Fixed grade paper – benefits over MG?

[koraks]

if a normal white light bulb such as the likes of an incandescent often found in b&w enlargers is not a suitable light source for getting prints at the range of grades that MG paper and filters are said to provide.

A normal enlarger with an incandescent/halogen bulb and the appropriate filters will print fine on MG paper.

 

[pentaxuser]

A normal enlarger with an incandescent/halogen bulb and the appropriate filters will print fine on MG paper.

Yes that was always my understanding but maybe ic-racer has a source that says otherwise. It may be that what he said about a white light source and enlargers that do only print grade 2 on MG papers applies to special and these days unusual cases but all I am looking for is clarification on whether and in what circumstances I need to be wary of white light sources found in enlargers. It may be white light sources other than incandescent bulbs so O need have no worries. However it is always disconcerting in any thread when a "curved ball" suddenly appears

I am looking for clarification and in that sense, help from the source of the comment. Not too much to ask , is it?

pentaxuser

 

[Paul Howell]

I have used a standard enlarger bulb in a condenser enlargers, first 1965 in high school, we used poly- contrast, printed all grades, then in college and in the Air Force added GAF, Dupont, and Ilfrod, never had a issue printing grade 1 to 5 with correct filters. Currently I print with color head, condenser, and very old Federal diffuser with enlarger bulbs, the Federal uses a clear bulb, I use LED bulbs in my D3. With LED bulb, highest grade I get to with 1200 lum is grade 3 or 3 1/2 which works for most negatives, with Omega cold lit, need to add 40CC yellow and can print grade 3 to 4. Maybe I've doing it all wrong, just didn't know any better.

 

[koraks]

It may be that what he said about a white light source and enlargers that do only print grade 2 on MG papers

He clarified his statement with the addition that it can be difficult to fit appropriate filters on some enlargers. I personally think there's always a way to fashion something that'll work, but it won't always be pretty.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Filter adapters are easy to order, even custom made. But lots of older enlargers had flip-out round filter holders beneath the lens, much more convenient than sheet filter drawers above.

"White light" is a very ambiguous term. Yeah, if you happen to have an old cold light basically equivalent to awful early cool-white fluorescent lighting, and that itself has aged badly, then no telling. Or recent CFL type bulbs can be outright atrocious in terms of spectral output as well as useful life (despite the claims of longevity on the packaging). LED's? ... all depends. I'll stick with my time-tested halogen colorheads and Aristo blue-green V54 cold light. If it ain't broke, don't fix it !

 

[Bill Burk]

ic-racers, it sounds as if any white light source such as an incandescent bulb cannot produce other than grade 2 but doesn't this mean that all such enlargers using white light bulbs cannot produce other than one grade, namely grade 2?

Grade 2 is just about what you typically get without any filter under a plain tungsten light bulb.

As soon as you get a set of multigrade filters you can get those grades with that same bulb.

 

[Arthurwg]

"You don't know what you've got till it's gone."

 

[ic-racer]

.. but maybe ic-racer has a source that says otherwise. ..r

Maybe not clear. Getting an appropriate color of light for the MG paper can be challenging without a 'color' enlarger or MG head, for example contact printing, or enlargers without a mechanism to hold filters or printing with lamps not producing an appropriate color spectrum, etc.

 

[cliveh]

When variable contrast papers were originally introduced they weren't nearly as good as the better existing fixed grade papers.
Current variable contrast papers are far, far better than the original versions.
In the meantime, the selection of fixed grade papers has shrunk to almost nil.
The remaining fixed grade papers are good quality and have their own character. You might like them, but I would suggest that many of the best fixed grade papers are gone.
The reason that a few remain is that there still are a few photographers whose workflow is based on them, and therefore buy them.
They do tend to encourage extra care in film choice, exposure and development.

Matt has hit the nail on the head and current variable contrast are the wonderful. However, I would say that the demise of papers like Agfa Rapid and rich chlorobromide papers had wonderful characteristics in both double and single weight. I can't imagine Karsh using VC.

 

[pentaxuser]

OK and thanks ic-racer. The good news would appear to be that in the vast majority of cases for home printers getting the full range i of grades is not a problem

pentaxuser

 

[Sirius Glass]

Hello there

I am curious about fixed grade papers – they are still available (at least i two –or maybe three– grades), but I can't seem to find information about why one would want to use the instead of multigrade papers?

Do they have qualities that MG papers can't match?

Cheers,
Kasper

I have not bought fixed grade paper in many decades. I may have been given some fixed grade papers, but I would never bother to seek it out.

 

[Bill Burk]

Alt processes tend to be fixed grade. So developing film for the intended print process is still a good skill to learn. For Silver Gelatin, I am happy to see that very high quality multigrade paper exists. That’s why I am not worried about running out of Galerie. When it’s done I will switch. Just as when the Panatomic-X is gone I will shoot TMAX100. There are alternatives.

I just never predicted sourcing D-76 or Dektol would be a problem.

 

[M Carter]

Alt processes tend to be fixed grade. So developing film for the intended print process is still a good skill to learn.

I've been doing mostly liquid emulsion the past year, even spraying it on large canvas with an HVLP rig. You ain't kidding, getting your exposure and development control down for fixed grade is a nice challenge, but certainly not insurmountable.

And man, a pin-registered masking rig makes a lot of difference if your negs aren't perfectly tuned. Most of my film I've tested to give a full range of tones at 2.5, but my current batch of LL is about a grade one, while Foma is consistently at 3.5, so older negs intended for VC or lith printing can take some dialing in and a few hours of mask making.