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Super fogged Forte 16x20 FB paper

jordanstarr

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I bought a 50 pack of paper of ebay for a great 'buy it now' price that I couldn't turn down (there were 3 boxes and when I asked "is this paper good?", there was only one left within hours of me asking, so I assumed it was selling because it was and didn't wait for an answer from the buyer). However, it was not good. It's terribly fogged and even though I've tried using potassium bromide, but it would only work momentarily, giving a glimmer of hope until it fogged right up again.

Is there anything I can do with this paper aside from tossing it? I hear some people use this for lith printing? If there's nothing I can do, are there people who would buy this? It's my paper of choice when It's not fogged, but I'm not an alternative processes kinda guy really although I would try something new with this paper for experimental purposes.

Thanks in advance.
 

dpurdy

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You can use Kodak anti fog (benzotriazole) and get some help but if you want to get creative you can do a lot with Potassium Ferricyanide to bleach a fogged print back to white. Print dark and then use kind of a strong ferricyanide mix, brushed on, to lighten it up.
 

MikeSeb

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jordanstarr said:
I've tried to get the money back. The guy is no longer a member and paypal won't reimburse because it took me longer than 30 days to get to the darkroom to actually use the stuff.
Click to expand...

You're hosed. Put this one in the "live and learn" column.
 

PHOTOTONE

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Make sure you are using the appropriate safelight. I found years ago when I first tried Forte paper, that the safelight I used for years and years was fogging it. Have you tried developing a small clip of the paper in total darkness just to see if you have a safelight issue?
 
OP
OP

jordanstarr

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I use the same paper in other sizes that works fine, so I'm certain it isn't the light. But thanks for the potential solution.

I like the bleaching idea, but I'm not sure it would work. When I say it fogs, I mean IT FOGS. You almost can't tell what the photo is of -that's how bad it is. So, won't the bleach just lighten everything?

Lith could work. If I could ever find a developer in this country.

...Jordan.
 

Vaughn

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Find a carbon printer who might use it as final support paper. They'll fix it out, perhaps bleach it a little if it won't fix completely white.

Vaughn
 

Konical

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Good Evening, Jordan,

Sorry to hear about the less-than-satisfactory deal.

Consider fixing and washing thoroughly some of the sheets. Then use each of them as the back half of a print sandwich. Dry mount good prints back-to-back with the blank, fixed sheets. The curl tendencies of the opposing prints will tend to equalize, resulting in a flat sturdy package. It's a great way to deal with prints which will be handled often, as in a teaching situation. Similarly, using a waste sheet on the back of mat boards will help guarantee good flatness.

Do the same fix-wash on a sheet or two and you'll have a good focusing sheet or two. Over time, focusing sheets tend to get a little beaten up as they are used; having an extra or two can come in handy.

Konical
 
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