Review of Ilford's new Fibre based papers Classic and Cool tone

[stephk]

I am wondering if people have had a chance to use Ilford's new Fibre based papers. What do you think? Are there any major differences from Multi Grade IV? One of my students is convinced the Classic has subtle brown tones and purple from selenium toning. It appears to be too subtle for me to see those issues.

[Mark Woods]

I use the MG Art paper for most of my work. I also use the other fiber papers too -- the matte is quite nice. I also use Thiocarbromide Sepia toner & Selenium toners. I haven't found the purple from the selenium, but I only have them in that toner for 15 minutes. The sepia toner can be mixed to give you a range of tones from yellow to reddish sepia. I totally recommend them.

[Drew Wiley]

I am currently printing quite a bit of Cooltone. It responds quite well to amidol and gold toner in terms of getting a rich classic cold tone; but you can also selenium
or even split tone it if you wish - in other words, it's a lot more flexible with toners than MGIV was, but not to the degree of MGWT. The other distinct improvements compared to MGIV are a richer DMax and greater microtonality, esp in the highlights. The sheen is a bit higher and the paper might be a tad more
susceptible to scuffing when wet. I personally like the extra sheen, though some people apparently do not. I haven't worked with Classic yet, since I generally do
warmer toned work on MGWT. Basically, I'd classify the MGIV as a competent paper for getting from Point A to B, but not as anything premium. Cooltone is quite
an improvement in my opinion.

[Peter Lewin]

So far I have had only one printing session with Classic. My first impressions are that it is more contrasty (I had to dial in a lower grade than the one I used for the same prints on MG IV) and it does pick up some tone from selenium (as opposed to MG IV which didn't seem to change tone at all in selenium, at least at lower concentrations). Overall, I think it is an improvement.

[Eric Biggerstaff]

If you do a search there have been a couple of other threads on this subject, you will find a good amount of information and opinions.

[Michael W]

The new Classic paper base is a brighter white than the previous MGIV. I prefer the subtlety of the previous base, finding the new base to be too starkly bright white.