arista paper

Do any of you guys have much experience with Arista RC paper.?
I "often" Hear/Read about quality problems with this stuff. Maybe it is simply a preconceived bias, that some people have, against a "cheaper" product.?
But Anyway.......generally speaking, do they produce a consistently decent paper.?
Thank You

Correct me if I'm wrong but Arista is usually foma products with another brand name for the US?

In that case I haven't seen any quality issues.
I exclusively use foma rc papers and haven't had any issues what I can see. I should add that I'm kind of a noob in the darkroom, been printing for about a year.

That is beyond my knowledge of Arista. I have no idea who makes their paper.....

Maybe someone else can chime in.

With film the arista edu is fomapan film.

With paper it's mainly Foma.

Arista is Freestyle's "house" brand.
They contract with various sources to supply various products.
In some cases, they have had different types of products that are given slightly different names - "Arista EDU" is an example. Those different products are often sourced from different manufacturers.
Their Arista products are usually good values with good quality.
They are willing to distribute some of the Arista products to other retailers. Beau Photo in Vancouver sells a few Arista products.

Hey Matt -
Let me get your opinion, maybe it is hard to answer, maybe The Arista can change a bit over the months, but.......say the price difference was 10 bux for 100 sheets. Would you be just as happy to go with Arista, or would you buy the Ilford.? Again, this is RC Multi Contrast only.
Thank You

CMoore said:

Hey Matt -
Let me get your opinion, maybe it is hard to answer, maybe The Arista can change a bit over the months, but.......say the price difference was 10 bux for 100 sheets. Would you be just as happy to go with Arista, or would you buy the Ilford.? Again, this is RC Multi Contrast only.
Thank You

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What are you using the paper for?
For contact proof sheets? It would be fine.
For learning? Probably that too, as long as you understand that next year when you go to buy more, it may very well have changed, so that will add to what you need to learn.
For doing smaller prints, when there is a possibility that you will want to step up to larger prints of your favourites, or to give as gifts some of the results - consider the Ilford paper.
It doesn't hurt to learn how to adapt to the differences between papers, but if your darkroom time is limited, or you are still developing at least a basic proficiency at printing, then minimizing the variables is a great idea.
If cost is really important, consider printing 5x7s instead of 8x10s (I cut 8x10 sheets into two 5"x7" sheets plus some useful scraps for test strips) with 8x10 being saved for "special" prints.

I use Arista Multigrade FB paper and it works great! I think it's Foma.

Mainecoonmaniac said:

I use Arista Multigrade FB paper and it works great! I think it's Foma.

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The paper tones well with selenium or with Thiourea Toner.

OK...Thanks Guys.
Seeing as how i have been Using/Learning with Ilford for the last year, i guess i will just stick with that for now.
I WILL give the Arista a shot later on.....like many of you say, I am sure it will be fine.
Thanks Again

I have used both Arista and Ilford RC VC papers, don't really see a difference. I quite like the Arista FB VC papers.

I'm not knocking the Arista paper, but if you use HP5, it's hard to beat the value of the Ilford student packs.