I shoot a lot of chromogenic monochrome and can offer a couple of
suggestions that have worked well for me.
Ilford XP2 Super prints pretty well on ordinary b&w paper like Polycontrast
RC. The slight blue cast to the negatives isn't a problem. T400CN/B&W+
don't print as well on Polycontrast RC - orange mask is a problem.
XP2 and Kodak films both print very well on Ektamax paper. Sharp, good
tonal balance. Only problem is that Ektamax is not archival for display
purposes. It's primarily intended for publishing and pre-press work where
archival quality isn't important. However my Ektamax prints have lasted
more than two years in dark storage (with occasional scans) with no signs of
fading. For prints to be scanned it's ideal.
Lex
From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxx>
At 07:02 7/15/00 , Acer asked:
>
[snip]
>
>tri-x or CN film? both cost about same to buy, but tri-x takes 2 wks and
>costs 3 times as much as CN to process (forget the darkroom, none around
>here). i don't care much for the prints 4x6 since target is a few really
>nice 11x14s and scans for web eventually. infact, forget 11x14, i'll just
>make my own 8.5x11s at home digitally and use the negs at some point in
>the far future for real b/w prints done myself, MY way.
>
[snip]
>
I've shot Kodak's T400CN, B&W +400, and Ilford's XP-2. IMHO the Kodak
chromogenics have muddier mid-tones compared to Ilford which I liked much
better. T400CN and B&W +400 are *different* films, the latter being a
consumer derivative with deeper orange mask and different color response
curves in its color layers. It is intended to make print processing easier
by color labs consumers use. My experience was it drove them crazier. I
liked Ilford's XP-2 much better, but see the next paragraph for why I
abandoned the chromogenic B/W idea altogether.
A problem with all three chromogenics is trying to get *real* B/W prints
out of them. I have yet to find anyone who can get true black and white
out of color paper. Qualex sends the chromogenics to their B/W lab(s)
because of this; too many returns for reprinting. Qualex processes it C-41
and then prints it on B/W paper which takes just as long and costs just as
much as Tri-X or TMax. This defeated any cost and time advantage in using
a chromogenic and its negatives have a C-41 archival life.>
-- John
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