Adox / Bergger / Ilford FB paper tone

[Tim V]

Haha, true! In truth though, I’m only really changing the paper variable at this stage. I’ve only ever used Ilford MG Paper Developer, and usually use selenium for archival purposes. In my limited warmtone printing experience on WT Ilford fibre paper I saw a slight shift to green with MG dev. Toning cured it, more or less, just wondering how much better or worse 130 dev would be at keeping the print neutral as possible and mitigating the need for selenium toning to get rid of slight green cast.

[Drew Wiley]

MGWT is a pricey but highly versatile paper, provided you don't need a consistent cold tone. It will split tone containing deep cold black. I recommend 130 developer with this paper. Just make sure the glycin is fresh. Unopened bottles of glycin powder can be frozen to keep them good. Afterwards you can tone with selenium, gold chloride, sulfide brown etc, or combinations. Maximum black requires toning. Greenish tones are more likely with MQ and PQ developers like Dektol and what you're currently using. Have fun and take some risks!

[Tim V]

Thanks!

THe world of paper developers is totally new to me. Living in New Zealand, you can only buy Ilford products and I've never seen anything but MG Paper Dev on the shelf.

Looks like I'll have to place another order via the internet...

[faberryman]

Why not buy 25 sheets and find out for yourself. Everyone's eye is a little different.

[Tim V]

I have, got it here. It’s just a question of paper developer now. I’ll try Formulary’s 130 compared to Ilford MG paper dev.

[Mark Sampson]

In my experience you'll want to use F-130 at 70F or higher, and give three minutes development time. Good luck- have fun- keep notes- I predict you'll find some happy surprises.

[Tim V]

Thanks all for the advise. Sounds like F-130 is the ticket, and I look forward to experimenting with it soon. It's great to be back in the darkroom!

[BIATHLONEIL]

Tim V How did your paper and developer experiment work out? Curious as to the results. Cheers, -N.

[Doremus Scudder]

Okay, I'll stay with neutral tone papers and address only the color of the paper base. The papers I've used in that category are Adox MC-110, Ilford MG Classic, Bergger NB and Foma 111. All glossy.

Of the bunch, the Ilford and the MC-110 have the whitest base with the Bergger NB a close second. The Foma papers all have a bit yellower "white," which is probably due to emulsion formulation or maybe a different baryta layer. To my knowledge, there is currently only one paper base being manufactured and used by all the different photo paper manufacturers (hence the white-based warm-tone papers as well).

The Foma papers tone pretty warm in selenium, but with light toning stay pretty neutral. You might be happy with them if you're looking for that slightly warmer white.

Best,

Doremus

[esearing]

You can add Ilford's newer RC portfolio paper to the list of things to try. If you need to conserve water and wash less there is little difference in color/whiteness, contrast, and toning. It looks just like MGFB Classic GLossy. Holding it you can obviously feel its plastic instead of fiber. It cost more than their basic RC paper so its nearly costs the same as Fiber. I'm still partial to MGFB Warmtone and even now prefer a matte finish over glossy for some images, and still prefer the look of PF-130 1:1 for glossy, or 1:2.5 for warmtone.