Ilford Galerie - Any recommendation is welcome!

[Slixtiesix]

Hi everyone,

after beeing abstinent from the darkroom for more than one year and shooting almost only color slides, the desire for self-developing and printing awoke again
Most of my enlargements were up to 12x12" in the past, but now I want to go bigger and decided for 16x20". Also thought of 20x24" but this would be too expensive and also too inconvenient for my small darkroom.
I assume 12x16 will be quite fine.
In the choice of paper I tend to Ilford Galerie. I have used Multigrade IV RC and some Fomatone FB so far and like working with the fiber paper more, but now I want something with a brighter base and more neutral color than the Foma, though I appreciate a slight tendency to warm tones.
I must say that I rarely used the advantages of Multigrade in the past and most of my negs that were worth printing printed pleasing on grade 2, unfiltered on MGIV.
Is Galerie´s grade 2 comparable to grade 2 of MGIV? Any recommendation how to process this paper are welcome. Does it react to different developers? (my favourite is Calbe N113)
How does it respond to toners? Feel free to post your experiences!

Best regards, Benjamin

 

[bill spears]

I've used Galerie a little and it's a lovely traditional paper with a high silver content. I think it's only available in grades 2 and 3. I think grade 4 has recently been discontinued ??
I found it to be about one grade softer than ILF Multigrade but I stress I haven't done any thorough testing or anything.
Tones beautifully in sepia and selenium. Selenium by itself doesn't change the colour much, enhances Dmax though and might go slightly toward purple in a strongish solution.

I find the grades a bit limiting but I think you can stretch these a little in different developers ?

I have a feeling that that this paper might be discontinued in the future but perhaps I'm being a little pessimistic ?


Bill

 

[Cecil]

Try Adox MCC 110. It perfectly fits your requirement of a bright base and a slight hint of warm image tone.

 

[Slixtiesix]

Hi Bill,

thank you so far. Maybe I will order a small package of grade 3 first to try if it works for me.

"I have a feeling that that this paper might be discontinued in the future but perhaps I'm being a little pessimistic ?"

So I have to place an order soon which will hopefully prevent it from beeing discontinued :-D

Cecil: The Adox also sounds very interesting but it has about the same price as the Galerie and I´m a big fan of Ilford´s products. Nethertheless I will take it into further consideration.

Regards, Benjamin

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Benjamin,

ILFORD Galerie is a very good paper. If your negatives suit the contrast response, the tonality is very smooth and can be controlled via low and high contrast developers. In the UK the ILFORD paper is less expensive than MCC.

Tom

 

[rwboyer]

Try Adox MCC 110. It perfectly fits your requirement of a bright base and a slight hint of warm image tone.

I second the vote for MCC 110 - I have made this paper my new standard paper. Fantastic stuff, great contrast range. I will still use Gallerie for some stuff but only because I shot/developed the negatives with Pyro targeted for that paper in Grade 2 and those negs WILL print like crap on VC.

I have actually offered sample prints on 8x10 MCC for a couple bucks to people that want to see the paper with a print on it - That is how excited I am about this paper's color/base structure/contrast/curve - oh and the VC flexibility saves me a lot of money in a lot of ways.

I haven't like a "new" product this much in 10 years or more.

RB

 

[haryanto]

Love this paper much, dektol 1+2 for 3 minutes, for my normal develop, for softer 1/2 grade I use Ansco 120, to get higher grade dektol 1+1 ,
I dont like ilford multigrade, because is tend to fog much when passed the expired date, I used galerie 5 years age and still got good result, good luck

 

[Slixtiesix]

By the way does anyone know whether the Galerie has incorporated developers? I always thought that most, if not all, of the Ilford papers have them, so I´m just wondering...

 

[Simon R Galley]

Dear Slixtiesix,

None of our papers are 'developer incorporated' :

As to GALERIE being discontinued...no... it is our flagship FB paper, and also the paper I print on..so definitely not.

Simon. ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

 

[eddym]

That's good news Simon, as it's my favorite paper as well.

 

[bill spears]

That is good news Simon ! I didn't want to start negative rumours, re my earlier post.

What about the G4 though ? Looking at the regular suppliers it appears we only have grades 2 and 3


Bill

 

[tony lockerbie]

I always prefer graded papers, and I thought that Gallerie had been discontinued, certainly hasn't been available here for years. I recently bought some from Freestyle to get re-acquainted, and was not disappointed, happy chappie. Glad to hear that Simon will not let it be discontinued!

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Dear Slixtiesix,

None of our papers are 'developer incorporated' :

As to GALERIE being discontinued...no... it is our flagship FB paper, and also the paper I print on..so definitely not.

Simon. ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

So ILFORD GALERIE is still a preferred option for many printers? On balance I prefer to tonal gradation achievable with GALERIE to Multigrade FB.

Tom

 

[Sal Santamaura]

...What about the G4 though ? Looking at the regular suppliers it appears we only have grades 2 and 3...

Grade 4 has been discontinued for a while. See the top of page 12 here:

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/20093161552402063.pdf

IGFB21K is Galerie grade 2 and IGFB31K is grade 3. Glossy only. That's all there is now.

 

[Richard Jepsen]

I don't believe Galerie #2 has the same contrast as MGIV with a #2 filter. If I recall, Galerie has richer low mid tones. I recommend trying 25 shts of 8x10 grade 3 to see how your negatives print. You can reduce contrast by using a diffused light source, softer paper developer, pre flashing, or pulling the print a little early from the developer. I like the rich tonality, print sharpness, and paper tint and surface. I'm finding the enlarger light source is helping me get the contrast I need.

 

[bill spears]

Grade 4 has been discontinued for a while. See the top of page 12 here:

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/20093161552402063.pdf


Thanks for that..... but, there's nothing that says the grade 4 will come back later ??

 

[Martin Aislabie]

Grade 4 has been discontinued for a while. See the top of page 12 here:

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/20093161552402063.pdf


Thanks for that..... but, there's nothing that says the grade 4 will come back later ??

Bill, Galerie responds well to Beers Variable Contrast Dev

Ian Grant says the formula is available if you Google it - or P254 Darkroom Cookbook 3rd Ed

Martin

 

[jglass]

Can someone on this thread give me a quick summary of the differences betw. Galerie and MGIV FB (besides variable contrast)? Has Richard summed it up, above, with the statement that Galerie has richer low mid-tones? Any other differences, say comparing Grade 2 Galerie to MGIV FB w/ #2 filtration? Feel, tooth, base whiteness, etc?

Thanks.

Jeff Glass

 

[Mahler_one]

Love this paper much, dektol 1+2 for 3 minutes, for my normal develop, for softer 1/2 grade I use Ansco 120, to get higher grade dektol 1+1 ,
I dont like ilford multigrade, because is tend to fog much when passed the expired date, I used galerie 5 years age and still got good result, good luck

Is there an expiration date on the Ilford MG FB paper? I went back to look at my 100 sheet boxes of the glossy and the matt...I don't see an expiration date for the paper? Where is it on the box? Thanks...I must have missed it....

 

[bill spears]

Bill, Galerie responds well to Beers Variable Contrast Dev

Ian Grant says the formula is available if you Google it - or P254 Darkroom Cookbook 3rd Ed

Martin

Thats useful to know Martin - thanks.
I gathered the way to vary contrast was to exploit other developers, it's just that I've always tried to standardise on one (usually bromophen)

Will definately look into it though, especially if Gal Gd4 doesn't come back.

 

[bill spears]

Can someone on this thread give me a quick summary of the differences betw. Galerie and MGIV FB (besides variable contrast)? Has Richard summed it up, above, with the statement that Galerie has richer low mid-tones? Any other differences, say comparing Grade 2 Galerie to MGIV FB w/ #2 filtration? Feel, tooth, base whiteness, etc?

Thanks.

Jeff Glass

The last time I printed on Galerie I found it to be around 1 grade softer than the equivalent ILF MG. I haven't done any thorough testing though and would be interested to hear of others experiences ?
I would say base whiteness and feel of the paper is very similar to the MG.

It's usually described as being a very 'silver rich' paper and produces deep rich blacks. Selenium toning it can give a very sumptuous and juicy print !

 

[Simon R Galley]

Dear All,

Grade 2 and Grade 3 is all that we produce, other grades would just not be viable

Simon. ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

 

[haryanto]

Is there an expiration date on the Ilford MG FB paper? I went back to look at my 100 sheet boxes of the glossy and the matt...I don't see an expiration date for the paper? Where is it on the box? Thanks...I must have missed it....

No, I've asked Simon about this,
sorry, I mean, at the same ages (5year since i bought it) my MG and Gallerie, MG tend to fog

 

[Mahler_one]

Dear All,

Grade 2 and Grade 3 is all that we produce, other grades would just not be viable

Simon. ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

Thanks Simon.

I note that the graded fiber based paper is almost twice the cost ( 100 sheets ) of the VC FB paper at various suppliers here in the USA. While I am very grateful that Ilford continues to make so many fine products that are dedicated to analog users, the great disparity in the price of the VC vs. the graded fiber based papers might make one hesitant to make the investment in time and effort in order to use the graded papers in one's day to day efforts in the darkroom. Can you "comfortably" provide some explanation as to the great disparity in price between the graded and the VC papers FB papers? Are the "raw materials", i.e., the amount of silver used on the paper, much different? Also, are you able to tell us if the paper base is different so as to drive the cost of producing the graded papers much higher? I understand the need to make a profit of course, and should you chose not to answer then I would obviously understand. As with many products, if the costs are not covered than the product cannot be sold. However, if the costs are too high, than it becomes difficult for some to justify the use of the product(s) in question. One can readily see the dilemma that companies supplying materials to analog photographers might be facing-especially if the number of analog photographers dwindles.

By the way, I continue to buy lots of Ilford 8x10 sheet film Not only are the films consistently excellent, but they are a genuine bargain when compared to Kodak films of the same speed. Certainly, the majority of the analog film users here have to pay for their own film ( unlike well known and respected professionals who might receive their film without charge ), and the cost of materials can rapidly escalate.

Thanks for any information you can provide. I hope my questions are not seen as critical or confrontational.

Ed

 

[Simon R Galley]

Dear Ed,

Very balanced question that deserves an honest answer, its purely volume :

Firstly, yes the raw materials are more expensive but thats not the main reason.

Make lots of sq metres in one production run price per sq mtr is x

Make a very few sq metres per production run price per sq mtr is x times y

Y = Time per m2 / emulsion waste / paper waste / QC waste as a percentage of production /
time to hold on inventory / part finishing parent rolls / holding in controlled temperature store
all these add up to the significantly higher cost.

Simon. ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :