for comparison: old paper gone bad and new(er)

[jgcull]

I've whined a lot about all this paper I bought that had been frozen for several years. My freezer has way more paper than food, and most of it's not so good. The paper, that is.

I like the effect of the old paper for some images. Some look dramatically nice. Many don't.

Here is one I just printed on the old paper, then found some warm-tone fiber paper. I thought I'd post the two just because. There's a big difference.

Janet

 

[walter23]

How old is old? I've used some 15 year old kodak fine art paper and about the same vintage ilford multigrade RC without problems. I've got some mid-80s (earlier?) multigrade III RC that works perfectly fine (bright whites, black blacks, good tones). All this came free with my enlarger and I figured it wouldn't work - imagine my surprise to find it works!

 

[jgcull]

Not as old as yours. I have some from 2000, some a little newer. I wonder why mine is so mottled. I've had it with buying old!

But like I said, some I like. I took pictures at the beach and it looks sort of cool on those. I like maybe 1 out of 10. Not very good numbers.

 

[MattKing]

They really look mottled. I would hazard a guess that there were some storage problems involving moisture.

Matt

 

[Photo Engineer]

The one on the right looks like it has freezer burn and the one on the left looks foggy.

My opinion FWIW. I don't know which is which though.

PE

 

[pentaxuser]

There's a flat greyness in the left one. The right hand one has more sparkle. It reminds me of the problem I had with Polymax VC RC I got for free from the seller of a lot of secondhand equipment. I suspect the paper had been in his darkroom stock for a long time and not kept frozen. I am not suggesting that Polymax had an inherent problem. In some prints the effect which gave a kind of warmth was appealing.

The key test for me was that although it was VC, I couldn't alter the grade. You might like to try this test. If you have the same problem of unresponsiveness to grade changes then your paper may be suffering from old age like mine

pentaxuser

 

[tac]

A little benzotriazole or potassium bromide in the developer might fix the flatness of the left-hand print; I've been able to use some really ancient paper that way.

tc

 

[film_guy]

I like the one on the right more. The one of the left looks foggy to me.

 

[Photo Engineer]

The one on the right is mottled more.

PE

 

[Confusion Circle]

Hmmm....I have some Ilford paper from 1993 that has been sitting in my closet at my parents house...I shall have to try that next time....

 

[jgcull]

I just realized, reading another thread... the one on left is Ilford warmtone. It's not fogged or mottled. The one on right is a Kodak rc glossy. It's mottled, but not nearly as much as some other prints. Pretty speckled, though.

I do like the look of glossy paper... when it's not too old, that is.

>>>A little benzotriazole or potassium bromide in the developer might fix the flatness of the left-hand print<<<

tc, What are those and how do you use them? Just put some in with Dektol? How does it work? I'm not sure what you mean about flatness. Do you mean it looks flat because the front of the stove isn't shaded much? Or does flatness occur from paper?? Maybe I dodged the oven too much?