favorite b&w paper

[mike fitzgibbon]

with the shrinking number of papers out there what are the new favorites? I still have
some kodak fine art and and trying some oriental vc but have some work to do there
yet. Orienta graded of years ago used to be a favorite of mine, tones to a beautiful
color. Any thoughts would be nice. Thanks

[Eric Biggerstaff]

You might want to set up a poll for this and list several papers, but I do to majority of my prints on Ilford FB Warmtone which I find to be a lovely paper. Also, I use a lot of the Arista version of the Forte FB Polywarmtone but I only have about 500 sheets of that left. Other than these, if I want cold tone I print with Ilford MGFB IV.

[John Kasaian]

I still have a stock of AZO, Galerie (in it's Arista Classic Fiber Graded incarnation) and Kentmere Bromide. While I plan on experimenting with Emaks and Slavich (and I'd really like to try Fomabrom 111 if anyone in the US carries the stuff now that J and C is gone) my all time favorite is AZO.

[domenico Foschi]

The increasingly more expensive Ilford Warmtone.
I also like the neutral tone a lot.

[SamReeves]

Oriental Seagull is my favorite at the moment. Who knows when it may dissapear?

[David Karp]

Depending on the image, I use Ilford MG IV FB, Oriental VC FB, and Kentmere VC. The Kentmere has an absolutely beautiful surface texture.

For a slightly warm tone, I used Agfa MC Classic. Since it disappeared, no warm tone for me.

[Mattg]

If you haven't tried Ilford Galerie it might be worth buying a box of 8x10 and seeing what it can do. I have tried quite a few VC papers recently and don't think any of them have the richness of shadow tone nor the subtle highlights that Gallerie does.

[domenico Foschi]

Depending on the image, I use Ilford MG IV FB, Oriental VC FB, and Kentmere VC. The Kentmere has an absolutely beautiful surface texture.

For a slightly warm tone, I used Agfa MC Classic. Since it disappeared, no warm tone for me.

David have you tried Foma warmtone classic?
Not like agfa, I admit, but a nice warm paper.
D.

[domenico Foschi]

I still have a stock of AZO, Galerie (in it's Arista Classic Fiber Graded incarnation) and Kentmere Bromide. While I plan on experimenting with Emaks and Slavich (and I'd really like to try Fomabrom 111 if anyone in the US carries the stuff now that J and C is gone) my all time favorite is AZO.

John can you tell me more about the Fomabrom?

[Marcus Carlsson]

I agree with David about Kentmere VC Fiber. The glossy surface is wonderful (I airdry it). It is also the most flat paper I have ever used.

/ Marcus