FB papers options: Adox, Oriental, Arista, Fotokemika

**marduk** · 6-Dec-2009, 15:45

I'm thinking of jumping from RC to FB papers so I'm going to order some paper from Freestyle in 11x14" size. I am going to print mostly 35mm negatives, but also some 6x6 and 4x5". The paper shall deliver rich blacks, nice whites but first of all beautiful greys since I shoot old Leica glass and am after slightly vintage but rich kind of look, in glossy or semi-matte finish, neutral or slightly cool tone or even with a subtle hint of warmth. Very important is that it dries quite flat. And I could use some selenium toning occasionally.

As for the developers, I will have to stick to the ones available here in Ukraine. Last time that I ordered chemistry the package was delayed in customs for about a month and this seems to be unavoidable. I can get the Ilford Harman Cooltone and Warmtone, Ilford Multigrade and probably the Tetenal Eukobrom developers and that's all. Well, if it's really needed I can have someone bring me some Amidol or Dektol from Photographers' Formulary but that's going to be tricky.

Of course there is always Ilford Multigrade FB with which I probably can't go wrong, but there are very favorable reviews of Adox Fine Print Vario Classic and Oriental Seagull FB VC and they are also available cheaper. I'd like to hear about recommended paper and developer combinations. Then what about the Arista EDU Ultra - is this a rebranded Foma? I think there was Forte under Arista brandname, must be long gone. Another paper I'm considering is Kentmere Fineprint FB VC and I'm not going to need grades beyond 3. Not sure about Fotokemika's Varycon.

Lastly, there is Fotokemika Emaks - reportedly one of the best papers out there. That fact that it's graded doesn't seem an issue for me, as long as I can print on it using Magnifax and Durst enlargers with color head. It's priced right and I could order a lot of it in #2 and #3 grades at once (probably directly from Croatia). Its good response to toning could be handy for a few "other" shots. So if Emaks beats the variable contrast papers out there, and dries flat enough that's the way to go. Is the tonality of graded papers different from the VC ones? What do you think?

**Gudmundur Ingolfsson** · 6-Dec-2009, 16:35

Try Oriental Seagull with Eukobrom. I like that combination very much. The contrast can be varied with yellow and magenta filtration. Yellow for soft and magenta for hard.

**jeroldharter** · 6-Dec-2009, 18:23

I spent the day in the darkroom testing several of those papers. I tested Kentmere FP, tow Adox papers, two Foma papers, Oriental FB warmtone, and Varycon. I plan to write up some comments once they dry and I have some time to take notes. I used Zone VI developer which I believe is similar to Dektol. I was impressed that all of the papers were very good and I think I could get excellent results using any of them. There were differences though.

Given that you are in eastern Europe, Foma and Adox are your best bet for neutral tone. I am betting that Adox dries flatter but I won't know until tomorrow.

**marduk** · 7-Dec-2009, 07:49

Originally Posted by Gudmundur Ingolfsson

Try Oriental Seagull with Eukobrom. I like that combination very much. The contrast can be varied with yellow and magenta filtration. Yellow for soft and magenta for hard.

Thank you. Does it come out with neutral or slightly cool tone?

**marduk** · 7-Dec-2009, 07:52

Originally Posted by jeroldharter

I spent the day in the darkroom testing several of those papers. I tested Kentmere FP, tow Adox papers, two Foma papers, Oriental FB warmtone, and Varycon. I plan to write up some comments once they dry and I have some time to take notes. I used Zone VI developer which I believe is similar to Dektol. I was impressed that all of the papers were very good and I think I could get excellent results using any of them. There were differences though.

Given that you are in eastern Europe, Foma and Adox are your best bet for neutral tone. I am betting that Adox dries flatter but I won't know until tomorrow.

Thanks! I'm very interested in your write-up.

**Toyon** · 7-Dec-2009, 10:47

Don't forget the new Adox MCC, a resurrection of Agfa MCC, only on a bright white base. It has good dynamic range and shows good blacks. Ilford Warmtone is much nicer in my opinion than regular Ilford FB, but it does not dry very flat.