The search for a digital version of Agfa Record Rapid photographic paper

Tuesday 2 January 2024, 16:32 by Anno Huidekoper | 2,969 views | 3 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Agfa Record Rapid photographic paper was loved by many black-and-white photographers in the darkroom days. Can it be matched digitally? A short account of my search for something like the holy grail.

My own old prints on this photographic paper, which I recently looked at, are now almost half a century old. Fortunately, they have been kept in the dark between glass all this time. What a beautiful warm-toned print I see! And the surface has character.

Analysis of old prints

Agfa paper was known for its beautiful tonal range and deep blacks. You could influence the colour by using either a neutral or a warm-toned developer. The surface has a slight sheen and a subtle texture.

This is the quality I am looking for, but in a digital version! Using an X-Rite i1 measuring instrument, I measured the various grey tones of a few Record Rapid photos and also determined the maximum black density. I also viewed the old prints under various light sources.

What next? There is a wide range of photographic paper

When you look at the range of (digital) photographic paper, you see that it is extensive. This is due to factors such as the format, the base, the presence or absence of optical brighteners and the texture of the surface.

The company Arca in Moerdijk, a supplier of printers, ink and photographic paper, among other things, gave me no fewer than thirty types of paper with the message: 'Find the Digital Agfa Record Rapid'.

In that large pile of photographic papers, I see familiar names such as Epson, Hahnemühle and Innova. I got to work with an Epson SureColor SC-P700 A3+ printer.

This printer uses pigment-based ink and has two grey cartridges. At least as important is the fact that ICC profiles are available for many types of paper for this printer.

Put simply, an ICC profile tells the printer how to print a particular colour or grey tone on a specific printer paper. Arca has made these ICC profiles available on its website for a great many types of paper and printers.

The same website also explains which folder you should put such a profile in on your PC, namely: Windows>System32>Spool>Drivers>Kleur. Anyone who can cut and paste can do this.

Selection criteria for making a choice

I made a print on many types of paper using the black-and-white test file I developed myself. It provides information about the maximum black density, blocked-up dark areas and the rendering of grey tones.

This is not just about density, but also about whether the grey tones, and black of course, are rendered neutrally or, for example, with a cool or warm tone.

I like many of the photographic papers supplied by Arca, but that is not what this is about, because that is a matter of taste. What matters here is whether I can find a type of paper that resembles the famous Agfa Record Rapid of old, loved by so many.

Many fine-art papers feel like real paper, but are immediately ruled out because of the low maximum black density you can achieve with them.

Another selection criterion is the surface. Gloss, matt and lustre papers have completely different surface textures, so they are ruled out too. Some papers are pure white, while others have a warm tone. The pure white papers are also ruled out in my search for a replacement for Agfa Record Rapid.

'Bronzing', what is that all about?

When I view the original Record Rapid black-and-white prints from an angle, the grey tones, white and black remain the same.

With some digital baryta papers, a kind of brown or silvery glow, 'bronzing', appears on certain parts of a print when you view it from an angle.

Hahnemühle Photo Rag Satin, a fine-art paper, feels very natural and the colour of the base has a warm tone. However, this paper does not score as well when it comes to bronzing.

Printer settings, very important

The Agfa print has a warm tone. With the Epson printer mentioned above, this is easy to achieve. You print in 'Advanced Black and White' mode, where you can set how warm, or how cool, you want the print to be.

In this case, I choose +5 both horizontally and vertically. I established this through trial and error. All the grey tones become slightly warmer, but the black does not change. That is where you see a difference from the Agfa paper. The Agfa black is just a little warmer, although the difference is not great.

The final choice of paper

The range of digital baryta paper is extensive. If you look at maximum black density, paper surface and bronzing, very few types of paper resemble the original Agfa Record Rapid. And that was what I was looking for.

The Innova Fibaprint Ultra Smooth Gloss IFA49 285 gram/m2 comes very close to the Agfa photographic paper. The Innova paper is warm white and feels sturdy.

Important for the black-and-white photographers among us: the maximum black density of the Innova paper is actually a little higher than the original! It is important to use the correct ICC profile and make a small tint adjustment in 'Advanced Black and White' mode.

Availability of Innova paper

Various physical and online shops, including Arca, supply Innova photographic paper.

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