Freestyle Carries New Single-Weight Paper

[Jeremy]

Just thought I would throw an announcement that Freestyle added the Slavich Unibrom paper to their catalog of items this week and it is available in single-weight. I know zippo about this paper, but I know there are a number of you who are interested in single-weight papers so I thought I would make a post here. As a matter of fact, if you search "single weight" on Freestyle's website you come up with a bunch of items.

 

[patrickjames]

Hmmm.. Russian paper. Does anyone know anything about this stuff?

 

[athanasius80]

And of course Jeremy told me about it 10 minutes after I left Freestyle. Now I gotta go back and succumb to temptation again. Thanks bud! :0)

 

[Alex Hawley]

Very highly interesting. I have been wondering for quite a while about if/when Russian photo products would show up in the USA.

OK, who's going to be the first? Wish I would have known this Sunday night when I made an order.

Thanks Jeremy.

 

[Jeremy]

Haha, sorry for the late notice Chris and Alex. I had been talking to Chris on the phone after he stopped at Freestyle. We were talking about the Chamois paper by Foma and I wondered about the price for different sizes. At Freestyle's website I saw the paper in the "New This Week" section and thought I'd pass along the info.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Jeremy- have you tried the Chamois paper yet? I did some printing on it and liked it for what it was - an extremely warm paper base with a neutral-to-cold image tone. It is not, all Foma claims to the contrary, a triple-weight paper. It's about the same weight as the Bergger VCCB.

 

[uraniumnitrate]

Just thought I would throw an announcement that Freestyle added the Slavich Unibrom paper to their catalog of items this week and it is available in single-weight. I know zippo about this paper, but I know there are a number of you who are interested in single-weight papers so I thought I would make a post here. As a matter of fact, if you search "single weight" on Freestyle's website you come up with a bunch of items.

What I know is this!
My Russian friend’s fellow photographers (colleagues) told me that the Russian films and paper has a very low quality so they are not using those. I’m talking about professionals not amateurs!

 

[Curt]

http://www.zeroimage.com/Gallery2005/NastyaMedvedeva/n2.htm

 

[juan]

http://www.zeroimage.com/Gallery2005/NastyaMedvedeva/n2.htm

I see some of the banding we've complained about with some of the Central European films. I wonder if the banding is coming from the film used or the paper.
juan

 

[avandesande]

The film for the image was trix so I guess it is the paper.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

It could also be from a crappy scanner.

 

[juan]

It could also be from a crappy scanner.

That's certainly true.
juan

 

[Jeremy]

Jeremy- have you tried the Chamois paper yet?

No, I haven't tried the Chamois paper, but Chris did order some so I was going to wait on his testing of it before I ordered any (like I don't have enough on my plate anyway--the collodion order was just placed! )

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

It could come from the lith developer too !

 

[Travis Nunn]

What are the reasons one would use single weight paper? I've not used it before so I don't really know what would be the reasons to use it other than maybe for paper negatives.

 

[dancqu]

What are the reasons one would use single
weight paper? I've not used it before so I don't
really know what would be the reasons to use it
other than maybe for paper negatives.

I'd given up on ever seeing SW paper again.
Many years ago I went through reams of it.

Given same emulsions SW was less expensive,
handled well, washed more quickly, dried sooner,
cut more easily, and took up less space. Perhaps
it mounts more easily. DW many years ago was
a premium paper and at that price.

RC is not DW. The front and back plastic coatings
give it a false substantial feel. It's stiff. Cesco
makes special trays for handling it.

Same emulsion same paper, where has DW over
SW the advantage? I'll be ordering some. Dan

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Notice also that they have Fotokemika Emaks graded paper, which as we all know is the same stuff as J&C Nuance paper.

 

[kjsphoto]

I just bought some and it should arrive next week. Looking forward to try it out.

Rather than ask if it is good buy a 25 sheets pack and give it a try. That is the only way you are going to know and that will help SUPPORT the products we want to use. Asking question is good but it does not put money in the vendors pocket and at $13 bucks it is not a lot to try it out.

Either we all sit here and ask if it is good and watch it go away because no one buys it or we step up and buy some to try it out. Maybe it is good maybe not but for $13 I am going to try it out and my fingers are crossed.

 

[kjsphoto]

What are the reasons one would use single weight paper? I've not used it before so I don't really know what would be the reasons to use it other than maybe for paper negatives.

Mounting, I have been told it looks better when dry mounted that double weight and of course for paper negs.

 

[avandesande]

I prefer single weight myself, as easy as it is to wrinkle it is as easy to flatten.
There are two other SW papers available;
fuji Rembrandt which is a VC paper that you can order directly from Japan
and 'ERA', a Chinese graded paper you can buy from ebay.

 

[Alex Hawley]

What are the reasons one would use single weight paper? I've not used it before so I don't really know what would be the reasons to use it other than maybe for paper negatives.

Ditto the reasons given above.

Although it may seem fragile, I found SW paper easier to work with overall. Once you get used to it, DW paper seems like thick cardboard.

SW was the standard for many years. With the demise of Kodak papers, no SW has been easily available here in the US. I started a thread a while back lamenting SW's extinction. Come to find out, DW gained dominance solely because it was easier to produce; the coating machines could run much faster. So, the manufacturers weened the consumers off it it with an anti-SW campaign.

 

[dancqu]

Slavich should be interesting to try. It has a low silver
content of 1.2 grams +/- 0.2 grams/m-sq. If it gives good
blacks those silver rich paper lovers amoung us will have
something to think about.

The PDF says RED only safelight; for a Graded paper?
Do you suppose a mistake has been made? I'd like to
try it but don't like to work in the dark. Comparatively
that is. Dan

 

[pnance]

I was looking at Kodak's red safelight for Direct Positive film, it is discontinued and they recommend using a OC safelight. Would this work?

 

[Paul Howell]

The data sheet posted on Freestyle's webb page seems to be very clear, use red only. I think Freestyle carries a red safe light. I have a very old Kodak with a red panel which I use with a red blub as well. I just ordered a couple of packets of 11X14, grade 2 and 3 for testing.

 

[kjsphoto]

No,

with that paper you must use a red safe light or it will fog. Freestyle sells a 5x7 safe light premier one pretty cheap. The paper is really nice and has good black. If does not bleach and and redevelop very well but it tones to a reddish brown in sel toner. I will post a sample print in a day or two.

Kev