Print reticulation or paper damaged?

[johnnywelchfilm]

I've been having a few problems lately with Adox Easy Print RC paper.
There's a grainy/cloudiness which looks like a very soft reticulation. (see curtains in image)
It seems to be more noticeable with negatives which are thinner, or have large areas of uniform tone.

I have tried to rule it out by the following:
- using different negatives developed by myself or at labs over the years
- mixing fresh chemicals and making sure the temperature of all the baths are exactly the same
- using different brands of fix, Compard Fix Ag and Ilford Rapid Fix
- exposing paper without the enlarger using room lights
- exposing without filters and glass in the carrier

Recently I would notice that the paper would print well for about a week then this reticulation/grain would start happening. But this time, it started happening straight away.
My darkroom is in a storage closet which is not heated constantly. So in this season, the room drops down to about 15 degrees celsius when not in use, and I heat it up to 20 - 25 degrees when printing. I am thinking perhaps this change in temperature is swelling the emulsion too much? I am not sure how sensitive it is to temperature changes.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[koraks]

Years ago I briefly printed on this paper, but gave up on it very quickly because it showed mottled shadows especially on certain (higher) grades. I never encountered the problem anymore after moving to different papers. My personal views on this paper is that it's just a bit too much of a compromise. For an equally affordable option, have a look at Fomaspeed RC papers. I have good experiences with those.

 

[johnnywelchfilm]

Yes I never had the problem when using Ilford paper in the past, even with not so accurate temperatures of the baths.
I might give Fomaspeed a try, for every day printing.

 

[koraks]

Yes, do that. I've never gotten paper to reticulate, and what you're getting also doesn't look quite like reticulation to me. It's more like the typical surface unevenness of Schoeller's RC paper based which tends to show up on very thin emulsions that are low in silver. The same or a similar thing shows up when reversal processing RC paper and on some RA4 paper as well. My understanding is that it might all trace back to the same cause.

 

[johnnywelchfilm]

Thanks for your insights.
I've read a bit into reticulation and it dosen't seem to me that the temperature changes between baths is enough for this to happen. So I put it down to the paper itself. I think maybe it was sitting in storage for a while at the store before I used it.
This particular negative is not too thin, and it dosen't show up at the thinnest part, i.e the blacks, but more in the lower mids. It also appears in some denser over exposed negatives.

 

[Don_ih]

Did you try a stronger dilution of developer and ensure the print is in the developer for a full 2 minutes? Blacks develop first, highlights barely change, but midtones need the full amount of time.

 

[johnnywelchfilm]

Hi Don.
I always develop to completion, and I have been seeing this issue with 1+4 as well as my normal 1+9 dilution of Rollei RPN.

 

[Don_ih]

Hi Don.
I always develop to completion, and I have been seeing this issue with 1+4 as well as my normal 1+9 dilution of Rollei RPN.

Then that just leaves the paper. Your temperature swing isn't drastic enough for reticulation. I'd go with @koraks' advice and stop using it. And maybe complain to the manufacturer.

 

[Ian Grant]

Papers can reticulate, Kodak had an issue with their colour papers some years ago where paper went from heated chemistry into a tap water wash, They improved the paper hardening. However, it's a form of micro./incipient reticulation, Kodak called it surface artefacts.

I have seen this with Glossy B&W RC paper processed in the winter where the wash water was very cold less than 5ºC, but it just produces a patchy dull sheen, it can be rectified by a light (careful) steaming of the print surface. This was the same issue Kodak had and is quite different to the issue here.

I don't think the storage temperature is the issue, but it may be a storage humidity issue which has affected the emulsion.

Ian

 

[johnnywelchfilm]

Hi Ian.
Yes could be something to do with the humidity. I will try Fomaspeed and see if I encounter any of the same issues. Then it should help determine whether it is in fact the paper or the storage conditions in my darkroom.

 

[Sirius Glass]

OP

Welcome to APUG Photrio!!​

 

[johnnywelchfilm]

Update: after switching to Fomaspeed RC for a week, I haven't encountered the problem any more.

 

[koraks]

Sounds good! Fomaspeed works fine in my experience