Kodak Supra III - Is that for high contrast negatives?

anikin · Oct 18, 2010

A quick question for experts here. B&H has some rolls of outdated Supra III. I'm looking for optical paper to print some high-contrast negatives. Will this paper work for that purpose?

darkroom_rookie · Oct 19, 2010

Hardly an expert answer, but I have a few 12x16" darkroom prints on Supra III from DM 100 Paradies 35mm film shot on a cloudy day. Processed in Tetenal 3-part dev, vinegar stop and 2-part blix at 35ºC in a drum. If the scans can give you an idea of what to expect from lower-contrast negatives, I can post them tomorrow.

Mike Wilde · Oct 19, 2010

As far as I know, it was just the standard grade RA-4 paper that Kodak was calling their product at the time. I am not aware that the line had any sort of high contrast, although they did have a portra line come out either while the Supra III was still the active name, or just after, that was a lower contrast product.

anikin · Oct 19, 2010

Thank you guys. I guess I should explain better. A couple of months ago I bought a small box of Supra III paper from craigslist. Yesterday I printed a roll of film on it and I really liked the result - nice shadow detail, contrast and color are just right for my taste. On the top of the box, it stated "Supra III paper. For High Contrast." That's why I was wondering what does it mean - do they mean the final prints have high contrast, or was the paper designed for high contrast negatives? Also, if I buy the Supra III from B&H, will it be the same paper?

Your eternally confused,
Eugene.

brucemuir · Oct 19, 2010

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/e141/e141.pdf

darkroom_rookie · Oct 19, 2010

You're welcome, Eugene. The three boxes I'm using right now are only marked "Supra III" and are made in England, which is where I got them from.

frotog · Oct 20, 2010

Supra endura (which has been replaced by Supra VC this past year) replaced supra iii years ago. That paper is long out of date and has most definitely turned by now. However, if you like your results then who can argue?

anikin · Oct 20, 2010

Frotog,

I understand the story. That was the main reason I was asking. The weird thing is that some more recent outdated Supra Endura that I have is much more yellowish while this box of Supra III looks just perfect. Anyway, I have ordered the roll from B&H and should have it in my hands tomorrow. I will post here how this roll turns out. Push comes to shove, I'm out of $30. As they say, you can't win if you don't play ;-)

Eugene.

brucemuir · Oct 20, 2010

Anikin,
did you get any info on the expiration date? I couldn't find it and I guess would need to call B&H.

Wish they had wider sizes I would maybe risk some.

anikin · Oct 20, 2010

Bruce,

I don't know the expiration. I'm sure it's weeeeell past. As soon as it arrives, I will let you know. That's assuming I can figure it out. I'm always having trouble finding expiration date on Kodak's boxes.

Eugene

frotog · Oct 21, 2010

Hi, Eugene,

Very interesting re: lack of age fogging. That box of paper must be at least eight years old! As for determining age - Kodak only started putting standard date codes (exp. month/year) on their paper at the tail end of the supra endura run. Before this the only way to find out has always been to call Peter in kodak pro (1800-242-2424 ext. 13) and have him i.d. the emulsion code # (usually a slew of numbers and letters located under the cat. #). I somehow doubt their emulsion code records go back as far as the supra iii days but who knows. It must be that the supra iii emulsion is much more stable in it's unexposed state than the endura media. This would be funny as, iirmc, when kodak replaced supra three with endura the primary selling point was its resistance to color fading. It was a time when curators and galleries preferred their cprints on the newly offered fuji crystal archive which boasted a longevity of 100 years as opposed to kodak supra three's twenty. Who would have guessed that the trade-off for print longevity would be paper freshness!

anikin · Oct 22, 2010

And now the results.

I have received the roll of Supra III today from B&H. I ran my first test print and it looks just like the paper in the package I had! The print shows nice soft colors, clean whites, very good shadow detail and no fogging. I see none of the yellowing that my older Supra has and no hyper-contrast of the digital papers. And to top it all, a nice bargain!

Thanks guys for all your help, I'm off to my darkroom!

Kodak Supra III - Is that for high contrast negatives?

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