Kodak Opal paper

Well I finally got my home darkroom up and running, well sort of as there is still lots to do but it is roomy and except for no running water it will work out just fine. Some of the equipment I am using I have stored for a decade and other was acquired recently from others who got out of wet darkrooms.

From somewhere I did acquire a box of 500 sheets of Opal Y finish 8X10 paper unopened but the box top had chemical stains. After working the evening making contact sheets on 20 year old Polycontast RC paper I thought I would test this box out. Set up a photogram on one half and kept the other half covered, exposed and developed the paper. End result was rich blacks on the exposed side and plain white from edge to edge on the unexposed portion. So obviously the paper appears to be still good. I have found little about this paper on a search on the net and my 1974 Darkroom data guide does not include it. As I have only been in photography since 1973 I have no experience with it

Would like to know who used it and thoughts about it plus is it a supercoated paper or not and how do I tell? I was thinking it might be a possiblity for bromoils which I hope to try later this winter. Thanks for any info and I hope the other 10 or so boxes of older paper are as good as this one seems to have kept

I believe that opal was one of the once great Kodak selection of portrait papers. Generaly 2 ish in contrast and warm toned designed to be toned in one of the brown toners. The Y surface was quite nice as I remember enjoy!

Here's a sample from my old Darkroom Data guide. It's a little warmer in the background than the scan shows, but the whites are clean.

The Opal product line started in the early 1930s; not sure when it ended but it was still alive in the mid 1960's. Here's how Opal was described in a 1932 catalogue listing: "Opal has all of the warmth of tone and gradation scale of Athena with ample speed for enlarging. It truly reproduces the quality of the contact print -- is ideal for making portrait projection prints form normal strength negatives or, with reduced lighting, for making contact prints." The Opal Y surface was silk texture, lustre sheen, and cream white tint; offered in double weight. The silk texture was popular for snow scenes, seascapes, and wedding photography. The texture was created by embossing the baryta coated surface prior to emulsion coating. If you look at the surface under low magnification (6-10X) you can see the hexagonal pattern of the embossing.

I remember Opal paper fondly. It was available in a huge number of colors and surfaces. Opal was a lot slower than almost all modern enlarging papers (speed around 160). Opal was a chlorobromide paper with moderately warm tone. The tone was much more dependent on the developer than it is with modern papers, and the tone could be anything from slightly warm to brownish depending on the developer. It was only supplied in one grade, equivalent to No. 2, but the contrast could be manipulated somewhat in the developer and by the choice of developer. Prints were beautiful, and the paper was easy to use - a blessing for someone like me who was just starting to try to make good prints. It was replaced by Ektalure (also much missed) in the 1960s. I'm not sure about supercoating, but surface Y (cream white, luster, silk) may not be a good choice for bromoil anyway.