Chinese new B/W multigrade paper

ags2mikon · Sep 22, 2023

I understand your point. But I like Chinese fried rice and would never throw it. I think that the draw is that it is half the price of the good stuff. Photography sometimes needs products that are just good enough. I'm on a pension and every time I save a buck it is important.

Kino · Sep 22, 2023

This will probably be of limited use, but it was the best I could do tonight.

Leftmost Column: Ilford MGRC Glossy, 26 Seconds.
Rightmost Column: Multigrade Glossy, 22 Seconds

All sheets printed same on Beseler 23C with a Nikkor 75mm, f11 (no carrier) at about 10 inches from the baseboard; contacts sheet through Printfile holder, so reduced resolution and definition.

Ethol LPD 1:1, 3 min @72F., 30 second stop and 2 minute fix in TF4 w/5 minute wash.

Row 1: Ilford 2.5 contrast filter
Row 2: Ilford 1.5 contrast filter
Row 3: Ilford 0.5 contrast filter

Sheets were processed simultaneously in a Nova Slot Processor (2 clips, 2 sheets side-by-side)

The scanner struggled with the images, so I just set it to auto exposure and let fly. Of course, with the auto exposure, it largely eliminated the lifted blacks of the Multigrade Paper, but you might be able to see a bit of this in the shadows of the images.

I will say the Multigrade Glossy does very well, but it does have a bit of lifted fog level in the blacks, so you don't get the ice-cold black of the ilford, but otherwise, it does print well. It is a bit faster.

I have to wonder if it is older stock and if a pinch of anti fog might bring the blacks down to Ilford levels. If so, it's pretty darned good for the price.

While the box is quite flimsy and was cracking on the corners when it arrived, the interior light tight bag was taped six ways from Sunday and was NOT going to come apart without an extremely severe impact! Kudos to whomever wrapped the paper!

All in all, I think it a reasonable paper and worth purchasing, especially for anyone on a tight budget.

Kino · Sep 22, 2023

Maybe this crappy cell phone snap will give you an idea of how the black levels differ...

None of this is working well; its really not that exaggerated.

ags2mikon · Sep 22, 2023

Thank you for your report. It does look like it will work for some things like proofing.

ags2mikon · Sep 22, 2023

I think someone else here on photrio ran an analysis on it and found that KRST fixed the blacks. IIRC Polycontrast was like that a little bit in comparison to Ilford and Agfa and was the main reason I quit buying yellow boxes of B&W paper. That was 40 years ago.

GregY · Sep 22, 2023

I just printed two test prints on the B&H Multitone paper (wherever it's made....). I was really impressed. One from a contrasty 6x7 neg and another from a wide rangy 35mm negative from a smoky landscape. They both printed easily. No surprises. Typical 1min+ development time in Ilford Multigrade. The high values in the smoky cloudy sky separated very well. I'll add some photos of them tomorrow when they're dry. I don't use RC paper for fine prints, but I'll be using this paper for test prints, postcards, seasonal cards. There is nothing i can find fault with on my initial test.
At $7USD for 25x 5x7" or $63USD for 100 x 8"x10" or 50sheets of 11x14." It's good stuff. When I first started using Ilford Multigrade RC for proofing in was the equivalent of $28 USD/100x 8x10".....now its $129. So this is a great alternative.I'll give the pearl finish a try next time. The spare change will keep me in TMY-2 film!

koraks · Sep 23, 2023

@GregY, print a low-key image with large dark/black areas on a full 8x10" sheet. Verify if the black is not mottled. It's the one aspect I can imagine this paper might show compromise on. Well, that, and it may only be grade 1 through 4 and not 0 through 5, but I wouldn't consider that a fatal flaw.

Don_ih · Sep 23, 2023

There's a bit of a hint that the paper is not made in China:

"CUSMA Qualified" means it's made in Mexico, USA, or Canada. "One of the rules of origin that is commonly found in all agreements is that goods must be “wholly obtained” or “produced entirely in the territory of one or more of the Parties”." -- from here.

It is made by a company called Inkpress. They also make halftone film.

Kino · Sep 23, 2023

Don_ih said:
There's a bit of a hint that the paper is not made in China:

"CUSMA Qualified" means it's made in Mexico, USA, or Canada. "One of the rules of origin that is commonly found in all agreements is that goods must be “wholly obtained” or “produced entirely in the territory of one or more of the Parties”." -- from here.

It is made by a company called Inkpress. They also make halftone film.

Hmmm... reinforces my suspicion that it's an older Kodak paper. Maybe someone got hold of the last batch of Kodak Master Rolls from their paper plant?

I would much rather it be a secret, clandestine paper manufacturer, leaping in the void to produce a less expensive paper for the masses, but I stopped reading comic books many decades ago...

Don_ih · Sep 23, 2023

Kino said:
reinforces my suspicion that it's an older Kodak paper

The horrible website they have hasn't been updated in over a decade (unless you count the 2020 post "Hacked by Fx106" - don't click on that). It looks like, whatever they were, they are now stock left on warehouse shelves.

czygeorge · Sep 23, 2023

GregY said:
Well still a mystery. There is no country of manufacture on the envelope and no data sheet inside the package.

I think it's lucky(if you want you can cut a small piece and take a picture of it so i can see its emotion color)

Btw I find out this paper's Dmax is around 1.7+(only when toned can get to 2.1+),Foma ilford can go up to 2.1+ to2.2+,Which makes this paper only can do negative whose density range(from shooes to shoulder) is within 1.5

GregY · Sep 23, 2023

5x7" prints from B&H Multitone RC Glossy

GregY · Sep 23, 2023

koraks said:
@GregY, print a low-key image with large dark/black areas on a full 8x10" sheet. Verify if the black is not mottled. It's the one aspect I can imagine this paper might show compromise on. Well, that, and it may only be grade 1 through 4 and not 0 through 5, but I wouldn't consider that a fatal flaw.

Koraks i didn't buy any 8x10". just 5x7...... i will in the future if it remains in stock at B&H

koraks · Sep 23, 2023

GregY said:
Koraks i didn't buy any 8x10". just 5x7...... i will in the future if it remains in stock at B&H

Oh, doesn't matter; 5x7 will do fine for this test as well.
If you take that print of the mountains and inspect the foreground, do you see any mottling? If not, that would be great. This is sometimes the Achilles heel of low-end papers. There is/was a paper marketed by Adox (Easyprint) that performed quite poorly in this respect. I'm not sure if it's still on the market, and if Adox actually manufacture it.

GregY · Sep 23, 2023

koraks said:
Oh, doesn't matter; 5x7 will do fine for this test as well.
If you take that print of the mountains and inspect the foreground, do you see any mottling? If not, that would be great. This is sometimes the Achilles heel of low-end papers. There is/was a paper marketed by Adox (Easyprint) that performed quite poorly in this respect. I'm not sure if it's still on the market, and if Adox actually manufacture it.

There's no mottling in the blacks Koraks

koraks · Sep 23, 2023

Excellent; sounds like a decent paper alright. Enjoy!

Kino · Sep 23, 2023

czygeorge said:
I think it's lucky(if you want you can cut a small piece and take a picture of it so i can see its emotion color)

Do you mean the base color of the emulsion side of the paper when unprocessed?

czygeorge said:
Btw I find out this paper's Dmax is around 1.7+(only when toned can get to 2.1+),Foma ilford can go up to 2.1+ to2.2+,Which makes this paper only can do negative whose density range(from shooes to shoulder) is within 1.5

That sounds about right; maybe it is Lucky paper...

MattKing · Sep 23, 2023

Kino said:
Hmmm... reinforces my suspicion that it's an older Kodak paper. Maybe someone got hold of the last batch of Kodak Master Rolls from their paper plant?

I would much rather it be a secret, clandestine paper manufacturer, leaping in the void to produce a less expensive paper for the masses, but I stopped reading comic books many decades ago...

I think it more likely that it is from an old roll of paper made by Inkpress.
Kodak RC paper would be at least 18 years old now.
I remember seeing Multi-tone paper in a US store around ten years ago or so, and wondering about it.

Don_ih · Sep 23, 2023

czygeorge said:
I think it's lucky

It can't be. It was manufactured in North America.

MattKing said:
Kodak RC paper would be at least 18 years old now.

Polycontrast III, if stored decently, still prints pretty much perfectly. So, it could be Kodak paper but who knows what capabilities that Inkpress company had - it's impossible to find out anything about them.

chuckroast · Sep 23, 2023

I just made some test prints with Multitone VC RC. I got it from my local camera shop (they gave me a 25 sheet pack and asked me to test it) and I'm guessing it's the same thing being peddled by B&H.

I VC split print everything and my reference is Fombabrom Variant 111 VC FB Glossy toned in KRST 1:40. With that in mind, here's what I found:

The Multitone soft emulsion is slower than the Fombabrom and requires more exposure to get the same highlight density.
The Multitone hard emulsion is faster than the Fombarom and requires less exposure to get the same shadow density.
Fomabrom tones beautifully in KRST 1:40 in 3-5 minutes. Multitone showed almost no color change after 10 minutes. This likely means that it needs a higher concentration of KRST.
I still hate the look for RC paper but its OK for making contact sheets.
Foma is still the most beautiful paper I've seen since the original Zone VI Graded.

czygeorge · Oct 4, 2023

chuckroast said:
I just made some test prints with Multitone VC RC. I got it from my local camera shop (they gave me a 25 sheet pack and asked me to test it) and I'm guessing it's the same thing being peddled by B&H.

I VC split print everything and my reference is Fombabrom Variant 111 VC FB Glossy toned in KRST 1:40. With that in mind, here's what I found:

The Multitone soft emulsion is slower than the Fombabrom and requires more exposure to get the same highlight density.

The Multitone hard emulsion is faster than the Fombarom and requires less exposure to get the same shadow density.

Fomabrom tones beautifully in KRST 1:40 in 3-5 minutes. Multitone showed almost no color change after 10 minutes. This likely means that it needs a higher concentration of KRST.

I still hate the look for RC paper but its OK for making contact sheets.

Foma is still the most beautiful paper I've seen since the original Zone VI Graded.

Thanks a lot Chuck,this test result is so nice

Peter Schrager · Oct 4, 2023

chuckroast said:
I just made some test prints with Multitone VC RC. I got it from my local camera shop (they gave me a 25 sheet pack and asked me to test it) and I'm guessing it's the same thing being peddled by B&H.

I VC split print everything and my reference is Fombabrom Variant 111 VC FB Glossy toned in KRST 1:40. With that in mind, here's what I found:

The Multitone soft emulsion is slower than the Fombabrom and requires more exposure to get the same highlight density.

The Multitone hard emulsion is faster than the Fombarom and requires less exposure to get the same shadow density.

Fomabrom tones beautifully in KRST 1:40 in 3-5 minutes. Multitone showed almost no color change after 10 minutes. This likely means that it needs a higher concentration of KRST.

I still hate the look for RC paper but its OK for making contact sheets.

Foma is still the most beautiful paper I've seen since the original Zone VI Graded.

You should try foma 132 it's beautiful

GregY · Oct 4, 2023

I just received some 11x14" Multitone (Pearl).... nice paper for the money. I don't make final prints on RC....this will be good for test prints.... making sure the negative is clean etc. The final prints were on Fomatone MG 131 and Ilford WT FB (my current champion of papers for most negatives). I didn't tone the Multitone, but the Fomatone reacts very quickly to KRST 1:20....I might just stick to Sistan with that paper.

GregY · Oct 6, 2023

Multitone is a pretty nice paper for $63 for 25 sheets of 11x14". I like the pearl finish more than the glossy. I'll likely cut some down to 5x7 for making cards....& since i prefer a full sheet to narrow test strips i'll use it for test prints.

Qebs · Jan 23, 2025

Hello, has anyone found a source for lucky brand darkroom enlarging paper?
I'm seeking 20x24 RC paper or larger, like Ilford'
s 24x36" Multigrade IV.

Thanks
Be well
Kevin

Chinese new B/W multigrade paper

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