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Is there any way to increase the contrast of a grade 1 paper?

chip j

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I have tons of it, and would like to use more of it.
 
You could process you film to fit the paper. Overdevelop?
 
chip j,

Assuming the paper proves to be good...

Best thing to do is fit your negatives to it. Overdevelop your film.
 
Bill Burk said:
chip j,

Assuming the paper proves to be good...

Best thing to do is fit your negatives to it. Overdevelop your film.
Click to expand...

But under expose the negatives to compensate.
 
Well of course, chip j has plenty of time to figure all this out.

Regardless of the paper, I would start with time/contrast control for film and developer.

Then when deciding the time to develop film, I would choose the contrast index I want from a table that cross-tabulates subject brightness range to paper.

For speed, since it looks like we will be departing from the 0.62 gradient of ASA... I'd recommend looking into the Delta-X criterion. (Synopsis: Speed really relates to 0.3x the average gradient. It so happens 0.10 density works just for 0.62 gradient. At other contrast gradients the speed really doesn't change as rapidly as the position of the 0.10 density. The Delta-X criterion moves with better correspondence to the 0.3x average gradient, so is a better speed indication when you get away from 0.62).

Now... chip j, you could throw out all the film advice and treat this paper as original camera material... It may be well suited to use in-camera and you can disregard fog because then you can print through the fog.
 
chip j said:
I have tons of it, and would like to use more of it.
Click to expand...

To where? Grade 5 or maybe 1.5 or some other grade. Or maybe you want to convert it to variable contrast.

You need to be more specific. At the most you might get it to grade 2 unless using some exotic process such as has been suggested (lith print it).

You could add some benzotriazole to your developer which would increase the paper contrast.

There are various paper developer formulas for increasing contrast.

If my guess is correct you have acquired some old paper and its likely lost quite a bit of contrast so I would give the benzotriazole a try first.

Add about 10-20ml of 10% benzotriazole solution a litre of developer. It should help with old paper but whether its enough for your purposes I don't know.

If you add more than that your print tone may go blue.
 
Yes, the paper is a little fogged from age, and I would like to print my vast backlog of negs rather start shooting new ones. Grade 2 would be fine, as I shot in existing light and my negs are a little contrasty anyway.
 
There are variable contrast developers formulated to produce more or less contrast. However you would have to mix your own and the change realistically is less than a paper grade. Two examples are Adox E-15 and Kodak D-64.
 
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Paper is not THAT expensive. If you have a load that isn't what you need, buy what you need. Use that for something else - it can be used for contact sheets as many folks like to make them kind of flat anyway, so you can see more of what's in the negative. Or use for lith as mentioned above or whatever. Just because you have it doesn't mean you have to use it and accept sub-optimal results.
 
I'm low-income now, and there's no way in hell I can afford $140/box for top FB paper. I find even the cheapest RC @ 50cents a throw a bit of a leap.
 
I'm a genuine starving Artist. The "famous" Butler Institute of American Art here in Youngstown wants nothing to do w/my pictures & even threw me out of their Gallery for speaking my mind (nothing obscene)!
 
Been there. Tried Dr Beers formula (maximum contrast). Not much success. Tried Dokumol with Ilford MGIV in a controlled (A/B, densitometer) comparison with Dektol: identical results. Benzotriazole will help reduce fog. Se toning will give some boost to the dark tones. In contrast () with negative film, paper is developed to completion, and not much can be done to change its contrast.

I bet 1/2 grade is the most you may hope to gain, and even that I'd like to know how it can be done.

+1 on the suggestion already made by several responders: increase your negative development times by 20-25% (test, adjust) and/or use for high dynamic range subjects.
 
You can gain a little by using a condenser enlarger and the best bulb for contrast.
My darkroom eq was free...
 
If you're not using a condenser enlarger, switching from diffusion to condensers will get you a bit of contrast. Straight Dektol or other high-contrast developer will help a bit, as will adding BTZ and sodium carbonate to your developer. All this may get you a paper grade more. Selenium toning the print will maybe get you a bit more as well.

Sometimes overexposing a bit and bleaching back with a ferricyanide bleach will get you more contrast. Or, you can simply selectively bleach highlights to get more overall contrast.

One more thing to try: some have reported that graded papers print contrastier with a blue-light-only exposure similar to what you would do with VC paper. Try exposing with max magenta filtration or a blue #48 tricolor filter and see if it helps your particular paper. Also, minimize exposure to safelights, since these can often fog prints or simply reduce contrast through red-light exposure (make a test print in total darkness to see if it's any different).

Adding all of these things together may get you the contrast you need.

Yes, you can tailor your negatives to grade 1, but I'd recommend against it. You'll likely want to print them later and then be stuck using the 0 or 00 filter for VC paper, which doesn't respond so well in that contrast area.

Good luck,

Doremus
 
You can try selenium toning your negatives. My experience with older papers show that it loses some contrast with age. Have you actually printed anything on this paper?
 
Yes, I've printed on it--main problem is fog. Actually, I can get about 1 contrast grade more out of it by using my mighty Durst Micromat 35mm enlarger--it has a near-point light-source bulb; I forgot about that! It's not nearly as merciless re: negative defects as a true point-light would be. Thanks, everyone.
 

If fog is the main problem then benzotriazole is your most likely best solution. As I said, the stronger you make it the colder the tone it will give but you can play with that so as not to over do it.
 
I would not suggest messing with your present negatives (as in selenium toning), nor processing your future negatives for grade one paper. This is assuming that you will not always be a poor starving artist and will someday be able to afford good quality paper that matches your negatives.

And for the record, I do not buy the 'starving artist' label. A starving artist is only the real thing if the artist is starving because he or she has spent all their food money on art supplies! I am a little jaded on this due to hearing students say they can not afford to buy a couple rolls of film...while they are holding a fancy coffee drink that probably cost the same as a roll or two of film. I have occasionally been a starving artist -- but only for brief periods as it makes me too hungry (and someone told me about food stamps!)
 
I only get water when I go out to eat. I've eaten more McDonalds & the like rather than going to even a chain restaurant so I could buy equipment. $140 is 15% of my monthly income. I have good cameras & lenses & darkroom gear because I lived w/my mother for many years, but she died 11 years ago. I have a BA in Art History and am continually studying the subject. What do you Know about great photography? You sure won't see any on APUG.
 
chip j said:
What do you Know about great photography? You sure won't see any on APUG.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your straitened economic circumstances but I respectfully ask: "How do you know that you won't see any great photography on APUG? As far as I am aware as a member you haven't got access to the galleries so how do you begin to judge the standard of APUG photography?

pentaxuser
 
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