What fibre-base paper has the highest black density?

[bob carnie]

I use a Galerie based paper in lambda to wet process, it is very nuetral black and white paper.

[Drew Wiley]

You seem to be confusing negative transmission density with reflective paper DMax. Too dense a negative simply might not print well at all. Paper "blackness"
depends on a number of things: the specific paper itself and how much silver it carries, your specific developer and length of development, and the effect of toners afterwards, which are often necessary to obtain the deepest blacks. Then there is the color of black you desire, which affects all the foregoing. Among warm trending papers, MGWT will render a wonderfully deep black after selenium or gold toning. The last premium graded paper on the market capable of a deep cold tone seems to be Ifobrom Galerie. Otherwise, matching negative density to the final print can be a rather involved discussion with many variables and endless opinions. But per paper, you kinda get what you pay for. Cheaper papers tend to be anemic.

[Jerry Bodine]

...Memory ain't what it should be...

Approaching 82, memory is fine, but there are apparent issues with recall.

[Drew Wiley]

As I sorta recall, Total Recall transpired on Mars, not on earth, so that kinda explains my own memory issues.

[Mark Sampson]

Leigh, your idea of a 4.0 dMax probably drives from E-6 transparency film, which will go that high.
I have not tried many of the currently available papers, and my experience at Kodak is far enough back that the knowledge from those days is functionally obsolete. I currently print on Ilford Multigrade Classic and am pleased with my prints. Although there are several long-gone emulsions that I wish I could still use, I try not to dwell on them.

[Leigh]

Hi Mark,

The 4.0 was a mind-crash. I corrected it to a range from 1.5 to 2.5 depending on development.

But I can't go back and edit the earlier posts.

Thanks.

- Leigh

[Jim Michael]

Where does Oriental Seagull rate these days?

[Drew Wiley]

It ain't. The rumor is that the older Seagull G couldn't be exactly replicated because cadmium became a no-no. But whatever the reason, the redux Seagull G didn't have quite the same punch, and the Grade 4 version was a bellyflop. The general image color and toning characteristics were similar. But now all the graded Seagull is long gone. VC Seagull has been kept alive; but some dealers dropped it because the quality control got flaky. But it was never in the same leagueas the graded anyway. Them was the days. Seagull G, Brilliant Bromide, Portriga, Kodak Elite, Galerie. Used em all, though Seagull was the most versatile. Now the only really punchy graded paper I can find is Ilfobrom Galerie, though I still have some EMaks on hand. It's a new era with superb VC papers to choose from instead. A couple months ago I stumbled upon an old dramatic Brillant print I hadn't toned or mounted yet, so I gave it a good soak in GP-1. That's gotta be the most DMax I ever gotten from a silver paper.

[Greg Y]

Yes DW, That Boesflug Brilliant was a wonderful paper. Of those currently available, I've used Ilford Galerie & Slavich in graded papers & the Slavich seems to pack the punch as far as density goes.

[bob carnie]

Yes DW, That Boesflug Brilliant was a wonderful paper. Of those currently available, I've used Ilford Galerie & Slavich in graded papers & the Slavich seems to pack the punch as far as density goes.

I used Slavich for lith printing and it was great, how is it for traditional printing, consistent?