There is no reason why a paper negative, when used emulsion to emulsion,
should not give the same sharpness range and gradation as a film negative.
For dense negatives, however, the exposures are likely to very long. I use
three separate negatives for gum for the highlights, middle tones and
shadow detail. The shadow detail neg contains all the information but is
very dense in the highlights. I have used a shadow detail paper neg for
making a salt print when the exposure was over sixteen hours under a MV UV
lamp. The exposure for a cyanotype would have been even longer.
Is not Penn supposed to have used paper negs for his very large platinum
prints ?
Terry King