Rec.Photo.Darkoom Frequently Asked Questions: Printing

6. Printing

6.1 Resin-coated of Fiber-based paper?

Which one you will use depends on a lot of things. First, the facts:

FB paper has proven archival qualities (given proper processing). That's why collectors, musea, etc. often insist on FB.
RC paper has shown good keeping qualities in accellerated aging tests. If it is just for yourself, friends and family, I think you can rest assured that it will keep the rest of your life. But, until RC paper has been on the market for another 100 years, it's not called archival.
RC paper is much easier to process. It is especially easy to wash and dry, and it won't curl.
FB paper is less sensitive to the temperatures in a dry-mount press.
FB paper can be kept wet for a very long time, whereas with RC paper, you risk separation of the layers.

Then the opinions: there are people who simply like the look and feel of FB paper better. You should decide that for yourself, of course. Invest in a small package of both, that will give you a better answer than asking the newsgroup.

6.2 Can I use brand A VC filters on brand B paper?

Yes, but there might be small differences in the grades you get. However, a #2 filter will always give a softer result as a #3 filter, no matter on which paper you use it.

My humble opinion: the subtle differences of mixing up filters and papers are probably smaller than the differences introduced by the fact that you probably use another developer, enlarger and darkroom than the factory test facility. So you need to test anyway (I test by contact printing a step tablet).

6.3 I have a color head, can I print on VC paper?

Yes, you can. Again, get the datasheets of the paper - manufacturers of VC paper normally have color filtration values for the various grades. A starting point:

Grade 2	45M/9Y
Grade 2.5	65M/12Y
Grade 3	95M/15Y
Grade 3.5	120M/20Y
Grade 4	200M/30Y
Grade 5+	200M

6.4 Can I print color negatives on black-and-white paper?

Yes, you can. Normal B&W paper, however, is not panchromatic - it only responds to a narrow band of wavelengths of light. Graded paper just responds to blue light, and variable contrast paper responds to blue and green light (but the amounts of blue and green light influence the gradation of the paper). Generally speaking, printing color negs on B&W paper won't give natural-looking results.

Kodak has a panchromatic paper, Panalure, available in 3 grades. If you want to get good results printing from color negatives, you should use this paper.

Of course, using normal B&W paper can give interesting effects, comparable with using orthochromatic film - experiment!