How to approach a roll of un-named paper?

[MartinP]

Hmmm, a rubber membrane for roof gardens could perhaps also line a darkroom sink or a developing trough. If it is made of a neutral material you might find a use for it yet!

[Gavin R]

Thanks Martin. I've just completed the darkroom with an epoxy coated ply sink. Enlarger went in yesterday and hence why I want to attack this paper.

Being my first darkroom there will no doubt be more silly questions and mistakes, but hopefully some worthy images along the way.

[MartinP]

Oh that's a neat and tidy arrangement. In the Equipment > Darkroom sub-forum there is a thread for pictures of darkrooms, these photos would go well in there. And congratulations on the De Vere, great machines.

[Mike Wilde]

The 'actual' bag is 12 inches wide and apx 4KG. I'll take on board your advice and get it sampled during this week. Oh and its definitely B&W paper.

Tread carefully in terms of making assumpitions about rolls of b&w paper. I see rolls, and presume a high volume photolab market.

I have a 12" roll of b&w paper that is designed to be exposed in a (once typical) high volume photo finisher printer machine, and then procesed in RA-4 colour print chemistry.

It expects an orange mask as part of the negative when making the exposure to give reasonable contrast.
It is panchromatic, and must be handled in absolute darkness.
It can have it's contrast range adjusted by varying the degree of red filitration in the dichroic filter pack.
Under white lights a snip test would show that is is slightly purple prior to processing.
As it ages (now long past expiry) it gives a magenta tinted slightly fogged b&w RC print.

I use it to catch up on b&w contact sheet when I already have ra-4 chemistry going to process my c-41 to RA-4 colour paper contact sheets.

[nworth]

I received a similar roll of Ilford paper a few years back when I purchased an enlarger. (It was quite heavy, but not quite 35kg.) In my case it was color negative paper. I didn't even know Ilford branded color negative paper existed, but apparently it did on an industrial scale. The first thing to do is to determine if the paper is color or black and white. Your best first guess will be whether the previous owner did mostly color or black and white work. If color, the next question is what kind. In total darkness, snip off a piece of the paper; then look at it under white light. Color negative paper has a cyan filter; Cibachrome is dark gray; white base could be either black and white or some other sort of color reversal stock.