Fomaspeed Variant 311 vs Ilford MGRC Deluxe Glossy: The Sequel!

[gone]

Yes, sequels are always bad, but this one is better. My new Fomaspeed paper isn't fogged like the old ones, so I made some prints w/ it. This one also has an Ilford print for comparison. I left the exposure identical, mostly to just see what happened. Now that they've dried, I can't remember, or tell, which is which! Sorry about the lousy phone shots of the prints.

The sharper and contrastier might be the Foma, since the test strip had been for it. Once you get used to this paper and bring your negs in line w/ it, you could probably equal the Illford paper. The base whites are pretty similar, w/ a small nod to the Illford. All the other prints from the new batch of Foma paper (which had better negs to work with) look really good. Development was Legacy Pro Liquid Paper Developer, and a 1 1/2 fltr in the enlarger on most shots.

I'd buy this paper again, but there's some differences from the Ilford. The Foma paper seems thinner, and I have to be more careful handling it to avoid small kinks. Also, keeping the light levels so low in the darkroom for the Foma makes it hard to see. I much prefer working w/ the Ilford paper because I can use a brighter bulb and see better. If I can figure out how to fix that, I'll use the Foma regularly.

 

[Mark Crabtree]

Why would one be sharper than the other?

I have never had a problem with safelight fog with the Foma, those I use more fiber than RC lately. I'm using Thomas Duplex safelights that are quite bright. All of the whites in these papers are overbrightened for my taste so I'm not sure if better for use is whiter or less white. Comparing to older papers that I still use the modern ones are jarringly bright. Some of these papers do go flat fairly quickly, and some RC papers have been bad for developing an overall fog but I would hope that is a thing of the past. I have boxes and boxes from a friend I still need to check. Some of the oldest have held up the best, graded way better than vc, fiber better than RC, but that is not as clear cut.