Wide tonal range paper emulsion?

[chris77]

Hello Apug,
I am looking for a recipe to make my first emulsion.
So far i am using fomaspeed and i do have some experience with rollei vg emulsion.
It is all pretty hard and tonal range is sacrificed for speed I guess.

I would like to coat paper with a slow but tonally rich (wide) emulsion. I might buy the book of denise ross at some point, but maybe wait for second edition.

Thanks in advance.
Chris

 

[dwross]

Hi Chris,
Take a look at p 120 of my Blurb book. Free to read in Blurb preview. A bromide paper has a very long tonal range. It was the first silver gelatin paper produced (basically dry plate emulsion on paper) and was able to replace earlier papers because it matched the curves of negatives made for long tonal range negatives. https://www.blurb.com/books/6465389-the-light-farm
Good luck and fun.

 

[Bikerider]

Obviously I don't have the recipe for an emulsion but I think that the new Ilford MG5 is heading that way. It is faster, has a greater D max and will still retain delicate tones in the lighter pqarts

 

[chris77]

Hello Apug,
I am looking for a recipe to make my first emulsion.
So far i am using fomaspeed and i do have some experience with rollei vg emulsion.
It is all pretty hard and tonal range is sacrificed for speed I guess.

I would like to coat paper with a slow but tonally rich (wide) emulsion. I might buy the book of denise ross at some point, but maybe wait for second edition.

Thanks in advance.
Chris

Thank you very much.
Kind regards

 

[chris77]

Hi Chris,
Take a look at p 120 of my Blurb book. Free to read in Blurb preview. A bromide paper has a very long tonal range. It was the first silver gelatin paper produced (basically dry plate emulsion on paper) and was able to replace earlier papers because it matched the curves of negatives made for long tonal range negatives. https://www.blurb.com/books/6465389-the-light-farm
Good luck and fun.

Hello Denise.
Can you tell me which of your books is most in depth for paper Emulsions and rather for advanced users than for a general overview of the subject? The
link leada to a book from 2015. Then there is one from 2018 on amazon, Just wondering which one to get.

 

[dwross]

Hi Chris,
Both cover the basics of making emulsions. About half the first book is paper and it has the recipe for bromide paper that will give you a long density range. The second book is only paper (including paper negatives) and considerably longer, so more information. It's the same bromide paper recipe in both books. If you are interested in more advanced paper making, you might consider following or joining the Gelatin POP Collaborative Project. Any level of emulsion maker can join. POP also has a very long density range. If you aren't wedded to developing-out papers, POP might be the paper for you.

 

[Lachlan Young]

So far i am using fomaspeed and i do have some experience with rollei vg emulsion.
It is all pretty hard and tonal range is sacrificed for speed I guess.

I've found it to be fairly controllable when coating it on to paper - how hard/ absorbent a substrate are you coating on? Have you tried something like Ansco 120 with it? On the other hand, it usually delivers a fairly hard G3 which could be challenging with certain negs and light sources.

Or are you looking for a softer tone scale and/ or more warmth in the emulsion?

 

[chris77]

Hello.
I am coating on korean and japanese paper (intended for kaligraphy)
The results are very good, but as you said, certain negatives require softer gradations and a longer range of tones .
So, I did go and buy Denise's book 'the handmade silver gelatin emulsion print' I am actually reading it right now. I really like it!
Feel a bit like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole right now

 

[Lachlan Young]

@chris77 - I've coated the Foma emulsion on the inkjet Awagami 70gsm paper on an experimental basis with results good enough for me to try & take it further - my own inclincation would be to look at over-threshold post-exposure fogging (dodged and burnt), masking & softer developers as well. Ironically, the issues home made (enlarging speed) paper emulsions seem to have with attaining the highest contrasts may act in your favour. I wish Foma would bottle a non dye sensitised Fomatone emulsion (all the emulsions in Fomatone are the same contrast, just different speeds) and offer that as it could be incredibly handy for all sorts of processes...

 

[chris77]

@chris77 I wish Foma would bottle a non dye sensitised Fomatone emulsion (all the emulsions in Fomatone are the same contrast, just different speeds) and offer that as it could be incredibly handy for all sorts of processes...

That would be truly amazing!

 

[dwross]

Hello.
I am coating on korean and japanese paper (intended for kaligraphy)
The results are very good, but as you said, certain negatives require softer gradations and a longer range of tones .
So, I did go and buy Denise's book 'the handmade silver gelatin emulsion print' I am actually reading it right now. I really like it!
Feel a bit like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole right now

Chris, Thank you! I hope the book is a useful map of the rabbit hole. There were errata in the first printing. The list of corrections is on the home page of The Light Farm. Please feel very free to email me if you have any questions. editor@thelightfarm.com . Or here. I'll try harder to check Photrio at least once a day.