My FB paper surface has gone lumpy?

[Sean]

Ok, I made some prints last week on agfa fb semi-mat paper. They looked great and the paper surface was very smooth. even 5 days after drying the surface was still smooth. I look at my prints last night and the surface is very textured, and looking at highlights I can see paper texture instead of whites. Any idea what went wrong? Thanks!

 

[rogueish]

I've used this paper (gloss, matt and semi) without problem.
The only thing I can think of is :what is your humidity? Could high humidity make the paper swell slightly you think?
right now (here at my place) the humidity is low. Just checked several prints (all Agfa paper, all 3 types of finishes) and everything looks good. I can see the texture of the matt and semi matt, but over the whole print, not just the highlights.
I would guess either a poor batch, high humidity, or... I was going to say lack of washing, but I doubt that texture would be the result.

 

[rbarker]

Hmmm. From flat to lumpy? Did someone use silicone spray in the room?

Seriously, Sean, I'm not aware of any manufacturing defect that would cause the prints to dry smooth and then swell later. But, there might well be. Thus, I'd be inclined to suspect some airborne contaminant such as air freshener or lens-cleaner overspray, perhaps?

 

[Joe Symchyshyn]

Ok, I made some prints last week on agfa fb semi-mat paper. They looked great and the paper surface was very smooth. even 5 days after drying the surface was still smooth.

So not texture was visible at all on the fine grained matte paper??

I look at my prints last night and the surface is very textured, and looking at highlights I can see paper texture instead of whites. Any idea what went wrong? Thanks!

How this is written, you make it sound like the paper transformed into something else...

I've used the paper quite a bit, and the texture should be visible when you inspect the print. When the paper is wet in the tray you'll never see it though.

Could it just be that you weren't noticing the texture while the print was wet, and now dry it is stronger than you anticipated.

Hard to tell not seeing a finished print.

joe

 

[Sean]

well, i think what has changed is the paper has become very shiny, so the mat surface is easy to see as light is reflecting off of it more. The prints were washed for an hour in an archival washer. Maybe this is what mat surface does (I've always used gloss), but I find it is distracting as you see the surface more than the image itself..