Final run of Kodak Supra Endura...stock-up time is now

Ektagraphic · Mar 16, 2010

The F surface, according to kodak is still available.

frotog · Mar 16, 2010

Ektagraphic said:
The F surface, according to kodak is still available.

Yeah right, "according to kodak"...try ordering it from any of their vendors in anything smaller than a 20" roll and see what they say.

Ektagraphic · Mar 16, 2010

B&H has a pretty good selection of rolls if you are willing to go that route.

frotog · Mar 16, 2010

Last I checked it wasn't in their catalogue. Not in Freestyle's either. I think Adorama lists it but not sure if they can get it...

slm · Mar 16, 2010

Thanks for the replies. I'm really excited about trying this out, and was really surprised to find everything when I visited the photo store today (was destiny!). What I bought is Ektacolor RA developer (CAT 147 8817) to make 1 US gallon, and Ektacolor RA bleach-fix and replenisher (CAT 138 8701) to make 5 liters. Could I mix these up to make a 1 liter batch of each ?

Many thanks
Steven

Bob-D659 · Mar 17, 2010

Yes, just purge the air out of the factory bottles before you reseal them.

perkeleellinen · Mar 17, 2010

Our future choices will be:

Ultra
Edge
Crystal Archive
DNP type A9

Ultra is available in sheets, although I've only ever seen rolls for sale. Is it too high in contrast to be used for normal photography? Can something be added to the developer to tame the contrast in a consistent way?

Edge is rolls only, to my eye it's quite similar to Endura, the biggest difference being paper thickness.

Crystal Archive, also rolls only (although to be cut down soon in the UK), is apparently not so good at room temperature.

DNP I know nothing about. Some info here: http://www.dnp.co.jp/ims/fotolusio/pdf/dnp_a9_tdse_v1.pdf

Far from ideal, but I think there's scope for experimentation to see if any of those four will work as we want them to.

hrst · Mar 17, 2010

Well who uses Ultra? Supra was the only normal paper for optical printing in their range, the bestseller. Ultra is for special purposes, probably with 10-20% sales compared to Supra. The only reason why it isn't discontinued yet is that they have a large stock of it. So, it will be gone before long.

Fill your fridge with Supra Endura now while it's still available. I think there are quite a lot of users after all and when the economical situation gets better, it's always possible that they will make some more.

This business is a bit problematic because they need a large sum of money when they make a master roll, and then it pays back slowly and it may take years. So, it's always an investment to future. That may lead to killing a product that is in fact bought enough; but due to lack of capital right now. This is happening with many products now.

hrst · Mar 17, 2010

Of course Supra VC is "still" available. It was introduced as a replacement for Supra Endura just a few months ago. But it cannot be used for optical printing, or maybe you can but the results are inferior. Color crossover and higher contrast.

Please also take a look at the former discussions. Here you can also see the turn of events, as they first announced all sizes discontinued, then changed the story so that only rolls would be discontinued, and later admitted that yes it will be discontinued once stock runs out.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

frotog · Mar 17, 2010

Supra VC is not an optical paper...looks worse than CA under the enlarger - bad saturation, not neutral and with ugly crossover in the highlights. If you think this is a viable alternative then I'm glad you're not in charge of printing my work! And, sorry to be a contrarian folks, ultra in sheets is so long gone. My guess is that whoever is in charge of updating the kodak website is either asleep at the switch, deliberately spreading disinformation (would not surprise me given kodaks penchant for extreme equivocation during discontinuances) or just not there.

frotog · Mar 17, 2010

What baffles me is all the conflicting news regarding discontinuances from Kodak. Talking to their spokespeople hardly makes the situation any clearer, in fact just the opposite. I'd like to give kodak the benefit of the doubt and see this confusion as the natural outcome of a large corporation that has become unmoored and is now gradually falling apart rather than deliberate obfuscation. Yesterday Kodak professional told me that N surface supra is officially discontinued (still no word on website) and that the f surface current status is "backordered". Not entirely sure whether or not kodak intends on filling those backorders but, as usual, such a statement provides a glimmer of hope that I'll be printing on Supra for six months longer than I thought.

It is moot that Kodak has a digitally optimized paper called Supra VC so don't get your panties in a knot when we state the obvious.

dynachrome · Mar 17, 2010

Who makes the DNP paper? I used the DNP 100 speed color print film. It's Kodacolor.

slm · Mar 17, 2010

So how does the Edge paper perform ? Having to buy a roll is not ideal, but I think it could be manageable.
From the quick web search I did, it seems to be quite inexpensive too, I saw an 8" x 305' roll for $37 USD

2F/2F · Mar 17, 2010

I have not seen Ultra in cut sheets in a couple of years. It used to be in stock everywhere along with Supra and Portra. Portra and Ultra cut sheets appeared to go away together, at least from retail shelves and every Online place I looked. This was probably early 2007 that I am recalling.

I recently discovered that Ultra is still made in rolls.

At any rate, if Ultra is still made in cut sheets, who carries it? The last I saw it anywhere was around the time I mentioned above.

Ektagraphic · Mar 17, 2010

Edge, in my opinion is pretty nice. It is just not quite as thick as Endura.....

frotog · Mar 18, 2010

Ultra in sheets is long gone. Kodak needs to update their website.

2F/2F · Mar 18, 2010

frotog said:
Ultra in sheets is long gone. Kodak needs to update their website.

I know it is! ...but I can be wrong, and PE keeps insisting that it is still here, so.......?

Photo Engineer · Mar 18, 2010

Well, all I can go by is the Kodak web site myself. I have a freezer and fridge stuffed with Supra Endura so I have not bought any lately myself.

Sorry.

PE

2F/2F · Mar 18, 2010

Photo Engineer said:
Well, all I can go by is the Kodak web site myself. I have a freezer and fridge stuffed with Supra Endura so I have not bought any lately myself.

Sorry.

PE

How long does the paper keep?

Photo Engineer · Mar 18, 2010

I have kept Supra Endura at room temperature (68 F avg) for 1 year with no appreciable change. Frozen, it keeps much better. I recently sent a pack of metallic surface to an APUG member and he reported good results. It was about 5 years old and frozen for almost the whole time. It had been partly used and refrigerated for about 1 week after purchase.

PE

jgjbowen · Mar 18, 2010

Well, that does it for me. I'm switching to Ilford for all my color paper needs!!!

Ektagraphic · Mar 19, 2010

jgjbowen said:
Well, that does it for me. I'm switching to Ilford for all my color paper needs!!!

Good luck.

sepiareverb · Mar 19, 2010

Kodak again bites off the hands that fed them for all those years. I'm really starting to wish they'd just shut down the whole company and be done with it.

2F/2F · Mar 19, 2010

Evidently, we are no longer the hands that feed them.

hrst · Mar 19, 2010

sepiareverb said:
Kodak again bites off the hands that fed them for all those years. I'm really starting to wish they'd just shut down the whole company and be done with it.

You again bite off the people who like to use and need Kodak products, for all those years and in the future. I'm really starting to wish you'd just shut up and be done with it.

Final run of Kodak Supra Endura...stock-up time is now

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