Silver what?

[Aquarium Dreams]

If I make a print on RC paper, is it a "silver gelatin" print or a "silver halide" print? Is only FB paper "gelatin"?

 

[JC1220]

You can call prints made on plastic paper or fiber - silver gelatin. For photographic purposes Silver Halides are a group of light sensative compounds used in film and paper. You may have seen some papers described as bromide papers, reffering to the compound of silver and bromide, a halogen. Not so common anymore except in the new Lodima contact paper, is Silver Chloride.

 

[Helen B]

Just to add to what JC1220 has already said:

Gelatin is used to hold the silver halides on the surface of the substrate (paper in this case) and it is still present in the final print. It has an effect on the process and there is no real substitute, so you can be fairly certain that any light sensitive material using silver halides has gelatin in there as well, no matter what the substrate - even the liquid emulsion you can get is silver gelatin after development.

The silver halides in common photographic use are silver bromide, chloride and iodide - bromine, chlorine and iodine are halogens; bromide, chloride and iodide ions are halides.

There are B&W papers that are not silver gelatin because the silver has been bleached out after a dye has been formed (just like XP-2 B&W film), but these are processed in RA-4 chemicals, not in standard B&W chemicals.

Best,
Helen

 

[Aquarium Dreams]

Thank you both for taking the time to explain this. I understand the chemistry much better now.