Warmtone or Cooltone??

[Goldorak]

Your favorite paper, is it Warmtone or Cooltone?
Why?
Or do you prefer to use regular paper and develop it in warm or Cooltone developer?
What's the difference?

Tell us all about it!

 

[mh2000]

I would always use warmtone dev and normal papers... very subtle, but pleasing to my eye... now I just tweak a curve to get warmtone prints 🙂

 

[sniki]

I think it's matter of taste, the same besides someone prefer Leica glass results instead of Zeiss ones.
I am very found of cooltones with their bluish deep black.

sniki

 

[russianRF]

I prefer cooltones too. I especially like using Oriental VC FB.

 

[aizan]

i like cooltone for glossy rc (the only rc i like), warmtone for fiber. brings out the best qualities of the materials.

 

[dof]

I bought one of the first boxes of Ilford's Multigrade Warmtone paper here in the SF Bay Area and never looked back. Some people dislike this paper because you really need to tone it to bring out its warmer side, however that gives it a degree of flexibility over other offerings. Granted it will never produce a cool print, but that was never its goal now was it?

 

[Jerevan]

...I prefer warmtone because I really like the Ilford fiber paper.

 

[titrisol]

It depends on the subject
I use both

 

[sepiareverb]

I'm a big proponent of choosing the paper and developer for each project with a lot of care. Currently I'm working on a series of 1620 prints of things shot in the woods, printing them on Seagull Warmtone developed in a cold developer, with some selenium toning:

My last project was cold-tone in Dektol/Selectol-Soft. I could be off onto warmtone paper in warmtone developer next. Developer choice has a lot of influence on the final print color after toning, something many don't consider.

I quite miss the Ilford Cooltone Developer, it gave the best color on Seagull Warmtone I've ever seen.

 

[sniki]

I had very cool tones as well using Edwal Ultra Black liquid print developer as a replacement for the Ilford Cooltone paper developer.

sniki

 

[sepiareverb]

I found Ultra Black died in the bottle too fast as I recall. Perhaps I should give it another try.

 

[Goldorak]

Sepia, what a great post! Thanks for the examples. All is very clear.

 

[Tom A]

I tend to pick paper and developer for the type of print I want. For waem tone I like the Iflford FB paper and for the cooler tones, Oriental FB. The developers are "home brewed", either Du Pont 52 for cooler tones and Ansco or Agfa's 103 formula for warmtones. The advantage is that you can fiddle a bit with the chemistry and enhance the color.
All fiber paper is selenium toned, just a 1:20 solution for 3-5 minutes. For some prints were I want deep, detailed blacks I mix up Defender paper developer (uses almost 1/2 lb Sodium Carbonate!!!).

 

[nikon_sam]

Kodak Ektalure K was some nice paper...it had some deep blacks and nice creamy whites...
I prefer the warmtone papers but do have a box or two of cold...

 

[titrisol]

For cool tone try Ehtol LPD 1+2 plus 1 tablespoon of sodium carbonate per liter

I found Ultra Black died in the bottle too fast as I recall. Perhaps I should give it another try.

For warm tone and great selenium toning LPD 1+5 or 1+7, I loked 1+20 but had to add more concentrate every 2 or 3 prints.

 

[Freakscene]

I use different papers for different photos.

I really like warmtone papers on a white or slightly cream base but find the Ilford base too warm. I also don't like the way the Ilford WT has a slightly greenish tone in well-used D72. I did like the Forte Polywarmtone very much and am currently experimenting with some other warmtone papers from Bergger and Foma. I do like the way many warmtone FB papers react to glycin print developers.

I like Ilford MG FB (but not RC) for neutral tones. It looks great in D72, amidol, glycin, pretty much anything. I like the way a warm or cold tone developer can ilicit extremely subtle tones from this paper and appreciate that it tones slowly and minimally.

For cold tone I liked Kodak Elite. The Polycontrast Fine Art that followed was nice, but not as good (maybe that's why they changed the name!?). Seagull looks great as did Forte Polytone V (I think that's what it was called). Working with Bergger, Foma and Kentmere here at the moment.

Slavich paper is great. It's incredibly flexible with regard to tone.

There are still plenty of great papers around; you just need to experiment and keep buying. If you don't do they latter then they will go away, for sure.

Marty

 

[Merkin]

I tend to use Ilford VC warmtone glossy fiber in a standard developer, usually Sprint. I don't know if this will make any sense, but the results just feel so.. "meaty," especially when printing from a fine grained medium format negative. It just seems like this combo delivers a richness and hyperrealism that I have yet to find a match for. A lot of the time, I find myself thinking that if the world looked like a print made from Ilford glossy fiber warmtone, it would quite likely be a more beautiful place. It is almost like the effect good cheese has on cheap wine, sort of a flattery. It makes even mundane negatives sing.

On a side note, Sprint chemicals are by far the most reliable I have ever used. No matter how long they have been around, or how sloppy I get with times, the results are by far the most consistent I have ever gotten out of photo chemicals. They aren't necessarily the best results I have ever gotten, but they are incredibly reliable. I don't generally hear about anyone here using Sprint chemistry, but I highly reccommend it.

 

[John Bragg]

Warmtone paper and Developer. Skin tones look good and I like a creamy white rather than stark whitewash...

 

[drewbarb]

What about those of us who prefer true neutral tones in our prints?

I too will choose the tone i want based on the specific image- but very often I want to achieve a true grey/silver look, with as little warm or cool leaning tone as possible. My standard paper is often Oriental VC FB paper, processed in LPD 1:2.5. I finish with a touch of selenium for archival permanence and tiny bit of extra punch, but not enough to give color shift. The net result is very much straight down the middle, in my darkroom. Just the way I like it for general work.

EDIT: OK, I guess you're calling this "regular"?

 

[topoxforddoc]

I use a warmtone developer (Neutol WA) and vary the paper from neutral (eg Adox MC110) to warm (eg Ilford WT FB or Forte PWT).