Are fiber base papers worth the extra cost and hassel, and what is the best way for drying? Is a print dryer a neccesary investment?

-- Anonymous, July 20, 1997

Answers

In my humble opinion, if you have a negative of which you are proud and one that has significant detail and quality there is no other choice than fiber base paper and the highest quality fiber base paper you can purchase. Fiber base papers have better archival qualities than plastic paper also have more silver content therefore exhibit greater detail and deeper blacks and much more highlight detail.

-- Anonymous, July 20, 1997

YES YES YES. I spent ten years with RC, switched to Fiber, and I'm in LOVE. It tones, it's rich, it has a nice feel, the glossy isn't reflectve glossy . A bitch to dry flat, but once you settle on a method that won't be a big problem. See previous posts about drying, they work well. Once your mount or dry in a press they print very flat anyhow. Borrow your local community college dry mount press...they won't know you arn't a student (or take a class just to get access). Otherwise presses are a bt much $$$.

This, my friend, is a no brainer. I stock RC for contact sheets and quick prints for friends, cliets. Fiber for the prints I love and care about.

DO IT !!!!

-- Anonymous, July 21, 1997

Sorry bout this guys, but some of the RC papers do have a greater tonal range than is possible with Fibre based papers. According to boty Kodak & Ilford scientists & PR types, RC should last just as long also. Reality is that we won't really know about longevity until 100 years have passed, will we? I use fibre based papers to express the feeling of the image. I do the same with RC papers. Different images get different treatment, toning, mounting, matting, etc. It is a personal decision. BUT, nearly every fine printer in the business ends up using nearly the same materials, fibre based double or premium weight and toned papers. We KNOW they last when done properly. But with so many mediocre images out there, the better they fade the better off we all are. So encourage every really good photog you know so future generations will have excellent work to look at and not just the mediocre photos of technically excellent copycats & drones.

-- Anonymous, August 03, 1997