Is Paper Grade 4 extinct?

My local professional photo retailer tried to tell me that no one makes a grade 4 anymore (until I picked up some Seagul G4 off their shelve!). Anyways, my point is that it's too bad that a lot of people tend to think everything slightly uncommon is discontinued, as this tends to be a bit of a viscous circle. The counter person thinks it's gone, they tell their customers it's gone, who then stop looking for it/buying it, pretty soon it is gone! What can you do?

MMfoto said:

Anyways, my point is that it's too bad that a lot of people tend to think everything slightly uncommon is discontinued, as this tends to be a bit of a viscous circle. The counter person thinks it's gone, they tell their customers it's gone, who then stop looking for it/buying it, pretty soon it is gone! What can you do?

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This is true!

Alas. Maybe 80 percent of my stuff prints out at grade three, but not infrequently I need a Grade 4 paper -- see my recent series of Chen posted in the Critique gallery. It's high-key work, and I achieve that to some degree in the negative, but it wants a Grade 4 paper for printing. I'm wanting to shift my printing over to Ilford Galerie but it's negatives like these that give me pause. It wouldn't be an issue of Galerie were available in a Grade 4.

I completely understand Ilford's inability to produce the paper economically in smaller runs. But by not offering a Grade 4 paper, they discourage printers like me who think twice about committing to the Galerie paper line because it leaves a chunk of their portfolio unprintable.

I, for one, WOULD pay double the ordinary price for access to Galerie Grade 4 paper. Simon, listen up!

Sanders McNew.

haziz said:

I have been using graded paper for the last two years and have seen the apparent demise of grade 4 in most of the papers I have used. First came the demise of Ilford Galerie's grade 4
Hany.

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Ilfords website lists Ilford Gallerie G4 as available so where did you get this information?

percepts said:

Ilfords website lists Ilford Gallerie G4 as available so where did you get this information?

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The Ilford site is wrong. Ask Simon Galley. Sanders.

The Ilford PAL (Product Availability List) PDF shows G4 as "While Stocks Last" - it is discontinued.

It has passed on. This paper is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet it's maker. It's a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. It's kicked the bucket, it's shuffled off this mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleeding choir invisible!

It is an ex-paper.


Cheers, Bob.

Bob F. said:

...it is discontinued ... passed on ... is no more ... has ceased
to be ... expired ... a stiff ... Bereft of life ... rests in peace ...
kicked the bucket ... It is an ex-paper. Cheers, Bob.

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To put it a little differently, no longer being produced.

Five then four then? Then. I'll need to install that
low level lighting I dislike and learn to love split filter
printing. The producers do such a fine job of expanding
and promoting their VC lines. Dan

Fuji makes Grade4 RC paper (available in Japan), just to let you know...

firecracker said:

Fuji makes Grade4 RC paper (available in Japan),
just to let you know...

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Freestyle markets their brand Grade 5 RC. Also
Kentmere Bromide Glossy Grade 4 FB with a good
selection of size and quantity. Dan

Graded RC paper seems like a really odball product. Do very many people use it?

MMfoto said:

Graded RC paper seems like a really odball product. Do very many people use it?

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In the Japanese market, it doesn't seem so odd, actually. Until recently, I heard and read Mitsubishi was making a similar G4 product, too (similar to Fuji, I guess), and it was certainly popular. Daido Moriyama, a well-known Japanese photographer who is one of the photo gurus over here, was talking about that in his interview on some photo-product magazine recently. And his fans and followers tend to imitate his style very much: Shoot 35mm TriX, develop longer, and print with the high-contrast RC paper to get a particular style.

But other than that Fuji still offers from G2 to G4 for RC as well as MC, and they are a majoy player in this country.

firecracker said:

...Fuji still offers from G2 to G4 for RC as well as MC,

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Fuji also markets a VC in two Grades. One for the low
end the other for the high end. Graded VC. Dan

dancqu said:

Fuji also markets a VC in two Grades. One for the low
end the other for the high end. Graded VC. Dan

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Yeah, supposedly so. But I've never seem them in any stores.

dancqu said:

Fuji also markets a VC in two Grades. One for the low
end the other for the high end. Graded VC. Dan

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They have announced discontinuation of the second VC grade.