mercredi 12 octobre 2005

Ilford Multigrade IV Darkroom printing with ease... FB or RC "Jack of all trades, master of none," is a phrase that comes to mind with all resin-coated variable contrast photo printing materials. I use them for most of my routine printing... and although I actually don't mind using them in the darkroom I get no real feeling of pleasure or satisfaction handling them when they're dry and in the hand. Sure, they're great to scan from... and they're convenient to use and economical on the wallet... but that's all. For any kind of quality a box of fibre paper has to be opened. Then, sensual pleasures cancel out the inconveniences! There's no doubt that variable contrast and resin coated papers are two of the great strides forward that have been made in darkroom printing technology in the past twenty-five or so years. You can be in and out of the darkroom in a few minutes holding a dry print having given hardly a thought to the preparations and processes normally associated with the room dimly lit by the red light. However, I do think that these modern advances are like all forms of supermarket shopping. One has all the choices in front of you but there's no communication with the owner of the store. I'm not saying that you can't talk to Ilford, or whoever, if you're not satisfied or have problems, it's just that I think there's no touchy-feely sense of quality with these new materials. Tactile quality... When I was involved in organising and part-sponsoring, along with Fuji Film and Durst, three photo print contests, I wrote about the immediate tactile qualities noticed between fibre-based and resin coated variable contrast papers... but noted that I was not hinting at the judges preferences because we realised the constraints of people's budgets when stocking-up on darkroom materials. However, of the many hundreds of entries received for those three Fuji Neopan / Durst Awards, the images printed on fibre-based papers had a definite feel, thus making them a pleasure to hold too. Looking at prints is not always a tactile experience (try it in a gallery or museum!) but as part of our judging sessions it was... and perhaps not unexpectedly, fibre-based prints won every year the competition was held. It was more than the tactile feeling though... it was obvious that printers who cared about the craft of printmaking used traditional fibre materials. With all other aspects of the "imagery" being equal, those printers using traditional materials would have won over those using more current resin coated stock. But what is Ilford Multigrade IV like? To be honest, I had many problems with the first sample box and almost consigned the paper, as well as the review, to the waste bin. At the time there was something about Agfa Multicontrast Classic (beautiful blacks for instance) that was wooing many printers away from other papers and I was likewise reluctant to abandon the shocking-orange boxed Agfa product for the virginal-white wrapping from Ilford. The problem was that my first prints made from the new Ilford Multigrade IV paper looked completely flat. No matter how much I tweaked the exposure times, developer strength, temperature and immersion time, the results were disappointing compared to every other paper... and especially compared with the older Ilford Multigrade III. There had to be a problem at my end because the paper had to be right, hadn't it? I changed bulbs in both Durst enlargers (5x4 Laborator and M707 Multigrade)... and still made flat-contrast prints! But when in doubt... read the instructions and/or call the manufacturer. When help is needed Ilford were/are very helpful. They produce excellent technical leaflets from which I learnt that what would normally be a "standard" grade 2 print with the older Multigrade III (and several other papers) should be exposed at half or even one full grade harder, for example, as a grade 3 with Multigrade IV. And what happened as a result? Hey presto... perfect prints. What I'd been assuming and doing was using my personal coded information on grade and exposure from the backs of previously made prints on older material and using those as "established" fact with the newer material. Once the extra grade tweak was instilled into my head (and the enlarger's multigrade head) everything became much easier. I know... I know... but experienced printers usually jump straight in and learn by their mistakes because it takes into account their own equipment variables which cannot be factored into manufacturer's info sheets and specifications. My standard test for new papers (and enlargers) is to use a "difficult" fairly high-contrast negative such as the one of the fishing boat... but as I used that in last night's weblog here's my second-string standard negative... low angle shot of a farm tractor taken on a Canon F1n and 20mm Canon FD lens using Agfapan 100 developed in Rodinal. I know there is plenty of detail hidden in the negative because I can usually extract it with some deft manipulation of darkroom dodgers and other hole-in-card aids. Using a previous print made with Multigrade III as a guide, and knowing the trouble that had been taken over the old print, I was amazed at the ease with which the new paper performed. The best print on grade 2.5 is reproduced large with the six mini-prints showing (from top-left to bottom-right) the various grades available - from a very soft 00, through 0, 1, grade 2 is reproduced as the main print, 3, 4 and a very hard grade 5 - note that the maximum (grade 5) contrast is only possible with Ilford filters available for positioning above or under the lens, or, with the dedicated Ilford 100 and 500 Multigrade Systems. Of course in-between grades, and complex split-grade printing manipulations are better achieved using an enlarger's built-in dichroic Magenta and Yellow filters - either in a colour head or a dedicated VC module - with single unit of colour manipulation possible at the turn of a dial. What's different As soon as you hold a sheet of Multigrade IV it feels different - midway between normal RC papers and a double-weight fibre-bromide. It lies very flat on the baseboard as a result, and, stands up to very vigourous handling in slot processors (something that fibre papers don't do at all well once wet and limp). As of October 2005, and after Ilford's travails in the past year, Multigrade IV FB is currently available in 225gsm Glossy (1K) and Matt (5K) surfaces whilst the RC version is available in Glossy (1K), Pearl (44M) and Satin (25M)... all in a wide range of sizes and packaged quantities. Interestingly a "Portfolio" RC paper is available in a slightly heavier 250gsm weight but at a price hike of around £10 over RC and £20 over the FB version for a box of 100 10x8s... however, the postcard size is pre-printed on the reverse for a destination address and message making it easy to print your own unique postcards. I should just add that MG IV washes easily and dries cleanly without any blooming. I've heard from one printer though that MG IV does not appear to tone as well as previous versions - perhaps because of extra "brighteners" in the emulsion. It's obvious that the highlight layers of the new emulsion have been considerably modified, which makes rendition of delicate detailed light tones a breeze. My previously noted manipulations with other VC papers were quickly discarded because the highlights, if they are there, are revealed with ease compared to more difficult exposure manipulations previously made. Just over a decade on from the release of MG IV it will be interesting to see whether a leaner, rejuvinated Ilford launch an MG V to take it forward in the hearts and darkrooms of the many traditional printers still prefering to get their teeth into film rather than electronic bytes. These links are for the Ilford page on MG IV RC, MG IV FB, and London (UK) based dealer Silverprint who always has an excellent stock and choice of all black and white papers... including some not normally distributed there. Hats off to Martin Reed! 10:57:44 PM    comment []