Even Fujifilm USA can be a pain in the butt when it comes to importing certain films, even when sufficient batch-orders exist. RA4 paper is a different subject. Mini-lab use is minor in terms of actual square footage. There are still pro labs doing both big enlargements and laser printing
onto Crystal Archive papers. A number of people prefer the look to inkjet, and overall, it's more cost effective once the scan is made. Or like me, simply start shooting color negs and printing directly onto RA4 paper. If enough of us get into that, then we might once again see a greater selection of cut sheet sizes and types available. In the meantime, we cut down from rolls anytime we need something bigger than 20x24. I'm a bit conflicted about any marketing term that has "Archive" in it, because that's a relative expression, and anything which is projected to begin yellowing within a normal lifespan is kinda equivocal in terms of being sold as permanent or "archival. But still, these papers appear to be a distinct improvement over previous RA4 papers, so at least progress is being made. And I'm certainly not convinced that the
alternative inkjet products are necessarily all that permanent either, once all the relevant factors come into play and not just extrapolated
results from accelerated aging tests based on a limited suite of variables.
