Ilford cooltone V multigrade IV

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

Anyone use this regularly?

Thanks

Matt

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

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.

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!