Sources for B&W fiber VC roll paper in the USA?

Looking for fiber variable contrast roll paper - is this a special order only product? I'm not sure what sizes it would come in - 8" rolls would be plenty big for my needs right now though. Anything similar offered in RC as well?

I've heard that Ilford offers it, but I don't see it available to order anywhere.

Dear Jeff,

Both B&H and Adorama list at least some VC Fiber in stock. The rolls are much wider than 8" though.

Neal Wydra

I see some RC roll paper in 8" or 10" widths - that has possibility (special order only though). I'd like to find fiber though if possible - maybe something I could order from Ilford directly?

Adorama lists 42 inch by 98 feet FB Ilford paper in Glossy and Matte for about $400. Just click through to multigrade papers and then select "roll paper" on the little check boxes on the upper right and you'll see the 4 Ilford choices (2 RC, 2 FB) that appear to be in stock.

Duncan

Hi Jeff

Being an Ilford dealer I looked in the catalog and the fiber based papers only come in 42" rolls or larger.
Ilford Multigrade IV Fiber (glossy & matt) comes in 42", 50" & 56" rolls - all 98' long. The 56" matt is special order - minimum of 8 rolls
Ilford Multigrade Warmtone glossy comes in 42" x 33" & 50" x 98'
Ilford Multigrade Warmtone semimatt comes in 42" x 32'. Larger sizes are special order with minimum quantities.

The only papers coming in 8" rolls are Ilford Multigrade IV RC both glossy and pearl
Ilford Multigrade IV RC Glossy comes in 8", 10" & 12" all 250". They do have 42" and 50" both 98'.
Ilford Multigrade IV RC Pearl comes in 8" x 250' and 8" x 500'

All the rolls that are not special order can be ordered by any Ilford dealer and you only need to order one roll. All the special orders have a minimum quantity needed to order and probably take at least 3 months to get.
We have hardly ever placed orders for rolls of paper. Also even though they may may be in the catalog they may not be in stock in the warehouse. You will also notice when you look at B&H's web site they list most of the papers as usually ships in 2 to 4 weeks, which means that they are not stocking the items.

If you wanted to do a special order of 8" Multigrade IV Fiber there would be a minimum order required and it would probably be more than you wanted to spend.

The only alternative I see is Kentmere. Kentmere papers are now manufactured by Ilford and they have 20" x 30' rolls in both Fineprint VC, Finegrain (non-stocking) & Fineprint VC, Warmtone (stocking).
So the non-stock item would have to be coming from England when ordered and the stocked item might be in the warehouse. A 30' roll would be a lot easier to handle and even at list price $70 before discounts isn't a bad deal.

Hope this helps

Fred Newman

Thanks Fred, that definitely helps out!

Not sure how I would cut the width on a 42" roll - hmm ..... I definitely need the length though for some panoramics I'll be doing. I guess I'll have to try free hand with a razor blade.

Rotatrim makes some awfully wide cutters. Mine is something like 42" (knowing my luck it's 41! But it's packed away right now...)

Duncan

frobozz said:

Rotatrim makes some awfully wide cutters. Mine is something like 42" (knowing my luck it's 41! But it's packed away right now...)

Duncan

Click to expand...

They do make a 42" - it's $500 though! Maybe I could find one used ...

Jeff Bannow said:

Not sure how I would cut the width on a 42" roll - hmm ..... I definitely need the length though for some panoramics I'll be doing. I guess I'll have to try free hand with a razor blade.

Click to expand...

Consider building a feed spool/axle and a cranked take-up spool. Put a ballasted knife with its point at the desired width on the paper roll on the feed axle, pull a bit of paper off, stick that to the take-up spool and then crank through the whole lot.

The knife should be pivoted that way that it ends at the circumference of the feed spool at the end.


But for only 40" long strips I would rather use a rigid steel ruler fixed to a customized base plate with end points for the paper to control cutting width.

AgX said:

Consider building a feed roll/axle and a cranked take-up roll. Put a ballasted knife with its point midway the paper spool on the feed axle, pull a bit bit of paper off, stick that to the take-up roll and then crank through the whole lot.

The knife should be pivoted that way that it ends at the circumference of the feed spool at the end.

Click to expand...

That would work, if I could cobble it together.

I suppose I should clarify - I will probably be making something in the range of 8"x36" to 8"x48" prints (medium format panoramics from a Seitz Roundshot camera).

I think I could probably use 42" wide paper and just cut off 8" at a time, using the extra on the end for test strips if needed.

Jeff
I would suggest a roll of 50 inch Warmtone Ilford, cut the 8-10 inches with a knife off the edge of a roll , super easy , use a metal baseboard and hold down with magnets.
Since you are using big pano formats making the prints is much easier since you can roll the prints in a smaller container, piece of cake.

Jeff Bannow said:

I suppose I should clarify - I will probably be making something in the range of 8"x36" to 8"x48" prints (medium format panoramics from a Seitz Roundshot camera).

I think I could probably use 42" wide paper and just cut off 8" at a time, using the extra on the end for test strips if needed.

Click to expand...

Thanks everyone! This helps a lot. I'm starting to get a picture of how I could integrate this into my darkroom workflow.

Jeff Bannow said:

They do make a 42" - it's $500 though! Maybe I could find one used ...

Click to expand...

I got mine on That Auction Site, for a very very nice price! It pays to be patient...

Duncan

This may be of little interest, but I have an unopened box of Ilford Express Pearl Multigrade RC (MGE.44) 5" x 500'. It might make for good testing paper. PM me if you would like to know more.

Cesaraugusta said:

This may be of little interest, but I have an unopened box of Ilford Express Pearl Multigrade RC (MGE.44) 5" x 500'. It might make for good testing paper. PM me if you would like to know more.

Click to expand...

Jeff,

I've attached a scan of two prints made on the Ilford Express. I cropped each print to 13"x4" before scanning.

One fish was printed with a Polycontrast #3 filter,75mm lens, f/8, 18 seconds, 27" from easel.
The other was printed with no filtering, 75mm lens, f/22, 48 seconds at the same distance.

As far as I can tell, Ilford express glossy is the same paper as regular old ilford rc. I use the 11" wide roll and there's no discernible difference in tonality, speed, or handling.

As for cutting roll paper - save using a roll paper coffin, my favorite method is to cut with a sharp matt knife, using the thick cardboard edge of the box as a guide or anvil if you will. This is an easy way to pull paper off the roll and get a nice, straight cut. To get the length you need, try taping down a length of sash cord on the inside corner of the box to use as a measure.

May I be so bold as to recommend weights instead of magnets? Much easier to deal with. I like 1/8" x 1" flat bar stock wrapped in black gaffer's tape.

frotog said:

As far as I can tell, Ilford express glossy is the same paper as regular old ilford rc. I use the 11" wide roll and there's no discernible difference in tonality, speed, or handling.

As for cutting roll paper - save using a roll paper coffin, my favorite method is to cut with a sharp matt knife, using the thick cardboard edge of the box as a guide or anvil if you will. This is an easy way to pull paper off the roll and get a nice, straight cut. To get the length you need, try taping down a length of sash cord on the inside corner of the box to use as a measure.

May I be so bold as to recommend weights instead of magnets? Much easier to deal with. I like 1/8" x 1" flat bar stock wrapped in black gaffer's tape.

Click to expand...

Good advice. Thanks!