FOMA paper "suddenly" died, is MCP better?

piu58 · 2012-09-09T10:12:19+00:00

Vielen Dank! Ich habe mir schon gedacht, dass die letzte Zahl das Begussdatum ist. Ich wollte nur sichergehen. > aber kein beim Händler als "neu" gekau...

piu58

A box of large-format Foma PE paper has gone off rather suddenly. I’ve had the paper in my darkroom for just over two years; it’s usually kept cool there, at around 16°C. I expected the paper to soften as it aged and then develop fog. But that wasn’t the case. In May, I made prints with it without any issues. Now (so to speak, ‘suddenly’), the paper is showing yellow streaks around the edges, some of which extend well into the centre of the image. This is, of course, annoying with a large format. Foma provides a batch number, but no production date. If I’d known how old the paper was (and it must be well over 1½ years old), I would have cut it into small pieces and used it up. Now it’s ruined. My question: If I switch to MCP, can I tell the production date from this paper?

bernhardmangelsgmxde

After just two years? But it wasn’t paper bought ‘new’ from a retailer, was it? Last year I enlarged a print using MCP produced in Leverkusen without any problems… which had been stored in the living room for a few years. The ADOX MCP had a production date printed on it.

klausdoblmann

As far as I know, the new MCP/MCC has the month and year of manufacture printed on it. I’d have to be very much mistaken if that weren’t the case.

TiMo

Hi Uwe, Take a look here. It looks the same on my MCP.

From emulsion number 0310 onwards, a production date is specified on MCP. Labels without a production date were produced in August 2009 Best regards

piu58

Thank you very much! I had a feeling that the last number was the production date. I just wanted to be sure. > but not paper bought ‘new’ from a retailer, or well, actually, yes. But who knows how long it sat on the shelf first at Foma and then at the retailer’s (it’s 30x40). If there’s no date on it, it’s hard to track. The way it’s deteriorated – the yellowing – is also strange. I use so much paper that this hasn’t happened to me in the last 20 years. My experience with aged paper dates back to the Orwo days: things don’t necessarily have to happen exactly the same way these days.

Gucker

Now (suddenly, so to speak), the paper is showing yellow streaks around the edges, some of which extend quite far into the centre of the image.

I noticed this effect on much newer Foma paper (less than six months old) at the start of this year. I had put it down to old developer, but surely that would affect the whole surface more or less evenly, wouldn’t it? The same should apply if the paper were ageing; why is the yellowing only at the edges?

piu58

[indent=1]Mirko is looking into the matter. In any case, it’s not my fault – many thanks again to FOTOIMPEX.[/indent] [indent=1]> The same should also apply if the paper is ageing[/indent] [indent=1]Normal ageing starts at the edges, where the paper is more exposed to oxygen. But the paper has only been with me for just over a year; something else is wrong here.[/indent]

Gast

That happened to me once with a batch of Ilford MG Baryt. It seems to happen with all brands! Ilford sent me a replacement.

sputnik

I have been using Fomatone MG FB exclusively for years. So far, I have received nothing but top-quality products, with absolutely no cause for complaint. Quite the opposite!