FB Printing paper - what are you using

bill spears · Aug 6, 2008

The past 18 months or so I've been working my way through my (free) stockpile of FB printing paper (courtesey of Ilford after some sucess in a photo competion !) The times now approaching when I'm gonna have to put hand in pocket to replenish my stocks Looking through the various catalogues its hit home again how thin on the ground quality paper is, and how expensive ! (50 shts 16x12 Ilford FB warm @over £70)
Having seen the last remaining stocks of Forte and Agfa disappear - two of my favourites - plus all the other fine papers put to rest, its a bit depressing and worrying.

I'm just interested to hear what others are using, here in the UK, and what your thoughts and experiences are ?
I've briefly used some Fomatone and liked it and am thinking of trying the Adox which sounds good with its traditional emulsion and high silver content ?
I've heard that Adox is bringing out new paper aswell which is a resurection of Agfa MC Classic ??
I've not really had much experience of Kentmere but see that the prices are a bit keener.
I do alot of toning with selenium and gold so tend to favour the warmer emulsions.

Interested to hear your preferences?

Bill

juanito · Aug 6, 2008

I'm very happy with Ilford MG IV FB warm tone.

simulatordan · Aug 6, 2008

Hello Bill,

I use Ilford MGV Fibre for most of what I do; was using Ilford Cooltone developer and selenium toning but am now trying Tetenal Eukobrom. Will probably return to multigrade Dev though.

I also use Ilford Warmtone MG Fibre with Ilford Warmtone develeoper and toning occasionally but I do prefer the cooler images.

Regards Daniel ( ever further west than you PZ )

Dave Miller · Aug 6, 2008

I have used Kentmere as my stock paper for about ten years. I make my test prints on 10x8 VC Select and then transfer to Kentmere Fineprint for exhibition prints. Over the last couple of years I have bought various end of line papers from the likes of Silverprint, which has proved enjoyable; that's the using rather than the buying. The downside is that just as I discover how to get the best out of it, I get to the end of the last box.

bill spears · Aug 6, 2008

Yeah, it really worries me when we only have a few manufacturers left and we keep hearing of products disappearing all the time.
I guess Ilford will keep us going for a good long time and I'll continue to use their excellent products but its always nice to have a bit of choice and different 'characters' from other materials.

Has it stoped raining in west cornwall yet Daniel ? I spent nearly all last weekend with camera in that area and never even pressed the shutter !

Colin Corneau · Aug 6, 2008

Check online retailers for advice.

I've had good luck with Freestyle - their catalogue is impressive and it at least will give you an idea of what's out there. There's lots of choice remaining still.

FWIW, I like Ilford Warmtone FB (VC) but I've also used Oriental Warmtone VC-FB and would like to try it again.

Jack Lusted · Aug 6, 2008

Generally my favorite is Ilford Warmtone - but it is costly. However Kentmere Kentona is really very good and quite a bit cheaper. It only comes in one grade (II+), which seems to work fine for about 80% of the time. So I stock up on Kentona and keep some Ilford Warmtone when I need different grades.

Jack

eddym · Aug 6, 2008

I'm not in the UK, and I print on graded paper, but I'll give my input nonetheless:
My standard paper is Galerie; for warmtones, I am still using some Bergger Warmtone that I bought last year, which is beautiful stuff. Doubt if I'll be able to get any more, and don't know what I'll replace it with.

removed account4 · Aug 6, 2008

hi bill

i have a stockpile of olde graded agfa paper, azo, kokak fbmg, tmaxpolymax, olde forte,
ilford warmtone ( brown box ), seagull, as well as rebranded ilford fbmg sold by ultrafine/photowarehouse.
haven't bought paper in a long time, and seems that the paper that i use is
still holding ground (some of it is 15 years old ) ...

john

brian steinberger · Aug 6, 2008

I use all Ilford MGIV and Warmtone FB papers in LPD. I love the Ilford papers. I have also had good success with Kentmere Fineprint paper, which could easily be a cheaper alternative to Ilford's MGIV. But nothing compares to Ilford's Warmtone. It's an excellent paper.

Trevor Crone · Aug 6, 2008

Hi Bill,

I still have a good stock of Forte Polywarmtone, glossy. I also use Ilford MG WT, glossy and Fomatone MG Classic both glossy and matt. Looking forward to printing on their new Nature II 532 matt surface, hopefully tomorrow.

Regards,
Trevor.

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 6, 2008

Bill, if you liked the old Agfa and Forte, the closest you're going to get is the Fomatone MG Classic 131. It's a wonderful paper. I use it all the time along with:
- Ilford MGWT - nice creamy smooth paper with a fantastic grayscale
- Fotokemika Emaks Grades 2-4 - I love this paper, it's remarkable with its long tonal scale
- Fotokemika Varycon fiber - slightly colder in tone than Emaks but VC and likes diluted developers and long development times
- Kentmere Fineprint VC - punchy and rich fat blacks with very crisp highs. Very nice paper. Neutral tone.
- Ilford MGIV - As neutral as it gets. Dependable, great for sepia toning
- Some odd expired papers for lith printing, not worth mentioning here.
It's all about what you're after.
- Thomas

bill spears · Aug 6, 2008

Shame about the forte poly warmtone, I used to to love its 300gm weight and I always got it to dry perfectly flat.
Be interested to hear the results of the Fomatone Nature - better be good at £90 a box !!
Still wondering about the Adox papers ?

Schlapp · Aug 6, 2008

I have used the Adox Nuance - gd 2. Nice stuff. Otherwise its Fineprint all the way. Apart from a huge roll of old kodak PolyPrint RC I have.
BTW; looking forward to seeing your B&W mag entries this year. Last time they were spectacular - and that was seeing them just printed in the mag not the real thing.

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 6, 2008

Bill, I tried out the ADOX MCC111 when they sent out demo packs. Five sheets confirmed it's just like Agfa MCC, but a white base. It's awesome paper and prints like a dream. I forgot to mention that...
- Thomas

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 6, 2008

I'm pretty confident the ADOX Nuance is the same as Fotokemika Emaks.

Schlapp said:
I have used the Adox Nuance - gd 2. Nice stuff. Otherwise its Fineprint all the way. Apart from a huge roll of old kodak PolyPrint RC I have.
BTW; looking forward to seeing your B&W mag entries this year. Last time they were spectacular - and that was seeing them just printed in the mag not the real thing.

Schlapp · Aug 6, 2008

Thomas Bertilsson said:
I'm pretty confident the ADOX Nuance is the same as Fotokemika Emaks.

Thought it might be but didn't want to risk being shot down in flames

bill spears · Aug 6, 2008

Not familiar with Fotokemika, is it a US brand ?
Looking forward to giving the Adox a go I think.

Schlapp: Thanks for the kind words, not sure if I'll get round to printing anything for this years comp.
Probably leave it til the last minute if I do !

Colin Corneau · Aug 6, 2008

No votes for Oriental Warmtone FB..?

It's been a couple of years, but soon as my credit card's paid off I'm going to jump right back into it again to pick up some more. I recall it gave a very appealing tone, and even negs that were a little troublesome seemed to print easier on it.

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 6, 2008

Bill, the Fotokemika papers are made in Croatia, but imported to the US via Freestyle (www.freestylephoto.biz). I don't know if you can mail order it, but you can get it as the ADOX brand in some cases, as mentioned, and then Fotoimpex should work out for you.

Anyhow, the Oriental papers are very nice too. I've never used it, but the prints I've seen on it are very good indeed.

- Thomas

bill spears said:
Not familiar with Fotokemika, is it a US brand ?
Looking forward to giving the Adox a go I think.

Schlapp: Thanks for the kind words, not sure if I'll get round to printing anything for this years comp.
Probably leave it til the last minute if I do !

2F/2F · Aug 6, 2008

I use Oriental graded and VC. and Fotokemika Emaks mostly. I love Ilford warmtone (glossy only - matte is too brown for me), but don't use it much because of the price. I do not like their standard MG FB paper at all, though i love their MG RC. I have no idea why this is. The standard MG FB has just always seemed much more muddy, not to my liking tonally, and harder to print than the warmtone or Oriental and Emaks.

bill spears · Aug 7, 2008

Colin Corneau said:
No votes for Oriental Warmtone FB..?

It's been a couple of years, but soon as my credit card's paid off I'm going to jump right back into it again to pick up some more. I recall it gave a very appealing tone, and even negs that were a little troublesome seemed to print easier on it.

Yes, absolutely !

I once used it very briefly for lith printing, I think it was a MG emulsion and it gave a very sublte lith look which, when seleniumed was beautiful.
Is this paper still being manufactured ?? I believe its a Japanese made paper and was always in and out of production.
It must have been 6 or 7 years ago when I bought the packet and not long ago tried the last few sheets and it had gone off

mrtoml · Aug 7, 2008

I have been using Foma papers (from silverprint and retro). The MG Classic warmtone is great for lith - I prefer Ilford WT for standard warm prints. Also check out the Fomabrom variant III (it is a neutral toned paper, but quite cheap - I like it and it tones very well, but it is not very heavyweight).

I also have been using Ilford MG and MG WT as my other main papers. I am looking forward the rerelease of the agfa flavours by Adox having heard so much about them.

simulatordan · Aug 7, 2008

Hello Bill.

Yes it did stop raining; for about 20 minutes.
This has been a very wet year lots of 'concrete skies' I'm having trouble getting good weather for photography too. never mind every silver lining has a cloud

Regards Daniel

arealitystudios · Aug 7, 2008

First off, you've really got to tip your hat over to Ilford in todays paper market. I've been using their paper for years and always get nice looking, good quality prints.

I do agree though, variety is a good thing!

I'm going to second (or third) the vote for Oriental paper. Freestyle still as it, as does my local Pro shop here in Oregon. I wish it came in something other than glossy though. I've always been more of a matte finish type of guy.

I've also been using Foma papers lately with a lot of success, mostly in RC. The paper seems a little less thick than Ilford and others, but this isn't a bad thing. The white base of the paper has a nice quality to it that I think works very will with contrasty negatives.

FB Printing paper - what are you using

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