Foma classic 131 VC FB matte - Print color

[esearing]

Per Foma description: produces notably warm tones that range from brown-green to warm-brown depending on processing.

I printed this paper for the first time yesterday in Ansco 130 and TF5 fixer. The tone for me is noticeably green when wet but dries more neutral grey green.
I have seen conversations about users getting that nice warm brown tone. What processing are you using that turns this paper warm brown? I can do it with Thiourea or other chemicals but wondering if there is a short cut by using a different developer/fixer combination.

For those of you about to try it, expect to double to triple your print exposure times. Its a very slow paper.

Wet test print, in gray tray, tongs are wet bamboo brown with red tips.

[notorius]

I have been using this particular paper a lot in the past. I could achieve nice tones when using Foma GD-L 1+5, not very fresh solution, the developer went brown itself but gave nice tones and worked very well and for a very long time. However the greenish hue was always present until I souped the prints in selenium toner(no bleach). Only after that I got warm brown tones. See examples here and here.

edit: Just to be sure. Fomatone 131 means glossy. You need 132 for matte surface...

[paulbarden]

Agree with notorious - this paper takes on a beautiful “brown” tone when toned in Selenium. Use a weak dilution and go carefully; it can get too intense if you’re not watching closely. It’s quite easy to get rid of the olive tones with Selenium.

This is my favorite printing paper - it’s as close to Portriga Rapid as we can currently get.

[esearing]

Thanks - will do some testing with selenium.

[Ulophot]

Try 1:80. Even so, you'll find a marked shift by 2 minutes and rapid change thereafter.

[Duolab123]

Fomatone is remarkably warm and responds very quickly to very dilute Se. And others.

[Chuck Pere]

You might try some warm tone developer.

[paulbarden]

I can attest to the fact that a warm tone developer does nothing to alleviate the olive tones this paper exhibits. The best way to shift it towards brown is with very dilute Selenium. Been there, done that, as they say.

[esearing]

Y'all were right. The 131 glossy paper tones to a lovely warm gray-brown maybe slightly reddish in Selenium that is much warmer and more subtle than a Thiorurea toner, Kalitype, or Salt print. This is the tone I have been seeking for many years. I mixed my 20 year old selenium 1:40 and tested at 5 minutes and 10 minutes. The tone was almost fully changed at 5 minutes, so for the final print I went with 7 minutes. This paper is not as glossy as the ilford and bergger papers so gives me a new option in the tool kit.


Something I noticed in my second printing is that I need a stronger contrast grade to keep the whites from going yellow than I might need with Ilford's warmtone papers. My new darkroom is not nearly as light tight as I had hoped so may be influencing my results. Adjacent rooms have west facing windows that just seem to bounce light around under and around the doors. The florescent fixtures may not go dark right away either.

[Sal Santamaura]

...This paper is not as glossy as the ilford and bergger papers so gives me a new option in the tool kit...

The thread title is "Foma classic 131 VC FB matte - Print color", yet you're comparing its surface shine to "glossy" papers. Do you mean that even the Ilford and Bergger matte papers are shinier than this matte one? Or, since I can only find listings for Foma 131 FB as a glossy paper, was the thread title intended to convey that, although rated "glossy," it's less shiny than Ilford and Bergger "glossy" papers? Or? Thanks in advance for clarifying.