Arista Ortho Litho Film 2.0 Hmm..

Never shot this before and I just got my order of 4x5 (3.9x4.9) Ortho film this afternoon.
Thought I give it a try and before ordering it I did some research on it. Verrrryyyyy sloooooowwwww, contrasty, but there are those who say there getting tones out it. Saw some examples of shots made, and found what appeared to be a good successful mix for the developer I have... but my goodness, I haven't opened it up yet, but it must really be thin!

50 sheets...Why is it not packed in a box?
Is it just loose in the cardboard envelope package?
Perhaps no normal black plastic bag that its packed in?
What's the deal...
For some reason it's freaking me out.. ha don't understand why... except ..
Is there anything special in handling it?
Is it difficult to load in a film holder? ..
Give me some reassurance please...

It's in a bag. And yes, it is really thin.

You can handle it under a red safelight so that means that loading it into film holders is dead easy.

Under the safelight one side apppears dark and has sharp reflections, while the other side is lighter and has a dull reflection. The latter is the emulsion side.

So it doesn't have a notch, like 'normal' film?

No, there isn't a notch. You can tell the emulsion side by feel if you don't have a red safelight.

If you have some Rodinal on hand it works pretty well as a developer. 1:125 for between 15-30 min. I found it best to develop by inspection since my exposures were a bit all over the place. Other people have gotten good results from a higher dilution of Dektol, but I don't have any experience with that. I tried sprint paper developer and that was an absolute mess.


It is a pretty fun film to use and experiment with. I don't have any examples scanned in right now, but it can pass as 'real' film if handled correctly.

Wow.. thanks for the replies...
hmmm, by feel, as I do not have a red safelight, and do my developing in a daylight tank.
The film will stay consistent won't it? Or is it so touchy, that you need to visualize it under a safe light? Or can you find the (my) development time, as normally done with any other film, through trial and error?

I've been playing with Rollei ATO 2.1 and getting some nice tones. I'm not sure how close it is to Arista, it's definitely contrasty but manageable when developing under a red safelight.
The Rollei version does have notches. Here's a sample
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
Also I find it scratches easily, so be careful.
I look forward to seeing how you like it.

There were a lot of helpful replies in a thread I made about Litho Ortho in alternative processes. This (there was a url link here which no longer exists) should help.

rorye... yeah..

getting some nice tones

Click to expand...

.. intriguing.. that's why I want to try it.

Thanks for that link Amfooty... guess its time for touchy feely .. nothing like experience.
I'll pull out a sheet in the dark bag, and see which way the film is aligned in the 'cardboard' envelope, and note the emulsion side of the film, and perhaps notch it.
Shoot some and see how much a PIA it may be, with testing for a develop time and mix.
It's so darn inexpensive, and I have 50 sheets to give it a go.