What to do when your favorite paper is discontinued

[John Bragg]

My favorite paper for inkjet printing my scanned 35mm negatives has long been Ilford Galerie Prestige Gold Mono Silk. (Pointlessly long name). Sadly it has been discontinued, as is often the way when a clear favorite emerges from a bewildering marketplace. Today I became acquainted with a potential replacement from the well respected Fotospeed range. Platinum Baryta 300 is a hefty paper with a genuine Baryta layer and a lovely unglazed gloss finish, reminiscent of the old Agfa Record Rapid darkroom paper of years gone by. So far, I think we are going to get along just fine. It has produced some stunning prints of portraits and arty shots originated on HP5+ and if anything is as good as the Ilford stuff and in some respects better. A true archival fine art paper with a natural warmth and minimum OBAs, it ain't cheap, but it will have a place in my inventory for those special printing jobs that deserve a quality fine art paper. As is my usual way, I will make a final decision over an extended time, but so far so good and it seems that the 25 sheet A4 pack will soon get used.

 

[Rob-F]

I wish all discontinued product dilemmas had such a happy ending!

I'm still waiting for Plus-X to come back.

 

[John Bragg]

I wish all discontinued product dilemmas had such a happy ending!

I'm still waiting for Plus-X to come back.

I feel for you. I never used Plus-X, and by the time I wanted to, it had gone. What do you use now? Ilford FP4+ would be my choice in that speed.

 

[Nitroplait]

Oh man! I hate changes. When a preferred product disappears (Like Neopan 400) I try to guess who will be the "last man standing" so I don't have to change ever again. I am normally pretty bad at it, though - but in this case my shift to HP5+ seems to have been an OK choice.
I have enough HC110 for a couple of years more, but I heard the formular was changed and I am too afraid to try to verify the claim in fear that it is true.

 

[John Bragg]

Oh man! I hate changes. When a preferred product disappears (Like Neopan 400) I try to guess who will be the "last man standing" so I don't have to change ever again. I am normally pretty bad at it, though - but in this case my shift to HP5+ seems to have been an OK choice.
I have enough HC110 for a couple of years more, but I heard the formular was changed and I am too afraid to try to verify the claim in fear that it is true.

Stick with Ilford and use Ilfotec HC. Still made by Tetenal as was old HC-110.

 

[Bill Clark]

I'm still waiting for Plus-X to come back.

I agree Plus X was a fine film.

But I do use Ilford FP4 that is close to Plus X.

John,

Quick check I see amazon has some of the Ilford Galerie Prestige Gold Mono Silk. Don’t know if it’s available where you live. Freestyle still has some as well but that’s a long way from you. Do you know who made this paper for Ilford?

At any rate, from your original post, maybe you found another source.

 

[Dogman]

For me the worst is when the product is not discontinued but the formula is changed and the results are inferior. Numerous examples of that over the years with photography.

 

[Ambro51]

.....there was a paper I used for years as part of my Civil War re-enactment photography. I cannot remember the brand (anyone?), document weight HC5 . This stuff was great for contact prints, I’d selenium tone the print, then when dry, a bath in cold coffee, then a dry. The tone, color and thickness (thinness) gave it the look of a salt or albumen print. It worked Great for making CDV cards.

 

[John Bragg]

I agree Plus X was a fine film.

But I do use Ilford FP4 that is close to Plus X.

John,

Quick check I see amazon has some of the Ilford Galerie Prestige Gold Mono Silk. Don’t know if it’s available where you live. Freestyle still has some as well but that’s a long way from you. Do you know who made this paper for Ilford?

At any rate, from your original post, maybe you found another source.

Thanks Bill. Cost is obviously a factor, but my main concerns are also availability long term and it must be a paper that looks like a silver darkroom print. I ended up using Ilford Multigrade Warmtone Pearl in my darkroom and this "look" is what I am after. I also liked Record Rapid in the good old days.

 

[John Bragg]

For me the worst is when the product is not discontinued but the formula is changed and the results are inferior. Numerous examples of that over the years with photography.

Indeed, "New Improved" usually means totally Bugg@red about with.