I decided to experiment with the range by making prints using both standard and lith developers and then toned the finished prints in sepia, gold and selenium. Once again I trod the well-used path to the little darkened room to see how the Kentmere Art range of papers performed.
Dilution of lith developer is generally on a trial and error basis and for the prints produced on the Kentmere papers I used the following: 100mls Lith A and B to 2 litres of water and 500ml of old lith developer. The use of the old lith developer helps age the working developer for it is generally thought that more interesting results are produced as the solution ages.
I also added 100 mls of a 10% bromide solution which slows development, a useful tool when making lith prints to produce the characteristic peach/pink colour by using infectious development. All prints were passed through my usual stop and fixer baths prior to washing and toning.
I used both selenium and sepia to tone prints and found that Kentona responds well, especially to selenium, where the lower values are clearly enhanced and the overall print colour is slightly warmer.
When toned in sepia the final result showed no loss of highlight detail, which can happen with some papers. This means that when the print is made you know that the highlight detail printed will be there in the final toned print and that there is no need to overprint to compensate.
Making prints using lith paper and developer to achieve a variety of different colours has been done for many years and is growing in popularity at present. Whilst it is generally considered that the best effects are achieved using lith materials it is always worth trying this technique with any paper - especially a chlorobromide.
Kentona works very well when processed in lith developer at the dilution's described earlier. The characteristic peach/pink is quite easily achieved as are many other interesting colours and tones with experimentation in dilution and age of the developer.
Art Classic, like all Kentmere papers, responds very well to toning. I toned the same image in selenium and gold and found that the gold produced a slightly warmer print colour than the selenium but both toned prints were cooler than the untoned. Using lith developer and Art Classic produces a very acceptable peach/pink lith print, and again, many other effects can be obtained by changing the dilution and ageing the developer.
My one reservation about Art Classic is the fairly heavy texture of the paper surface which I feel does not suit low key prints as the indentations of the texture can be clearly seen in certain lighting conditions especially where there are large areas of low values in the print.
The tonal range of RC Art is surprisingly good given that it is a matt surface. Again, because of the clean white paper base the highlights are very bright, the blacks are relatively rich and with good rendition of mid tones the final prints yield a pleasing neutral tonal range.
There is a slight texture on the paper surface but unlike the other Art papers it does not show in the low values of the print. When processed in lith developer RC Art produces a warm brown almost like a sepia toned print and is, in my view, the least successful of the Art range when treated in this way.
Perhaps the reason is that the slight surface texture is very prominent throughout the whole tonal range. I certainly preferred the full tonal range print to the lith print when using this paper.
The wide range of different paper surfaces together with the flexibility of the methods of development open up many creative avenues to the photographer. The fact that Kentmere papers all respond well to most types of toning increases the creative boundaries.
In this range of papers I enjoyed making prints on Kentona, particularly the glossy version, for I prefer an unglazed print made on glossy paper. The subtle warm tones of the traditionally developed print are smooth and rich, while the peach/pink colour of Kentona when processed in lith developer is equal to any other paper treated in this way.
Art Classic produces a similar tonal range, is equally versatile but unlike Document Art (to be reviewed later) is not receptive to the Bromoil process because it is supercoated. For an example of the potential of Document Art, see our portfolio this month - many bromoil workers use watercolour paper and make their own emulsions, but when learning the process, Document Art is the standard material.
As mentioned earlier I feel that that heavy indentations of the texture can be a distraction in a very low key print. I have to say that this is a very personal preference and I do know many photographers who are perfectly happy to make low key prints on Art Classic.
Art De-Luxe and RC Art are two papers that produce a good neutral image colour and full tonal range. The textured surface of Art De-Luxe has the same problems for me as Art Classic but I feel that the matt surface of the RC Art paper offers many possibilities for creative printing. It works well with either high or low key images and, being RC, will reduce processing time when treated in the wide variety of toners available. Hand tinting also offers another area of creative possibilities.
The wide variety of effects offered by Kentmere Art papers surely mean that all creative photographers should at least try making prints on them to judge for themselves the possibilities there to be explored.
I have enjoyed the results of testing Kentmere Art and Kentona papers and can recommend the range to those who wish to achieve that subtle difference in colour and texture when next making the print that glows.
- Les McLean
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