Suitable Bromoil papers

Shakey · Apr 11, 2008

I'm currently looking a for a good bromoil paper that will ink easily and is suitable for beginners. As every paper that i have seen, seems to be discountinued and unavailable.
Also where i could buy the paper from.

Thanks for any help Shakey

rwyoung · Apr 11, 2008

1) Find Gene_Laughter here on APUG.
2) Kentmere Fineprint? Is that still in production?

Gene_Laughter · Apr 11, 2008

Not sure that any of today's papers will "ink easily." That's tough to define and the "ease" varies so much with each individual and their technique and expertise at inking. There's no "magic bullet" paper around.

As you live in the UK I would recommend that you contact the Bromoil Circle of Great Britain re: any bromoil demonstrations and workshops in your area. Bromoil is a tough process to learn alone and without guidance of one experienced in the process.

My current favorite favorite paper for bromoil is Kentmere Fineprint VC fine grain matt. It should be available at most photo stores in the U.K. I would think.

I hope this is of some help in answering your question.

Good luck!

Gene

Dave Miller · Apr 12, 2008

Shakey The site:
Dead Link Removed
contains some useful links and addresses to follow up as does:
http://www.jamtoday.btinternet.co.uk/bromoilprocess.htm
Hope these are of help.

Shakey · Apr 13, 2008

Thanks alot everyone, just ordered some Kentmere Fineprint VC finegrain.

I had recently bought the Bromoil, A Foundation Course, however many of the papers it listed were discontinued like kentmere art document and as it says an old favourite with Gene, Agfa MCC 118, and Bergger Brom 240 is a little bit out opf price range at the moment. But thanks again and i do appreciate your help and that website was pretty good.

Gene_Laughter · Apr 13, 2008

Shakey, Agfa went "belly-up" and their papers are no more. Hopefully, Agfa MCC 118 will reappear this coming fall or winter under a new name. Bergger has discontinued Brom 240.

A bromoilist friend of mine just tested a Russian paper, Slavich, last week for bromoil and he was pleased with the results. Slavich is available at Freestyle here in the USA. I don't know about the dealers in the UK.

Good luck!

Gene

Shakey said:
Thanks alot everyone, just ordered some Kentmere Fineprint VC finegrain.

I had recently bought the Bromoil, A Foundation Course, however many of the papers it listed were discontinued like kentmere art document and as it says an old favourite with Gene, Agfa MCC 118, and Bergger Brom 240 is a little bit out opf price range at the moment. But thanks again and i do appreciate your help and that website was pretty good.

Justin Cormack · Apr 13, 2008

No sign of Slavich paper in the UK at the moment.

rwyoung · Apr 14, 2008

Gene -

Freestyle carries two formulations of the Slavich paper. Unibrom 160 in double and single weight and Bromoportrait 80 in double weight. The Bromoportrait has a funky, embossed silk-like texture surface. I've got some of the Bromoportrait to play with, but it wasn't with the intention of bromoil experiments. I wanted to see the texture and sure enough it is very "old school" portrait paper like. Neat stuff, kinda green in Dektol but warms nicely with selenium. Sorry for the non-bromoil digression.

Do you happen to know which version your friend was testing?

Gene_Laughter · Apr 14, 2008

He tested Unibrom 160 double weight. I wasn't aware of the portrait Slavich paper until yesterday, after I had already ordered a pack of the 160, or I would have ordered both.

Thanks for the info!

Gene

rowan · Mar 26, 2009

bergger brom 240

Does anyone know any paper that compares to Bergger brom240?

I love its thickness and smooth finish for both straight silver and bromoils. Is the Lewis paper at all similar.

Cheers.

dwross · Mar 26, 2009

Hi All,

If anyone has a minute, could you explain a bit about what characteristics make a 'good' bromoil paper?
Thank you,
d

Gene_Laughter · Mar 27, 2009

A paper that's easy to ink for one can be difficult for another, so there's no pat answer. I prefer a supercoated paper with a semi-matte finish. Agfa MCC 118 was my all-time favorite for bromoil. Many bromoilists preferred Bergger Brom 240 when it was being produced. I found the emulsion to be too soft for my inking and I like a bit more texture on the paper's surface. Sorry - I can't answer your question. Different strokes for different folks!

Cheers,

Gene

dwross · Mar 28, 2009

Thanks for the reply, Gene. That makes a lot of sense. The 'different strokes' principle comes into play a lot in art! Yuh gotta love it.
d

kompressor · Dec 28, 2009

i tested Agfa MCC118 today for Bromoil. Its a fantastic paper for regular prints. But in bromoil the emulsion started to loosen up an bubble some places.

A question, when your hog hair brushes looses hair during stamping, what is the best trick for removing the loose hair?

GLSmyth · Jan 1, 2010

kompressor said:
A question, when your hog hair brushes looses hair during stamping, what is the best trick for removing the loose hair?

I use one of those erasers that can be molded like clay. I form one end to a point and use it to life the hair.

FWIW, I have used Fomabrom Variant IV with success. I like the cream base much better than the white base that Kentmere Fineprint offers, although Fineprint works quite well with some images. I have also used Ilford MGIV (matt) though it should be noted that you cannot get as many pages to properly bleach and tan as other papers - I keep things at six to eight 8x10" sheets with about a 6x8" print area per liter of bleach. With other papers I can get at least ten sheets through a liter of bleach with no difficulty whatever.

Cheers -

george

Suitable Bromoil papers

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