Oriental VC-FBII Warmtone New formulation

I have been doing some side by side testing with the New Formulation Warmer Toned Oriental VC-FB paper. I have both new and old on hand and made some prints yesterday with both just to see.

The New formulation stuff is very different. It prints much flatter in the dark tones and very much warmer. After drying the surface on the new and old is the same. The newer stuff is also significantly slower. Almost twice as slow.

I have really liked the old Oriental, which is why I bought a lot of it and froze it. It is virtually identical to Ilford VC FB WT. Except that it is quite a bit less expensive than the Ilford.

The thing I haven't liked about either the Ilford or the Oriental is the bright white base, I like it to be creamy and warm. So I have developed the habit of putting a pot of black tea in my stop bath to stain the paper base. I have written about that in APUG before. With the new Formulation Oriental it is already the creamy warm color I want, so no tea is necessary.

I am curious if there is someone out there who loved the Oriental just the way it was and would rather it stayed on the brighter base. If there is I wonder if that person would consider trading new for old. My old is frozen and has always been since I bought it last year and it is as new and perfect.

thanks Dennis

Have you tried the Ilford Warm tone semi-matte paper? That has a creamy base

To anyone wondering, as some have, No I won't sell the paper at a reduced price and I am not interested in trading for other types of paper. I like the paper I have in the freezer just fine unless someone wishes they could get more of the un-reformulated and is willing to trade straight up for new reformulated. glossy only.
thanks again
Dennis

this idea of trading for paper was intuitive and spontaneous but after thinking of it for awhile it is completely stupid. I must have taken a stupid pill this morning. I should just sell the paper and buy the new stuff. Why would I expect someone to go to the trouble of buying paper and then shipping it to me for a trade.

I apologize for the silliness of that suggestion.

If I knew how to delete a thread I would.

Thanks and sorry
Dennis

Hey Dennis, Now don't be so hard on yourself, it is after all only some paper Put in the classified and someone will snap it up if the price is right.

Yes that is what I will do though I am not sure the classifieds are working right. I can't get them to show up in my sidebar. I looked up the current price and I can offer this paper for 30 dollars a box less than Ilford and almost 10 dollars a box less than the current Oriental price. Hopefully that will help someone else as well as help me.
Dennis

dpurdy said:

this idea of trading for paper was intuitive and spontaneous but after thinking of it for awhile it is completely stupid. I must have taken a stupid pill this morning. I should just sell the paper and buy the new stuff. Why would I expect someone to go to the trouble of buying paper and then shipping it to me for a trade.

I apologize for the silliness of that suggestion.

If I knew how to delete a thread I would.

Thanks and sorry
Dennis

Click to expand...

No, stupid would be an advert with a picture of the paper fanned out....:rolleyes:

I liked the white base so I am disappointed to hear about the change. I like my whites, white regardless of the darker tones. Hopefully, Forte will be back........that was reasonably white.

Having just tried this paper the past two weeks, let me revive this old thread instead of starting a new one

My first reaction was "ugh, toooooo creamy ....." However, I really like the tones within the images ... its just the outer base color that bothers me, especially if I print smaller with a lot of margin. However this isn't anything some trimming/matting can't solve. It took me awhile to get used to it .... definitely not anywhere near white, but I'm trying to move away from (what I consider) the more sterile cold told papers .... I've also tried Adox MCC 110 .. I'm not sure which one I'm going to settle on. I do think I'm liking the tonality of the Oriental a bit more.

I have tested this new paper too. I have also the old one (when I say old, I say, in the legendary blue boxes) and I love both.

New oriental, is to my mind, one of the most beautiful warm paper ever made. Without any toning, its tonality is splendid.