Whites are very clean. But, in some ways it's more difficult to use.

 

[Peter Schrager]

made some test prints with the fomabrom VC 111 glossy....yup Bruce Barnbaum is right about the paper...also might want to try the foma 542; a warmtone paper that rocks if you can get the tone right...takes loooong exposures under my light...but the results are stunning
Best, Peter

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Welcome back to simplicity.

The Rollei experience rocks. Simple! Deliberative! Classic! Super results!

I've noticed alt processes and fuzzy grunge-like images are popular. Perhaps the thinking is different helps sales. More like art. What photography did to painting digital is doing to silver printing.

I prefer flat drying, warm, not yellow, papers. WT keeps shadows open. Each paper has attributes. All Ilford's papers and especially Galerie are top notch. Not a question of what is best but the papers characteristics.

Do note- I'm not walking away from alt process printing. That will always be there. Especially when working from large/ultra-large format negatives. But I've been doing a lot of work with the Rollei that I'd like to print myself, ergo the desire to get back into silver gelatin enlarging.

 

[Roger Cole]

I've been printing with Galerie lately and agree with the comment about paper surface. It has a nice finish and base color more pleasing than Adox. You can bend Galerie's image tone to the warm side of neutral by pulling the paper. Also there is limited contrast control with exposure. If you have two heads (dichro and condenser) you have more control. Whites are very clean. But, in some ways it's more difficult to use.

While condenser and diffusion sources certainly produce different levels of contrast that would be the hard way to go about it. The usual way of varying contrast with graded papers is with divided development. You have a tray of a relatively contrasty print developer, say Dektol or Bromophen, maybe a little stronger than usual dilution, and a tray of soft developer like Selectol-Soft - Freestyle sells an equivalent of Sekectol-Soft. Then you divide development between the two to achieve different contrasts between grades. Both Barnbaum's book and Adams' The Print (and presumably others, I haven't really delved into my copy of Way Beyond Monochrome yet) go into this in more detail.

VC papers are more convenient and allow burning areas with different filters but it isn't too hard to get intermediate grade contrast from graded papers.

 

[Richard Jepsen]

While condenser and diffusion sources certainly produce different levels of contrast that would be the hard way to go about it. The usual way of varying contrast with graded papers is with divided development. You have a tray of a relatively contrasty print developer, say Dektol or Bromophen, maybe a little stronger than usual dilution....

My DR lacks the space for two developing trays. I often run a two tray fix line or single tray process using 11x14 tray or larger. After I have a working print 1/2 grade tweaks can be accomplished using 130 vs LPD, pulling the print or deciding to tone or not to. If I had space, I would likely use LPD and 120.

 

[Roger Cole]

Well if you lack space for two trays of developer you certainly lack space for two enlargers.

 

[Richard Jepsen]

I use a LPL 670 for MF. The enlarger is modular. I infrequently change heads on the column if needing to adjust contrast.