• Welcome to Photrio!
    Registration is fast and free. Join today to unlock search, see fewer ads, and access all forum features.
    Click here to sign up

Uses for old, exposed paper?

Dr Croubie

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Mar 21, 2013
Messages
1,986
Location
rAdelaide
Format
Multi Format
So we've probably all read the (unfortunately rather regular) posts in the 'wacky things on ebay' thread, yet another noob selling enlarging paper with photos showing the box totally open and ruined, we have a chuckle and/or groan and move on.

But is there anything else we can do? (besides sending yet another helpful/angry email to the seller who wouldn't know any better if we locked them in a darkroom and hit them with an easel?)

I've heard someone mention that they just dunk old paper in old fixer, to completely saturate the fixer before silver recovery, so that may be a use.
But what else? If I fix the paper and do some kind of rehal-bleach on it, can it work once more? (that is how rehal bleach works, right?)

Or one thing that may be a bit more feasible, has anyone tried comepletely fixing/stripping the emulsion off old paper and using it as the base for home-made emulsions?
Seeing as most paper that gets recommended for home-emulsions is FB, can I strip wasted RC paper and re-coat that?
(I'm just getting into home-emulsions and haven't tried making one yet, or I'd just try it myself, maybe some of our more experienced home-emulsion gurus has tried this?)
 

Thomas Bertilsson

Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2003
Messages
15,715
Location
Switzerland
Format
Multi Format
Print with higher contrast to counter lost contrast of the emulsion.
If the paper is also fogged, use bleach to get the paper back to paper white around the edges.
You can achieve quite good results this way, if you're up for a little extra work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

removed account4

Subscriber
Allowing Ads
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Messages
29,832
Format
Hybrid

lumen prints, retina prints ( depending on how ruined the paper is )
and if you have super dense LF negatives ( read, barely able to see an image even with a bright bulb )
you might be able to print with a 300W bulb on the paper,
the results will be nice...
that lovely stuff benzoyaddayaddayadda might be able to help too if the paper is really foggy

if the paper was silver chloride paper it might not have even been effected.
i know i have opened a box by mistake withthe room lights on, didn't do anything to the paper.
 

Jim Jones

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Jan 16, 2006
Messages
3,740
Location
Chillicothe MO
Format
Multi Format
Old totally exposed paper can be painted on with diluted fixer and developer for "artistic" effects. This also works on paper with an image exposed upon it.
 

GregW

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Dec 10, 2012
Messages
319
Location
East Coast
Format
Multi Format
I made a few 'dry run' cyanotypes to work out the process on the backside of fogged paper and they came out wonderfully. fixed and washed beforehand. I also did some on the back of old crappy prints.
 

fdonadio

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Jan 15, 2015
Messages
2,155
Location
Berlin, DE
Format
Multi Format
If you are into carbon prints, use the fogged paper as the final support. I am not sure if it would be wise to fix it first, but I am sure someone more experienced here will be able to confirm that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register