Different Kind(s) of paper

[havoc]

There is the problem of drydown with fiber paper, but i always thought RC had the same problem. The problem is just that when the elusion is in the chems it swells slightly as it gets saturated, that pulls the silver grains farther away from each other, so when it looks right wet, after it dries and the silver shrinks back to its normal distance apart, it looks alittle darker then it was wet.

I print alittle light, (not much) to deal with dry down. It enevitably is a thing of feel, but if you stick to the same paper, you usually learn pretty qucikly what to expect.

 

[TheProf]

A good general rule of thumb is that a print will dry down about 10% darker. Obviously this is diffrent from paper to paper but itll get you close.

 

[Firelance]

Talking about these cool and warmtone papers; can anyone scan a print so I can see what it actually is... It's just that I'm experimenting with all kinds of different papers.

thanks in advance

 

[oriecat]

I don't think you can really tell by looking at them online, but both of these were printed on Ilfords Cooltone RC (Pearl):

http://moltenwords.net/index.php?p=50
http://moltenwords.net/index.php?p=45

 

[Firelance]

indeed it's hard to tell what actually happened... Now, what does this cooltone thing do? Does it takes away some contrast? gives it a bit of colour?

 

[oriecat]

I don't think it does either of that really. It's hard for me to describe. But it's kind of like when you go to a paint store and there are 4000 versions of white, there are warm whites and cool whites, ya know? So the paper starts out at a not so neutral place and the grays develop based on that. Maybe someone else can describe it better.

I think warmtone might be easier to see than cooltone. Warmtone to me always has a bit of a brownish tint to it, giving it the warmth.

 

[havoc]

I haven't used cool tone, but i thought it had blueish white tint to it.

 

[windycitylover]

Just remember if your going to try fiber papers, they require a longer rinse then RC

I havent actually workerd with FB paper yet, but I have read that it gets darker as it dries. Is it a very noticable amount and if so do you compensate when printing?

I have never noticed the difference of it getting darker as it dries.

 

[windycitylover]

Yeah if your using RC paper and don't like the glossy, then try fiber glossy. It does't have that cheap plasticy sheen over it like the RC equivilant. I love Illford though i do occasionally use Kodak when i am running low on Illford. The Illford paper seems to have a one stop more contrast then the Kodak. So with illford i could use a #2 filter with my base exposure, but with kodak i would usually have to go with a #3 filter instead.

I noticed that during my first semester of photography in college. I first used Kodak, and later user Ilford. While I was using Kodak, most of my prints looked best with a #3 filter, but with the Ilford, a 2 or a 2.5 was usually the best.

 

[ksmattfish]

I use Ilford FB and RC papers, and RC in assorted house brands like Arista and Adorama, and I've experienced some dry down with all of them. It's definately slight on the RC paper, but I still usually compensate for it with a 5% to 10% decrease in exposure. With FB it's usually 10% to 20%.

Obviously different drying methods would produce different results. I have only been drying my prints on screens or hanging them. Some photogs are taping FB prints to glass, plexiglass, boards, etc..., and claim no dry down effect.

 

[windycitylover]

I use Ilford FB and RC papers, and RC in assorted house brands like Arista and Adorama, and I've experienced some dry down with all of them. It's definately slight on the RC paper, but I still usually compensate for it with a 5% to 10% decrease in exposure. With FB it's usually 10% to 20%.

Obviously different drying methods would produce different results. I have only been drying my prints on screens or hanging them. Some photogs are taping FB prints to glass, plexiglass, boards, etc..., and claim no dry down effect.

I use a drum dryer.