Looking for a new FB paper

Owen Rocosky · Aug 18, 2013

Hey everyone, I havn't been in the darkroom for a long time and I have missed it so! I am looking for a new B&W FB paper to print on.
I am open to all recommendations, though I am more interested in neutraltone or coldtone. Anything with a great tonal range is of course optimal. Also cheap is nice, but I would rather pay more if it is a better paper. I am not so interested in glossy either. Any ideas?

pstake · Aug 18, 2013

Michael R 1974 said:
Ilford MGIV.

+1

Ilford MGIV, to me, is like a staple of photography. Not exotic and therefore sometimes overlooked.

But I think you'd have a hard time finding any paper at any price with more dynamic range nor as consistent of results as MGIV.

Its only drawback is that it doesn't Lith but Ilford Warmtone does.

brian steinberger · Aug 18, 2013

Ilford MGIV.

Jesper · Aug 19, 2013

Adox MCC 110

Ektagraphic · Aug 19, 2013

+1 for Adox MCC 110. It is an outstanding paper with a great look and feel all around.

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 19, 2013

My vote also goes for Ilford MGIV. It is incredibly consistent paper, is available in many places at a reasonable cost, and is not likely to disappear any time soon.
The only disadvantages I think Ilford MGIV has is that in most developers it gives a tiny hint of a green warm shadow color, and the shadows are not as well defined as other papers out there. It's not that big of a deal either of them, the green tone disappears almost immediately with selenium toning, but the shadows, well they are what they are.

Adox MCC 110 is a little bit more open in the shadows, for better or worse. It's a great paper, and I have nothing bad to say about ADOX as a company either.
It's just that Ilford is Ilford, and they have been such reliable partners over the years, especially with product stability.

Both papers are fine. You may also wish to look at the Foma range of papers. The Fomabrom 111 (glossy) and 112 (matte) are fine papers. A bit more muted tones than either the Ilford or the ADOX, but that just means you need a bit more negative contrast to begin with, and you are similar starting points. Base is warmer than ADOX and Ilford too.

Bob Carnie · Aug 19, 2013

My vote is for Ilford Warmtone , its not as warm as one would expect , IMO the best paper out there.

Shawn Dougherty · Aug 19, 2013

Bob Carnie said:
My vote is for Ilford Warmtone , its not as warm as one would expect , IMO the best paper out there.

I second that. If you minimize washing times (just what is necessary to keep things archival) it will help keep the paper "cooler".

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 19, 2013

Bob Carnie said:
My vote is for Ilford Warmtone , its not as warm as one would expect , IMO the best paper out there.

Very true; I noticed that too, about it being quite a bit less warm than I had expected. Beautiful paper, for sure.

miha · Aug 19, 2013

Nothing beats Multigrade FB matt (5K) if you like dead matt surface. It's my favorite paper for the surface alone.

brian steinberger · Aug 20, 2013

The more I use MGIV the more I've grown to like it as my all around paper. I can achieve wonderful cool neutral prints with selenium, beautiful split tones with sepia/selenium, and nice brownish sepia tones over the entire tonal range by indirect polysulfide toning (similar look to direct polysulfide toning on MGWT).

One thing I haven't messed with yet is trying to persuade MGIV to split tone in selenium like MGWT. I heard it's possible with redevelopers, but I have yet to try! MGWT is beautiful split toned in selenium and direct toned in polysulfide, but for everything else I prefer MGIV

Looking for a new FB paper

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