Arista Ultra Edu vs. Ilford Multigrade RC

[Ektagraphic]

Hi Guys- I am teaching some freinds how to use the darkroom and I was wondering how in quality Arista Ultra Edu diffres from standard Ilford Mutigrade RC papers. It is a lot less costly to make mistakes on papers like this though I still want them to use a quality paper.

Patrick

 

[Rick A]

I always tell my students to buy the cheapest paper they can get. They are going to burn through the stuff, so why spend more for paper than necessary. Buy cheap and buy a heap.

 

[2F/2F]

FWIW, Adox MCP 312 is an inexpensive, and stunningly beautiful, RC paper. I'd suggest it over any other RC paper for almost anyone.

I don't know if this is the Arista EDE Ultra, but there is the stuff that is the same thing as Ilford MGIV RC, but in an Arista box. If my memory serves me correctly, however, the Adox is still cheaper (and better...)

 

[Ektagraphic]

I use the Adox MC112 FB for alot of prints and it is stunning so I shall give the RC a try!

 

[brian d]

Might be all wrong but I had the impression that Arista edu.ultra was Foma and the Arista private Reserve was the ADOX

 

[DLM]

I used the Ilford paper for my first photo class, and while it is a great paper, it was expensive to be learning on and burning through like crazy. On the advice of another photo professor, I bought a bunch of the Arista .edu in RC and FB and it's great too. While I don't claim to be any master printer or anything, there isn't any major difference that I can see between the two to make paying the extra for the Ilford a better decision while learning.

 

[mike c]

Arista EDU RC glossy is good,still use it for work prints and proofing.

 

[srs5694]

FWIW, I've had problems with Foma/Arista.EDU Ultra VC RC paper silvering out when framed in (admittedly cheap) frames. Loose prints seem to last longer. Of course, there may be a problem with my technique, but I've not had these problems with Agfa (now Adox) MCP 310RC, which is the paper with which I started and have used the most of to date. I have less experience with, but also have had no problems with, VC RC papers from Ilford, Fotokemika, and Kentmere. (I have framed samples of all of these with no problems to date.) Problems tend to crop up 1-2 years after framing. My oldest framed Agfa photo is 5 or 6 years old by now, with no signs of problems.

Of course, if you're just learning, image stability may not be that important, but I expect at least some students will want to display at least some of their photos. If I were just starting out, I'd rather pay the extra $5 ($33.99 vs. $38.99 at Freestyle for Arista.EDU Ultra (aka Foma) vs. Freestyle Private Reserve (aka Adox)) for photos that won't turn ugly and useless in a year or two.

 

[2F/2F]

Just to clarify, the Adox MC papers are as follows:

MCC 110 - fiber based glossy
MCP 310 - resin coated glossy
MCP 312 - resin coated semi-matte/pearl (though it is called matte on the packages)

There is no MCC 112 (at least that I know of), though it would be nice if there was a matte version of the MCC 110.

 

[fschifano]

Arista.EDU Ultra is Foma. I use this paper a lot, and I think it's ok. Better than just ok really. I haven't had any problems with it silvering out or anything like that. It's a bit warmer than Ilford Multigrade and it tones a whole lot better in selenium. But the price is really good. There is another "bargain basement" paper out there that's also very good from Adorama. To me it looks a whole lot like Ilford Mutigrade. At the store, they tell me that the paper support is made in the Czech Republic and that it's coated in England. I don't know if there are any other plants capable of doing that in England other than Ilford, so it might be that they're running their line for contract work as well. Anyway, It's damned good paper and sells for a little less than Freestyle's offering of Arista.EDU Ultra. Comes in fiber based and RC. matte and glossy versions just like the Arista.EDU Ultra papers.