Fast paper like Agfa RC

[MikeM1977]

I'm still printing through a box of Agfa 312 RC paper. I'm also just finishing through some Oriental VC FB paper as well. When I print on the Oriental FB, I have to bump contrast at least a grade and my exposures are typically twice as long if not more.

Can anybody recommend papers that are, by default, fast and contrasty like the Agfa RC stuff?

 

[avandesande]

Kentmere RC is 1/2 stop faster than agfa and harder.

 

[fschifano]

The paper speed you get depends a lot on your enlarger and the VC filters or diichro head that you use, so it can be difficult to predict exactly how other materials will behave with your system. I've used the Agfa papers and Adorama's house brand of papers and can make a valid comparison between the two from the results I get in my darkroom. I use Kodak's VC filters in an Omega D4 enlarger with a dichro head and develop the paper in Dektol, usually diluted 1+3. The Adorama papers are about the same speed and have a little less contrast, about 1/2 grade, against the equivalent Agfa papers.

 

[argus]

Kentmere RC is fast, faster than Ilford RC, but I'm going to dump it because of too many emulsion coating errors.

G

 

[craigclu]

I bought some Ilford Multigrade RC Express by mistake awhile back. It is quite handy when I need to bang out a few things quickly and it can print quite hard. I also found it handy when I've had some developer tests give me heavy negatives that appreciate the speed increase if there's something I wish to print from them. It's supposed to be about twice the emulsion speed of regular MG and this seems to be about how it behaves. It's designed for automated processors, minilabs, etc. Here's a pdf file about it:

Multigrade RC Express