Hi Niall,
I have used Foma papers a lot - here is what I found:
Fomaspeed Variant RC paper: nice for pre-view pics, fast work, when you have to do a lot of work; neutral black with Tetenal Eukobrom, slightly warm, olive-green with Agfa Neutol WA; good solid blacks (so not as good as Agfa MCP - but no paper is as good as that one), bright open lights (better than Ilford Multigrade); no problems with blooming (unlike Kodak Polymax); faster than ClassicArts/Forte Polywarmtone (needs less exposure); reacts well to toners (better than Multigrade and Polymax, not as enthusiastically as Polywarmtone). Very thin paper back - bad for handing pictures around, good for glueing them into albums.
Fomatone MG (both FB and RC): simply marvellous; almost neutral in Eukobrom (kinda like Agfa MCC/MCP), definitely warm with olive-green cast in Neutol WA; most of the things said for the Variant are also true for the Fomatone MG, except that it is still warmer (though not as warm as Polywarmtone). I also like the FB version better than that from ClassicArts/Forte - the latter is has a much thicker paper base, which sometimes is alread bowed/warped out of the package, and is a PITA to dry flat - the Fomatone is much more easy-going, when it comes to flatness.
I particularly love this paper for lith-printing - it is very easy to achieve GREAT, colorful results with this paper - from orange tones in the highlights over greenish midband to solid blacks in the shadows - my favorite lithing paper.
Roman
I have used Foma papers a lot - here is what I found:
Fomaspeed Variant RC paper: nice for pre-view pics, fast work, when you have to do a lot of work; neutral black with Tetenal Eukobrom, slightly warm, olive-green with Agfa Neutol WA; good solid blacks (so not as good as Agfa MCP - but no paper is as good as that one), bright open lights (better than Ilford Multigrade); no problems with blooming (unlike Kodak Polymax); faster than ClassicArts/Forte Polywarmtone (needs less exposure); reacts well to toners (better than Multigrade and Polymax, not as enthusiastically as Polywarmtone). Very thin paper back - bad for handing pictures around, good for glueing them into albums.
Fomatone MG (both FB and RC): simply marvellous; almost neutral in Eukobrom (kinda like Agfa MCC/MCP), definitely warm with olive-green cast in Neutol WA; most of the things said for the Variant are also true for the Fomatone MG, except that it is still warmer (though not as warm as Polywarmtone). I also like the FB version better than that from ClassicArts/Forte - the latter is has a much thicker paper base, which sometimes is alread bowed/warped out of the package, and is a PITA to dry flat - the Fomatone is much more easy-going, when it comes to flatness.
I particularly love this paper for lith-printing - it is very easy to achieve GREAT, colorful results with this paper - from orange tones in the highlights over greenish midband to solid blacks in the shadows - my favorite lithing paper.
Roman
