They replaced MGIV FB with MG Classic and added Cooltone to the range.
Michael just wrote about the precise changes from MGIV to MG Classic (V): check the thread "Are there RC papers... "
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I didn't like MGIV either: I cursed my career with it, and I like their new generation of papers better too.
Hi there,
I've been out of the game for a while and noticed that Ilford has brought out a Multigrade V RC paper.
Is a Multigrade V Fibre Based paper in the works as well?
I came to appreciate MGIV for its unique (as far as I know) quirk of turning a subtle shade of cold blue in selenium toner. When split-toned with sulphide, it gave prints an effective 3D look, and was not too "on the nose" either. The "Classic" replacement doesn't do that. Each to their own, I guess.
Hi there,
I've been out of the game for a while and noticed that Ilford has brought out a Multigrade V RC paper.
Is a Multigrade V Fibre Based paper in the works as well?
For some reason Harman didn't elect to follow there previous naming convention when they went from MGIV RC to the newer paper, designated MG Deluxe.I've never even seen anything called MG5.
Classic won't go quite that cool, but can be made relatively neutral, which I never could get the Agfa MCC product to do; it had an especially stubborn plum tone. .
I use MG5 extensively and find it to be a massive improvement over MG4. So much so I have given up using Fibre based because there is now virtually no difference in quality. If they could make a MG5 with the same surface texture as MG Classic unglazed glossy that would be perfect.
Hope not!
Imho this new RC paper is terrible. It's basically Kentmere RC... but sold at premium Ilford price. It's very hard to get decent grays with this MGV while the "old" MGIV would deliver lovely delicate grays.
If you use the MGV to make contact prints, any picture that was overexposed will be rendered a a blank white indecipherable rectangle. With the MGIV paper you could at least see bits of details.
Ilford's latest RC papers, Multigrade RC Deluxe and Multigrade RC Portfolio, are, in my opinion, excellent. They do not appear to have any relation to products HARMAN sells under the Kentmere brand. They have been newly developed and introduced over the last few years....Imho this new RC paper is terrible. It's basically Kentmere RC... but sold at premium Ilford price. It's very hard to get decent grays with this MGV while the "old" MGIV would deliver lovely delicate grays.
If you use the MGV to make contact prints, any picture that was overexposed will be rendered a a blank white indecipherable rectangle. With the MGIV paper you could at least see bits of details.
RC papers have many shortfalls compared to fiber-based counterparts, especially life expectancy under less than optimum environmental conditions. However, given careful choice of mount board, I've had no problem dry mounting RC prints. One need only ensure the board isn't one with noticeable surface texture and then keep press temperature at 180 degrees F....RC doesn't drymount decently either...
Whereas Multigrade IV FB and RC had characteristic curves designed to cope with "hot" negatives (T-grain and core-shell "designer grain") that have rising curves, the new RC papers and their fiber based counterpart Multigrade Classic are much closer to "straight line." They work well with conventional grain negatives developed normally and designer grain negatives developed in ways that tame their rising curves, e.g. pyro, semi-stand, etc.
The new papers seem to be targeted to photographers who either use conventional grain films conventionally developed or designer grain films paired with tightly controlled darkroom processes. They're not as "forgiving" as their predecessors were. I suspect this was intentional on HARMAN's part as it evaluated how its customer base was changing.
All of the recently reformulated papers have characteristic curves with longer toes and shoulders than the papers they replace, especially the FB papers (Classic and Cooltone). The curves for the newer papers generally have shorter straight line sections.
A collector might have a very different opinion of having "no qualitative difference" between RC and FB than you do, Bikerider. And RC doesn't drymount decently either. So all around, RC fails the test categorically for certain applications, especially those most important to me personally.
Ilford's latest RC papers, Multigrade RC Deluxe and Multigrade RC Portfolio, are, in my opinion, excellent. They do not appear to have any relation to products HARMAN sells under the Kentmere brand.
An objective opinion to which I do not subscribe to. It may suit your means but not mine. I gave up drymounting over 20 years ago when the materials became difficult to find and have never gone back. I am also conscious of the quantity of water needed to wash the FB prints adequately and even with RC prints they have a life that will exceed yours or mine.
I really beg to differ her.
I happen to own a bo of Kentmere RC paper. When I did a session of contact sheets on MGIV and I was doing a few ones on the Kentmere (grade 2 for both) these stood out like a thumb in a tray of fingers : higher contrast (reminding me of the old Kodak RC) but also a poorer rendition of the gray scale.
Now that I've switched to MGV the Kentmere cs are virtually undistinguishable from the Ilfords (apart from the paper base which is thicker on the MGV).
My take is when Ilford bought out Kentmere around 2008 they acquired some technical "know how" which they recycled into this new MGV.
Whether HARMAN "learnt" anything from what it got in its Kentmere acquisition is irrelevant. My comment related to whether current Ilford-branded RC paper is the same as RC paper it sells under the Kentmere brand. Your latest post quoted above confirms they are different. That's consistent with HARMAN's practice of not duplicating its primary products with other labeling, internal or external.I really beg to differ her.
I happen to own a bo of Kentmere RC paper. When I did a session of contact sheets on MGIV and I was doing a few ones on the Kentmere (grade 2 for both) these stood out like a thumb in a tray of fingers : higher contrast (reminding me of the old Kodak RC) but also a poorer rendition of the gray scale.
Now that I've switched to MGV the Kentmere cs are virtually undistinguishable from the Ilfords (apart from the paper base which is thicker on the MGV).
My take is when Ilford bought out Kentmere around 2008 they acquired some technical "know how" which they recycled into this new MGV.
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