Availability of RA-4 paper

[miha]

Three, technically.

The Colorado plant? Do they still coat consumer RA4 products?

 

[koraks]

The Colorado plant? Do they still coat consumer RA4 products?

No. That's about to be shut down next month and as far as I can tell hasn't coated any paper for about 2 years; see my remark on (RIP) Kodak papers.

Btw, there's no such thing as 'consumer RA4 products', technically. This is a B2B market. Prints do end up in the hands of end users, but the segment that uses these papers directly for private uses is infinitesimally small.

The remaining plants that coat RA4 for commercial purposes are two Fuji plants and the Chinese Lucky plant.

 

[miha]

Thanks. By consumer RA4 I meant color paper that ends as 4x5 minilab prints. Is there another, bigger market for it?

 

[koraks]

By consumer RA4 I meant color paper that ends as 4x5 minilab prints.

No, that's the market, but I wouldn't call RA4 paper a consumer product. The final prints are, but the material isn't.
Of course it's not just 4x5"s (4x6 is more usual) but prints of various sizes and the segments essentially break down into (1) hand-held prints, (2) wall decoration (i.e. poster-like prints intended for framing) and (3) photo books. The latter usually uses thinner paper that's glued back to back and coated with a water-resistant topcoat after the prints are finished. The whole thing is then bound in book form. Quality is generally much nicer than low-end offset because there's no screen and the gamut is generally higher, too.

 

[miha]

Well, this is why I call it consumer or amateur since 90% (don't quote me on that) ends as such.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Lachlan - You're incorrect about the primary market for some of these materials. Flex is superb for the fine art market as a replacement for the Cibachrome look. But it's way too expensive and finicky for typical store advertising purposes. Of course, anything true high gloss is a pain in the butt to mount and display in large sizes. I should know; I've sure done a lot of it, and 100% of it for the high-end art market.

And one of the biggest consumers of both Flex and Trans in this country I certainly wouldn't term "fine" art - more like cheesy tourist decor, being Peter Lik. But giving credit where credit it due, his facility does do an outstanding job in mounting really big installations of these particular media, along with equally kitchy inkjet prints. Some of those huge things easily cost $40,000 or more just to mount, ship, and install - plus the obscene sales price of the print itself. But I told 'em they'd have to PAY ME $50,000 just to hang one of those awful pictures on my own walls, and then I'd still reserve the right to drywall over it, so it would never be seen again!

I'd still like to know if these two products are going to continue to be coated in Japan or not; or if they're just selling off what's already coated. I'm unaware of any FORMAL announcement from them. Fuji can be inscrutable; and I'm not convinced that the Euro folks can answer that question correctly. I've dealt quite a bit with Japanese manufacturing CEOs, and they don't always telegraph their punches, and can turn on a dime. Certainly, Fujifilm USA was often left in the dark as to what was actually happening over there, or else was just afraid to ask.

But in my case, it's getting awfully expensive to mount and frame those big glossy prints anyway. The cost of Flex itself hasn't gone up all that much, and has never been as expensive as Ciba. But all the other supplies - special Plexiglas, suitable mounting substrates, etc - have skyrocketed. And more conventional RC paper RA4 prints are far easier to display under typical lighting conditions, and hold up well. I do know how to handle the secondary glare of full gloss prints, but that too is a very expensive option. So I'm eager to test the new version of Super C (allegedly C ii in this country - quite different from CAii cut sheet), or else if it ever shows up here again, Maxima.

No panic. Things change from time to time. We adapt. For anyone sitting on the fence, it's an excellent time to jump into RA4 printing, regardless.