Ilford cooltone V multigrade IV

[Matt5791]

Are the main differences whiter whites with the Ilford RC cooltone over the standard Ilford multigrade?

Anyone use this regularly?

Thanks

Matt

 

[Konical]

Good Evening, Matt,

I don't see much difference between the whites on the two papers; in fact, I find the overall difference between the regular and the cool-tone to be fairly minimal. I use and like both papers.

Konical

 

[Oren Grad]

Matt, I've done limited tests of both. To my eye, the two papers are radically different. MGIV compresses the highlights and the upper midtones quite strongly with a very abrupt transition in the middle of the tonal curve, while MGCT maintains greater highlight contrast within a smoother overall tonal curve - it's even a bit reminiscent of the long-gone MGIII Deluxe. MGCT is a better match to an old-fashioned shouldered film like TX, and will probably be a decent replacement for the now-discontinued Agfa MCP.

I very rarely use MGIV RC - I find the highlight compression and the especially the abrupt change in contrast in the middle of the tonal curve to be a poor match to my negatives and my taste. MG Warmtone also provides somewhat compressed highlights, but within a much smoother overall gradation. It would be my choice over MGIV for a general-purpose RC paper if I were working primarily with "straight line" films.

 

[dinofilm]

I am a huge fan of the Ilford Cooltone paper. It definitely prints a bit more contrasty. Might not be the best choice if you have a real dense negative but it works great otherwise. My prints definitely have more "punch" on the CT paper. Give it a try. I love it!