Matt photographic paper - front side?

naaaaala · 2008-12-03T11:57:54+00:00

Hallo! Ich bin eine absolute Debütantin ... Gestern habe ich Fotos auf mattes Fotopapier entwickelt (Ilford, Ilfospeed, 4.24M) und hatte das Problem, dass i...

naaaaala

Hello! I’m a complete beginner... Yesterday I developed some photos on matte photographic paper (Ilford, Ilfospeed, 4.24M) and realised I’d exposed the paper the wrong way round. I couldn’t tell the difference between the front and back of the photographic paper for the life of me. Is there a trick to it, or is there some way you can tell? I’d be incredibly grateful for any helpful tips. :rolleyes: Best wishes, naaaaala

WolfgangMoersch

Most sheets aren’t completely flat; if it curls up slightly at the edges, then the coated side is facing you. It’s certainly not the best method in the long run, but at least to start with, there’s the lip test: moisten your lower lip; the side that sticks is the coated side. Of course, this only works if a white border around the image is acceptable; otherwise, the kiss would be visible in the image itself. Regards wm

MirkoBoeddecker

Hi Nala, You can smell the emulsion side. It smells of gelatin. Also, the reverse side is slightly whiter. If you’re in a pinch, just give the paper a quick lick – the emulsion side will stick to your tongue, but the other side won’t. Best wishes, Mirko

Wolfgg

The best trick is to prevent the problem from arising in the first place. To do this, make yourself a paper safe and always place the pack of photographic paper in it with the emulsion facing downwards. Now the only time you’ll be faced with the question is when you open a new pack. A paper safe saves you the hassle of fiddling with the original packaging; just lift the lid, take out the paper, turn it over and place it under the enlarger. You can find out how to make one here: http://www.fotolaborforum.eu/index.php?sho...ic=1077&hl= Best regards, Wolfgang

v-toya

Hi, Why not just perform exposure on both the front and the back? One of them will show an image in the tray... Don’t take it seriously, I was just joking But I also think the paper warps very slightly towards the coated side. At least mine from Ilford does. Mind you, I only use glossy paper. Maybe yours isn’t like that... Best wishes

bernhardmangelsgmxde

I’m not familiar with the matte Ilford paper, but with all the matte papers I’ve used so far (Easyprint 312, Fomaspeed V III 312 and MCP 312, as well as efke emacs baryt in matte), you can see the coated side when you hold the paper up to the Duka light. It’s somehow different from the reverse side. It doesn’t shine, but (with the papers I’ve used) the emulsion is recognisable. Tongue test... my love wouldn’t go that far... Regards