Old paper?

[NDP_2010]

I obtained some paper but i am not sure about its age/brand/previous history
I tried a few enlargements and they come out tinged slightly brown where it should be white.
I am not sure if this is becuase the paper is old (?) or maybe I am not fixing it long enough?
I have the same size paper (8x10) in gloss from ilford and it is perfect with the same fixing time.
So my question is, do other types of paper require specifically longer fixing times, or is this a consequence of the age of the paper.

Thankyou.

and example is below

 

[faustotesta]

Definitely it's the age of paper. In the enclosure a sample of a 50 yrs old paper.
It's the "vintage" effect.....
Ciao

P.S. if you don't like your old paper just give me a shout
P.P.S. Sorry for posting a crop of my picture. I cannot upload people's pictures without their permission

 

[Kevin Kehler]

Is the paper a fiber based paper or a RC paper? It looks more likely that either the paper is fogged (fairly likely), losing contrast (highly likely) and possibly warm-toned as opposed to cool toned paper (possible). What developer are you using? Using a warm-tone developer with a warm-tone FB paper has a much different tone than using a neutral developer with a RC paper. My money is that the paper fogged; the edge markings are the best clue to my eyes, especially the-none image edges of the print being the colour they are. It almost looks lith-printed; how long an exposure from what approximate enlarger height? Also, how long in your developer and how old is your developer? I had some old Dektol I tried using (very black, like coffee) and it stained my paper like old tea.

PS faustotesta is also right about old paper just giving a different old look than new paper

 

[NDP_2010]

i think it is fiber based. The developer was ilford multigrade (thats all it says on the bottle) I have no idea about the type of paper being warm or cool toned, it came into my possesion with only a black plastic wrapper. I will try letting it fix for long period of time and see if i can exclude this variable.

Thanks for the help.

 

[dehk]

Dumb question. But your developed haven't turned brownish yet right. And if the paper fiber its def. gonna absorb all that stuff much more than RC.

 

[NDP_2010]

Dumb question. But your developed haven't turned brownish yet right. And if the paper fiber its def. gonna absorb all that stuff much more than RC.

do not fear to ask 'dumb questions' as I basically have no idea about all the crazy things that go on in a darkroom The developer isnt brown per se, it is yellow colour stright out of the bottle, not sure if it is the normal colour, the developer is not very old. And i guess i am using RC paper with my other prints as i am using the ilford multigrade 'rc' (this means resin coated?)

Is there an indicative way of telling the difference between resin coated and fibre based paper?

thanks!

 

[MattKing]

The "RC" on the box is a good indication .

Or alternatively, if it doesn't say "fibre" anywhere.

Resin Coated ("RC") feels like plastic, which it is.

 

[brianmquinn]

I agree with faustotesta. I keep all the old paper I can get my hands on. Most of the time it is not the look I want. However with some negatives I get the my BEST prints on old paper that shows it's age. When you consider that "expired" can often be gotten for free or close to it I don't know why more people don't play with it.

 

[removed account4]

I obtained some paper but i am not sure about its age/brand/previous history
I tried a few enlargements and they come out tinged slightly brown where it should be white.
I am not sure if this is becuase the paper is old (?) or maybe I am not fixing it long enough?
I have the same size paper (8x10) in gloss from ilford and it is perfect with the same fixing time.
So my question is, do other types of paper require specifically longer fixing times, or is this a consequence of the age of the paper.

Thankyou.

and example is below

even though your paper may be fogged
you can still have fun with it ... you can make a box
camera or buy a brownie at a junk store ...
put pieces of your paper in the camera and make some
exposures ... your paper will probably make nice negatives.

have fun

john

 

[NDP_2010]

thanks for the suggestion.
As i am only a novice I do not mind for the old paper as I am still learning and making alot of mistakes.
I was unsure if it was the technique or the paper. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[fschifano]

Something similar looking happens if you don't fix the print well enough, then leave it out in the light for a while. It happens, but you'd pratically have to not fix it at all, and it doesn't happen immediately. This example looks more like bad paper, and it's a mistake to think that you can finely tune your process with this stuff. You can work out all the procedural difficulties you may be having, but you won't be able to learn how to fine-tune a print with it.