Warmtone RC paper and developer combo's

I have a neg that I think would look nice on a warmtone paper, so I am planning to get some Ilford Warmtone RC paper. Before I do, I would be curious to hear if anyone has any other preferences and why?

Also, what would be a better powder developer to use for warmtone developing? Dektol of Bromophen, or is it much of a muchness?

Cheers

I prefer the Fotospeed RCVC paper developed in their own wt10 developer diluted 1/29 for 3min 20 sconds as I find it to be warmer than the RCWT, and of the two powder developers I would use bromephen for a warm tone as dektol is cold working,
Richard

hoffy said:

I have a neg that I think would look nice on a warmtone paper, so I am planning to get some Ilford Warmtone RC paper. Before I do, I would be curious to hear if anyone has any other preferences and why?

Also, what would be a better powder developer to use for warmtone developing? Dektol of Bromophen, or is it much of a muchness?

Cheers

Click to expand...

Your paper developer and paper combination will have a certain characteristic that may or may not suit your negatives, depending on how you develop your film.

Dektol, for example, is a pretty high contrast developer, and will make Ilford Warmtone or Foma Fomatone look greenish in its color.
Ethol LPD at 1+2 is softer working, and will give a more neutral color to the same paper.
Selectol Soft, or Zonal Pro Warmtone, is soft working. I have never used those with warmtone paper, so I'm not sure what color you will get.

Only you can decide if your print will look good with any paper... The rest is just opinion and subjective.

I think Ilford mg warmtone rc paper is simply the best rc paper in existence. I did some printing on it Sunday and it's worth every penny for nice prints. I print on cheap stuff for reference contact prints, and use the mg warmtone rc for the keeper prints unless I specifically want a cool/neutral look.

I use it in dektol. This dektol I used was older dektol; a couple months old which I'd filtered the dark floaties out of. Probably a little weaker then fresh stuff. No matter the concentration of dektol, it looks good, and the warmness is very subtle. I wouldn't call it green. It doesn't stand out and say warmtone, but side by side a normal neutral paper print, it will be make the other paper look cool. I have tried it in fomatol developer as well and didn't find much difference. The paper seems so consistent it seems less afftected by developer dilution/age than some of the other papers I've played with.

If you want super warm you may have to brown/sepia/tea tone your work, or use a non-white paper like Foma cream base warmtone if you're going for a 2nd hand cigarette smoke stained look.

How a print is framed also makes a difference in how warm it looks. A bright white mat will accentuate the warmth or color of the B&W print. A warm white mat will make a neutral B&W print look a little cold. I try to keep multiple shades of white matboard on hand for different images.

Ilford's RC warmtone paper is the only RC warmtone paper I've ever used and it's great. I prefer the pearl finish. Any developer will work. I like LPD 1:3 or 1:4 for a minute.

Ilford MGWTRC works well in Multigrade 1+9 or Bromophen 1+3. I've been meaning to try it in Harman Warmtone but haven't opened that 1L bottle yet. Tonally, MGWTRC is wonderful stuff, I like the Pearl finish too. I wish it was available in a Portfolio weight, the MGWTFB feels better in my hands and the semi-matt finish I prefer but for convenience the RC is impossible to beat and tonally I may even prefer it a bit to the FB version, crazy but true. The RC version is quite a bit cheaper as well.

Hoffy, Adox MCP 312 in Moersch SE2 warmtone developer looks very nice, too. I also like it in LPD 1:3, but SE2 is my favorite.

This is good to hear....

I just bought a Jobo 3063 drum in the classifieds so I can do 20 x 24 and it will not work with the expansion properties of WTFB in that size. I think until I can get a larger darkroom space and have room for the trays, the ease of use in terms of this size of paper in the drum, shorter wash times and potentially sturdier base when wet makes this paper a good choice for now...

If anyone else has some comments on it, please fire away, all I have ever printed on is WarmTone Fiber...

I'm using Ilford FBWT in Ilford ID-78 which is an oldish formula warm tone developer. My results are very subtly warm. Actually they don't stand out as warm unless there's a neutral print alongside. WT papers are said to change with age (becoming cooler) and it may be that my paper is a bit old as I'm in Australia where paper turnover tends to be slow

I ordered a 10 sheet pack of it in 20"x24" for now, if it works out, I will plunk down for a 20" x 250' foot roll since I will be doing 20"x20", 12"x24" and 20"x24" right off...

If the developer you choose doesn't quite do it for you it's handy to have a variable sepia toning kit. With different dilutions and sequences of bleach and toner (or combining it with selenium toning and others) you can get a huge variety of warm to dark brown/purple effects and you may find it an interesting means of interpreting more negatives. Also you can do it in day light and it gives your print archival protection. I have developed Ilford RC Pearl Warmtone in Eukobrom (a neutral to cold developer) and sepia and selenium toned for some very delicate 'sandy' highlights and rich 'cool chocolate' shadows, for instance.
I know this wasn't the question, but with so many developer's being suggested, choosing one may not produce the OP's hoped for effect
Regards, Mark Walker.

Ilford Warmtone RC in pearl has been my standard paper for more than five years. I have used it with Photogapher's Formulary liquid - I don't remember the name - and for the past year with Sprint's liquid 1:9. It tones nicely with selenium. A wonderful paper. If you don't like your first results, try another developer.