Fotospeed LE30 liquid emulsion - how do I get the best results

[Falkenberg]

I have bought a small 30 ml bottle of liquid emulsion from Fotospeed. I have never tried this type of product before. I have bought some very nice paper and I have some glass plates. I want to try both in my camera.
Fotospeed says the sensitivity is about ISO320. Does this match Your experiences ? Is there anything I can/should do to make it easier for me or get better results. All input is very welcome.

[Ian Grant]

This emulsion is presumably a paper emulsion and not panchromatic, ie it can be used with a safe-light, so that ISO320 is a paper speed not a film speed.

You could have a look at Martin Reed's excellent book "Silver Gelatin" now back in print.

Essentially most of the commercial emulsions now available are usually a Grade 3 (approx) paper emulsion repackaged, although one is variable contrast, so treat them once coated and dry exactly like the comparable paper emulsion.

So you could do some quick trials using a comparable RC paper in your camera to get a fairly good idea of how best to expose & process to get good negatives, before you start trying to coat your own plates.

Ian

[Ian Grant]

Just to give you an idea Ilford Multigrade has an ISO P200 when used with a Multigrade filter for enlarging, Ilfospeed ISO P500.

Ian

[Martin Reed]

Originally Posted by Falkenberg

....
Fotospeed says the sensitivity is about ISO320. Does this match Your experiences ? Is there anything I can/should do to make it easier for me or get better results. All input is very welcome.

That isn't camera ISO - there's an ISO specification for paper speed this relates to, and it's way way slower. On home-coated plates using this emulsion (or similar) I was finding it about 1 ISO. It's also highly contrasty in camera usage, and you may need to look at a suitable developer to restrain this.