New black and white fibre-based papers from Ilford

Roger Cole · Dec 9, 2013

Well...might the introduction of Cooltone in FB drive a demand for it? You do have a "matching" WT developer for the WT paper (which I use, and it's excellent with your paper.)

The only thing that kept me from trying Cooltone RC paper was that it was not available in 16x20 so I didn't want to get addicted to a paper I couldn't get for my largest prints. With the FB being available in 16x20 (and even 20x24 though that's currently irrelevant for me) that's changed and I'll be trying out some of the Cooltone FB.

Thomas Bertilsson · Dec 9, 2013

I can't wait to see some results of the new cool tone paper. And to have a standard Multigrade paper that is sharper than the current version will be a benefit. I have loved printing on Ilford Multigrade paper for a long time, but always observed that the shadows were not as articulated as with most other papers, such as Forte Polygrade IV or Agfa MCC111/118. It doesn't really matter, but any improvement in this area will make the paper even better and more enjoyable.

Sal Santamaura · Dec 9, 2013

Simon R Galley said:
...I know it sounds daft but they really do look sharper ( and they are )...

Not daft at all. It was almost 13 years ago when I wrote about Multigrade IV FB's lack of sharpness in this thread (10th post down):

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=004TDI

Increased sharpness is one of the primary reasons I'm anxious to try them. There's little point in going to the trouble of shooting whole plate or 8x10 and then making contact prints on a paper that doesn't reveal those negatives' resolution. Until now, Galerie has been the only Ilford paper I'd considered for that application.

DREW WILEY · Dec 9, 2013

I've got a whole stack of 8x10 negs just waiting for this new paper. But first, I gotta finish drymounting a lot of Warmtone prints. It will sure be
a luxury being able to print nearly all my negs on just two FBVC papers, one warm, one cold.

Black Dog · Dec 9, 2013

Sal Santamaura said:
Not daft at all. It was almost 13 years ago when I wrote about Multigrade IV FB's lack of sharpness in this thread (10th post down):

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=004TDI

Increased sharpness is one of the primary reasons I'm anxious to try them. There's little point in going to the trouble of shooting whole plate or 8x10 and then making contact prints on a paper that doesn't reveal those negatives' resolution. Until now, Galerie has been the only Ilford paper I'd considered for that application.

I love Galerie-use it for lots of my work for the postcard exchange. Fortezo remains my alltime favourite but doesn't suit all my images. looking forwars to trying the Cooltone for my Peak District snow scenes from 09/10!

Rafal Lukawiecki · Dec 9, 2013

My order should be arriving next week. Funnily enough, just as Drew wrote, I have just also finished dry mounting a (small) stack of MGWT. I am slightly hating the idea of another paper being better than that one (in my use) but I am excited about that possibility too. Can't wait to see the surface finish of the new ones.

hansformat · Dec 9, 2013

Which developer

Did a bit of research tonight. Looks like Edwal Ultra Black now has to be shipped ground (hazardous) which is annoying. Se3 and Se6 from Moersch have no such restriction. Howeer, for the life of me i can't figure out which would be best for the cooltone paper...most of the Se6 info seems to be trying to use it to cool a warmtone paper (which is how i used it for Adox 110), there is no info on using it with a cold tone paper. For Se3 there isn't much info at all.

I'd love to put my order in at Freestyle tomorrow but I'm stuck trying to figure out the developer best suited to bringing out that cold tone on this new paper.

brian steinberger · Dec 9, 2013

Michael R 1974 said:
Just placed my order for MG Classic at B&H. Woohoo!

Really?? I'm seeing it's not in stock yet. What size?? i'm waiting for 11x14.

brian steinberger · Dec 9, 2013

Thanks Michael, I didn't realized you could still place an order. Mine has been ordered too! Got one box of each. I'm excited!

VaryaV · Dec 10, 2013

Freestyle says they will be getting the shipment in this Friday. Had to place order regardless as they might still run out... I can see the beasts are hungry!

I have no idea yet what developer I am going try yet for effect. It will all depend on what mood I'm in that day! Hope you all will keep discussing this and post results and opinions. The combinations are going to be very exciting.

pstake · Dec 10, 2013

I just read Tim Rudman's newsletter review of these two papers. He spoke very highly of the Classic but had less time to test the cooltone. Specifically mentioned the Classic's noticeable increase in sharpness and d-max, good separation in the highlights. I don't want to paraphrase too much. I'd recommend everyone sign up for his newsletter and read for yourself.

Most importantly (to me), he confirmed the Classic does not Lith, but yields nice results in second pass lith.

He did not have a chance to test the Cooltone in lith printing, so the jury is still out on that one.

If anybody gets a chance to try the cooltone in lith, please post your results!

I'll be buying/trying it for myself after the holidays...

EDIT: I just want to add that the reason Lith-ability is important to me is because it can be hard to find a great photo paper that is also a great lith paper. The majority of my printing is still traditional printing but more and more I'm lith printing, finding it's another tool to make negatives sing that might make only mediocre prints using traditional developer. Appending this info since I know the Ilford folks are watching. And yes, MGWT is fantastic and I'm well stocked with it. Please don't ever stop making MGWT!

pstake · Dec 10, 2013

Here is a link to Tim Rudman's newsletter and review of these two papers:

http://www.timrudman.com/newsletters/view/end-of-year-newsletter-2013

Black Dog · Dec 10, 2013

I reckon Amidol would work really well [it did with MGIV], and maybe Maxim Muir's blue black formula from The Darkroom Cookbook.

Sal Santamaura · Dec 10, 2013

pstake said:
Here is a link to Tim Rudman's newsletter and review of these two papers:

http://www.timrudman.com/newsletters/view/end-of-year-newsletter-2013

In which he reports:

"MG Classic...Air dried glossy gives a comparable finish to MG IV."

Outstanding! MG IV FB was the only current paper besides Galerie whose surface gloss was to my liking.

and

"MG Cooltone...The air dried glossy surface is significantly more shiny than that of Classic , IV or WT."

Disappointing. Assuming others subsequently post their observations which corroborate this, my testing will likely be limited to Classic as a result.

Sim2 · Dec 10, 2013

Being a little bit greedy & a little bit hesitant at the same time, I have put an order in for Cooltone, Classic (gloss & matt) with Silverprint in London. Order sailed through so must have them in stock Hesitant 'cos I only ordered the 25 sheet packs at this stage - but holiday fun beckons *counting down the days*.

hansformat · Dec 10, 2013

I just ordered the Cooltone. Went with the Edwal Ultra Black developer. Was debating vs the SE6 but Edwal was really cold with the Forte cold tone paper so went with it. Most seem to use SE6 to cool down warm tone papers.

Jon Butler · Dec 11, 2013

I was a bit disappointed to hear that FB MG1V going as it is by far my favourite paper, why because I prefer the tones I can achieve with it and prefer the finished texture to the of it compared with MG1V WT.

I've been printing with the new MG Classic two days now found really very nice but different.
I found it about a 1/3 of stop faster in Bromophen 1-4 and image does in the developer quicker as Ilford say. In Bromophen it gives a subtle warmth, to achieve the tones I require the bleach and toner need to be diluted to the same strength as I use for WT MG1V. (Very weak)

It floats to the top in the washer but not as buoyant as Art300.
The finished air dried and pressed prints have a texture that is similar but not the same as MG1V, it's ok though.

So far i'm very happy with the results, MG Classic will be my standard paper in the future.
J.

Roger Cole · Dec 11, 2013

The only thing I am slightly worried about is over toning. MGIV responds fine to selenium for my tastes, much more so than MCC-110. Most people say MGIV doesn't respond much and MCC 110 not at all but I beg to differ. At 1+19 in KRST I have to stop MGIV at 4 minutes as 5 becomes too eggplant purple for my tastes. Maybe I'll have to stop at two minutes or dilute more for Classic.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thomas Bertilsson · Dec 12, 2013

To those who are looking for a cold tone developer: http://www.freestylephoto.biz/36173-Clayton-Ultra-Cold-Tone-Paper-Developer-1-Gallon

Much less expensive than Edwal Ultra Black, and may be a good alternative for you.

pstake · Dec 12, 2013

Thomas Bertilsson said:
To those who are looking for a cold tone developer: http://www.freestylephoto.biz/36173-Clayton-Ultra-Cold-Tone-Paper-Developer-1-Gallon

Much less expensive than Edwal Ultra Black, and may be a good alternative for you.

I have wondered about this developer. I think Freestyle sells it with an Arista label, too.

How's the tray life? Have you tried it on MGWT?

Thomas Bertilsson · Dec 12, 2013

pstake said:
I have wondered about this developer. I think Freestyle sells it with an Arista label, too.

How's the tray life? Have you tried it on MGWT?

I haven't tried the developer. Just pointing out that it exists.

pstake · Dec 16, 2013

Tim Rudman updated his newsletter today to include more information about the new Ilford papers, and some examples on MG Classic.

He also added a footnote about a possible production problem ....

http://www.timrudman.com/newsletters/view/-revised-end-of-year-newsletter-2013

mexipike · Dec 19, 2013

Looks like BH has it in stock now! Freestyle has some sizes in stock. I always like to support Freestyle but when they sell the 100 sheet box of 8X10 for $112.99 while BH has it for $93.99 it's kind of hard. About 19 cents more a sheet.

Anyways looks like it may be a great paper and I'm looking forward to giving it a go. I love using Ilford papers as I'm typically confident that once I like one I can easily obtain it for a fairly long time.

DREW WILEY · Dec 19, 2013

I'm planning on making my purchase in January, probably of both new products. I've got just too much drymounting to get caught up on over
the holidays to do much new printing - want to get it done before the rainy season, while the humidity is still low.

Roger Cole · Dec 20, 2013

mexipike said:
Looks like BH has it in stock now! Freestyle has some sizes in stock. I always like to support Freestyle but when they sell the 100 sheet box of 8X10 for $112.99 while BH has it for $93.99 it's kind of hard. About 19 cents more a sheet.

Anyways looks like it may be a great paper and I'm looking forward to giving it a go. I love using Ilford papers as I'm typically confident that once I like one I can easily obtain it for a fairly long time.

Plus the next ten boxes will be exactly like the one you just tried. Ilford's consistency has been remarkable for me. I can generally print the same negative on paper from a different box or even cut down from a different size with the exact same times as my reference starting print. Good stuff.

And I agree - I try to support Freestyle and do, and also B&H won't ship lots of chems. I will pay a little more for Freestyle sometimes, but some film and paper is so much cheaper from B&H they get the nod.

New black and white fibre-based papers from Ilford

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency