Does paper have grain?

BetterSense · Jun 23, 2009

I've heard that developing negatives in Dektol produces extremely grainy images. If that's the case, why isn't paper grainy? Come to think of it, is paper grainy at all? Are there differences in grain between papers? I've never heard paper granularity even mentioned before.

Nathan Potter · Jun 23, 2009

Yes, paper has grain not unlike film but usually somewhat coarser. The fact is that with the unaided eye it usually can't be resolved even when the print is viewed up close. Sometimes in print highlight areas one can detect grain but it's easy to confuse print grain with film grain if enlargement is involved.

Nate Potter, Washington DC.

Photo Engineer · Jun 23, 2009

Yes, paper has grain, but we generally cannot see it because it is at a given viewing distance and the grain is therefore below the resolving power of the eye.

Get up close and you might see it with a loupe, but you can confuse it with the film grain.

Usually, paper grain is much finer than film grain, on the order of 0.2 microns vs 1.0 microns - 10 microns for a film grain.

PE

archphoto · Jun 23, 2009

Hence the lower speed of paper versus film, Photo Engineer ?

Peter

Photo Engineer · Jun 23, 2009

Well, paper picks up 1 - 2 stops from the reflective background of Baryta or Titanox and therefore I can shoot Ilford MGIV at ISO 25 in-camera, but it is really about 6 if coated on film.

PE

Thomas Bertilsson · Jun 23, 2009

I was thinking to myself when the question was asked - how else would the image in the paper be made up, if there wasn't grain? But I didn't know the theory behind it, so I appreciate the expertise. I learned something new today.

keithwms · Jun 23, 2009

The texture of the paper is far, far coarser than the grain of the emulsion, no?

Photo Engineer · Jun 24, 2009

keithwms said:
The texture of the paper is far, far coarser than the grain of the emulsion, no?

Yes.

The Baryta or Titanox helps mask this problem. I have posted examples of this effect as has David Goldfarb.

PE

Guillaume Zuili · Jun 24, 2009

With Lith Printing you see how the grain of the paper reacts. In the black, very large, or in the highlights, very small and smooth.
G.

Does paper have grain?

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