Originally Posted by
John Layton
Just to note...that I've had problems in attempting to pre-soak Ilford Multigrade Classic FB, giving very uneven results. From what I can see, what happened here is that the pre soak interfered with developer uptake. I also have a gut feeling that this particular paper (which I feel is otherwise a great product) may have more issues with pre-soaking than would other FB papers. I say this because of what looks like an "extra" surface coating layer, which is slightly yellow in color, visible on the dry, unexposed paper. Just a hunch...mind you.
I'd also done an amount of experimenting in the past with pre-soaking papers in developer, squeegeeing off excess developer, laying flat on a glass easel, then exposing to various amounts of light - interrupting this to allow for partial development prior to making a further exposure...even multiple exposures. The idea here was to do a partial reversal...allowing the partially developed areas to partially mask from additional light. While some of the results were quite nifty...I stopped doing this because, well, "nifty" just didn't cut it.
In your case...I might worry about the various liquids you want to use, depending upon their compositions, colors, densities, and other characteristics, might indeed interfere with later development in some way(s). Not saying you shouldn't try this (direct application) anyway - because who knows and/or you may like these effects.
But I would have to agree that placing some protective, otherwise clear plastic (saran wrap, etc.) over the top of the dry paper...and applying the liquids to this, might be the best procedure. Keep in mind, though, that unless you are very careful to thoroughly smooth out the protective plastic layer, you'd be likely to see some interesting artifacts from whatever waviness or creases might otherwise exist. You might like these artifacts, but then again maybe not.
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