Recieved Ilford MG FB WT instead of RC WT

I ordered some Ilford MG RC WT but mistakenly was sent the FB WT (glossy) instead. I'm in two minds whether to send it back or not so was wondering if anyone who has used both can tell me the basic differences between them. I'm aware of the differences between fibre and resin coated paper generally so I'm specifically wondering about differences in tonality, tonal scale (shadow and highlight separation) and warmth of the papers. I won't be toning the paper but I will be using
Adotol Neutol WA as the paper developer.

Thanks
Steve

I prefer the tones of the Fiber, but it is a personal decision. If you choose to switch and they won't take it back it won't take any arm twisting to get me to sway RC for Fiber anytime you wish!! Biggest problem with Fiber is washing times are long and flattening the prints can be a pain. Let me know if you want new RC in trade. You can P.M. me or email me at lightiwps@yahoo.com Don

I don't know if you used FB paper before. In general RC is easier to process but I prefer the looks of a FB paper print.

FB tends to curl a lot when drying. Take a thick plate of glass or wood and tape the wet print onto it all around. During drying the paper shrinks, thus stretching and flattening the paper. When dry, cut the tape loose.

I would suggest you keep the FB and give it a try if you can spare the money. Maybe print an image with nice tonality on RC and FB and compare it yourself.
And let us know how it went

Bert from Holland
http://thetoadmen.blogspot.nl

It's the same emulsion, so fundamentally, the tonality will be the same.
The fiber will have a different look, for lots of reasons, however. The major one will be that fiber glossy will not be as glossy and smooth as RC glossy unless it's ferrotyped. It will look more like the RC luster or pearl surface otherwise.

So it's the same emulsion used on both RC and FB. Ok, that's good to know. I have used FB paper before so I know about the curling and extended wash times. I made a print using Ilford MG FB Matte the other day and compared it to the same print made on MG RC Pearl. I do prefer the tones of the Fibre print when it's side by side with the RC print but I'm sure I could bring the RC print closer to match the Fibre print if I tried. Not exactly the same, but close.

Thanks for the replies. I guess I'll just have to decide if I want to tackle the job of uncurling the fibre paper.

Steve

Steve, try the 'taping the print down to dry' trick. It really does work - there are no wild curls to deal with afterwards.

The ideal tape to use is water-colourists gummed tape, as that is (or should be, I suppose someone somewhere sells some crappy tape) acid-free and is made specifically for holding firm against drying and shrinking paper. It is usually available from the same sort of shop that you get your print-mounting materials from.

Thanks, Martin. I have a roll of gummed tape because I have used FB paper a few times before and I did try taping the print to a sheet of glass. It wasn't all that successful but I'm sure it would have been worse if I did nothing. The MG FB Matte that I used the other day is a double weight paper and it curled up (nicely?) with no wavy edges at all.

Well, I think I'll keep the FB paper and see how it goes. I shouldn't complain because I was only charged for the cost of the RC paper, so I'm ahead in that department.

I'll let you know what I think in a few days after I make a print or two.

Steve