Arista.edu Ultra FB paper = Fomabrom, how is it?

[rjas]

Its cheap as hell, $36 for 100 sheets of FB VC paper. I can't find any info on it other than it is a Foma paper, which I assume is Fomabrom Variant VC. How is Fombabrom Variant VC / Arista.edu Ultra FB paper?

 

[zenrhino]

I like it just fine, but I'll be the first to admit I don't know a good paper from a bad one. It gives me white whites and black blacks and lots of greys between in Dektol, the glossy will get down right shiny if you dry it gloss-down on a chrome drum dryer, and the semi-matte has a very substantial feel and fibrous appearance to it (that I greatly appreciate).

I have squeegeed in a crease more than once with this paper, but I dont know enough yet to know if thats an issue with the paper or 100% user error. I suspect the latter.

 

[rjas]

I like it just fine, but I'll be the first to admit I don't know a good paper from a bad one. It gives me white whites and black blacks and lots of greys between in Dektol, the glossy will get down right shiny if you dry it gloss-down on a chrome drum dryer, and the semi-matte has a very substantial feel and fibrous appearance to it (that I greatly appreciate).

I have squeegeed in a crease more than once with this paper, but I dont know enough yet to know if thats an issue with the paper or 100% user error. I suspect the latter.

Thanks for the info. The paper is just so inexpensive as the Arista brand that its hard not to resist. I'm going to order a couple hundred sheets of 8x10 and some 11x14 and try it out. I'm not too picky especially at this price.

 

[fschifano]

I've been using the gloss, RC version for a while. Took me a little bit of work to get used to it, but it's not bad. If you are using Kodak's variable contrast filter set you can forget about it being speed matched for different filters; you'll need to establish filter factors for each different contrast grade under your enlarger. Contrast also tends to be a bit lower for each grade than some other papers. For example, what printed well for me with a grade two filter on the old Kodak Polymax paper with the Kodak filter set required a grade three filter with the Foma (aka Arista.EDU Ultra) paper. That's no big deal. Freestyle claims on the spec sheet that grades 00 through 3.5 are speed matched when used with the Ilford VC filter set. I haven't tested that yet, so I can't say one way or the other.

 

[rjas]

I've been using the gloss, RC version for a while. Took me a little bit of work to get used to it, but it's not bad. If you are using Kodak's variable contrast filter set you can forget about it being speed matched for different filters; you'll need to establish filter factors for each different contrast grade under your enlarger. Contrast also tends to be a bit lower for each grade than some other papers. For example, what printed well for me with a grade two filter on the old Kodak Polymax paper with the Kodak filter set required a grade three filter with the Foma (aka Arista.EDU Ultra) paper. That's no big deal. Freestyle claims on the spec sheet that grades 00 through 3.5 are speed matched when used with the Ilford VC filter set. I haven't tested that yet, so I can't say one way or the other.

Thanks. I'll be using colour VC filters so I have to calibrate anyways.

 

[zenrhino]

Freestyle claims on the spec sheet that grades 00 through 3.5 are speed matched when used with the Ilford VC filter set. I haven't tested that yet, so I can't say one way or the other.​

I've never used anything but the ilford filters so I don't know about this one way or the other.