piu58
Dear photographers,
I have been using Foma Variant PE paper for many years. I have processed several thousand sheets and know the paper well. As the price has risen significantly over the last year, and as I like to try new things, I ordered a pack of the new Easy Print as well. When I rang to enquire, I was told that the difference was that it was ‘slightly clearer’.
My first impressions:
- With the same filtration, the paper is harder, by at least one stop. That’s not a problem, of course.
- Easy Print reacts less strongly to filtration; my initial estimate is that it’s only about half as strong. This means you can’t achieve the extreme filtrations of ‘extra/ultra-hard’ and ‘extra-soft’. But no sensible person would use those settings anyway; instead, they’d adjust the negative processing.
- Maximum black is good, highlight differentiation is also good. In this respect, an exemplary paper.
- One of the five sheets that went through my chemical bath today had a defect. I work very cleanly and haven’t had that happen for years. Nevertheless, I can’t entirely rule out that it was somehow my fault. If that happens now and then and doesn’t occur too frequently, it’s not that important to me with paper. Film is a different matter.
Conclusion: A really good paper with a few quirks. A great product for the price.
piu58
Update: Yesterday I performed an exposure of a transparent step wedge onto paper using various filters. My initial impression has been confirmed:
- 130 Y (Durst) gives a gradient of 1.5. It doesn’t get any softer than that
- 30 Y gives a gradient of around 2.
- 130 M achieves a gradient of 4.5. Foma goes a bit further.
So: Even with extreme yellow filtering, you don’t get very far in terms of softness. The hard range is well covered. This narrower gradient range is not a criticism of the paper, as such papers are said to offer better grey differentiation. I’ll report back.
leoz
Funnily enough, I’m in the same boat as you – I’ve been using Foma paper for ages, but I’ve just bought some ADOX Easyprint for reasons of price and personal preference. I’ll probably give it a go on Monday evening :D
