Any photographer, who does his own black and white darkroom work, knows that a sorry state exists in the selection of high-quality photo printing papers available today. A few years ago, nearly every photographic paper manufacturer offered several premium products for serious printmaking and fine-art photographic work. Many have been discontinued.

Photographers can now rejoice in the return of one outstanding enlarging paper that was a favorite of many prominent photographers, including Ansel Adams and Brett Weston. After an abscence of nearly four years, Oriental New Seagull papers are available again from photo retail specialty stores and mail order suppliers.

Anyone who has gazed at Ansel Adam's original print of "Moonrise, Hernandez" is looking at Oriental New Seagull paper, distributed by International Supplies. Adams' 16x20-inch dodge/burn schematic for that negative is frequently displayed at gallery exhibitions. A handwritten margin note specifies, "Use New Seagull #3." Adams' associates report that he loved this paper's refined cold tone look that so fits his work. He was also fond of the papers response to selenium toner, which intensified the D-max and put an extra measure of sparkle into the highlights.

Brett Weston is know to have reprinted several of his most famous portfolios on New Seagull paper to obtain the image depth he required, and he once remarked about Oriental paper, "Quite simply the best paper I ever used." Comments from both of these discriminating photographers seem to be recommendations that can't be ignored.

The Cadillac of the Oriental paper line, New Seagull G, which Adams and Weston used, is a silver-rich, cold-tone emulsion on a double weight fiber base. It produces deep blacks, pure whites, and a beautifully stepped mid-range, plus exceptional "tone-ability" with selenium and other toners. Also available is New Seagull Select VC-FB, a variable contrast version of New Seagull G, which offers the versatility of variable-contrast printing techniques with the elegance of fiber-base paper. It has the same archival qualities and tonal characteristics as Seagull G, offering the deep blacks and pristine whites. It has the convenience of Grade 0 through Grade 5 using popular VC filters, color beads and variable contrast cold light sources.

The company also manufactures two resin-protected papers that can be used for commercial work and with RC machine-processing equipment. These two resin coated papers are New Seagull VC-RP, a variable-contrast version, and New Seagull RP, a paper made in Grades 2, 3, and 4, which is available in glossy (RP-F), luster (RP-R), and premium matte (RP-M) surfaces. The RP papers are reported to be outstanding in their categories.

For photofinishing operations, there is also the new Hyper Seagull black-and-white paper that is processed in RA-4 color negative paper chemistry. Currently manufactured in rolls, it will soon appear on the market in cut sheets. It is available as a cold-tone paper in glossy and matte, and in matte only as a rich sepia-toned looking emulsion.

To learn more about individual Oriental papers, please visit the Products section of our website.

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