Looks like Adorama paper is discontinued?

[infrar3d]

Customer support at Adorama just told me their enlarging paper is discontinued. I'm not sure if this was already known, I didn't see a thread about it. There is still some is 250ct 5x7 VG RC glossy available.

 

[Paul Howell]

Too bad, hope that other house brands will be able to acquire stock from suppliers.

 

[mehguy]

Yes. I've bought 2 boxes already and stored one away in the freezer long term. Another box with free shipping is looking really tempting right now...

This seems to be the end of low priced paper like this. I'm still not sure how they were able to price it so inexpensively.

 

[pentaxuser]

If this Arista paper is simply rebranded then isn't it unlikely to have been discontinued, i.e. the paper is still made but either the maker has decided against releasing further stocks to Adorama or Adorama has decided for some reason such as a price rise not to stock it as own brand?
Saying the paper has been discontinued makes it sound like the actual paper which Adorama relabels as Arista is no longer produced but this is hardly likely to the case. If it were the case then the paper let's call it "X" by its maker would also be discontinued and I haven't heard of any discontinuation announcement on other makers' paper

pentaxuser

 

[mehguy]

If this Arista paper is simply rebranded then isn't it unlikely to have been discontinued, i.e. the paper is still made but either the maker has decided against releasing further stocks to Adorama or Adorama has decided for some reason such as a price rise not to stock it as own brand?
Saying the paper has been discontinued makes it sound like the actual paper which Adorama relabels as Arista is no longer produced but this is hardly likely to the case. If it were the case then the paper let's call it "X" by its maker would also be discontinued and I haven't heard of any discontinuation announcement on other makers' paper

pentaxuser

I don't think its a simple rebrand. I believe its made on a contractual basis by Inoviscoat (spun-off from Agfa) to be sold under the Adorama brand. Harman offers a similar service, where they'll make a film or paper for you to a given spec you provide and you can turn around and sell it under your own brand.

At least that's what I've gathered from my research. It's still a mystery though as how Adorama was able to price it so inexpensively and produce a quality product since nobody else on the market has something that cheap.

 

[pentaxuser]

Thanks so based on what you have said it sounds as if Adorama has discontinued it for what may be reasons of costs. What I was trying to establish was that an " human agent" has discontinued it and unless there was some ingredient in Arista paper that has now become impossible to source the phrase "has been discontinued" suggests something impersonal like "fate" has intervened and human agents were not involved.

The phrase "has been discontinued" has a ring of "marketing/PR speak. It is as if no-one made the decision. These phrases always remind me of the joke: One man says to his friend "Our dog doesn't eat meat" His friend, surprised by what seems strange behaviour for a dog asks why and his friend replies: "Because we don't give it any"

pentaxuser

 

[MattKing]

If this Arista paper is simply rebranded

It isn't Arista paper - that is Freestyle's brand name.
Arista EDU is different paper.
Arista EDU is distributed by Freestyle and sold through many retailer's, including Adorama and Freestyle's own retail store.

 

[pentaxuser]

It isn't Arista paper - that is Freestyle's brand name.
.

OK Matt I stand corrected on a point of fact, namely the name of the paper. It is Adorama paper which is " being discontinued" What difference does that make to the point I was trying to establish or have I failed to make the point I have been so earnestly trying to, namely Adorama does not make paper. It contracts either a unique paper of its own ingredients or it gets identical paper from some maker that it calls Adorama paper i.e. relabelling and for some reason has decided to discontinue it .

pentaxuser

 

[NedL]

oof. Not good news. I've got a couple 250 boxes of 5x7 and 8x10 and a small box of 11x14, but when I get on a roll I go through a lot of this stuff. It has some nice properties that the Ilford and Arista papers don't have, and I'm completely used to how it behaves. Darn.

 

[mehguy]

oof. Not good news. I've got a couple 250 boxes of 5x7 and 8x10 and a small box of 11x14, but when I get on a roll I go through a lot of this stuff. It has some nice properties that the Ilford and Arista papers don't have, and I'm completely used to how it behaves. Darn.

Stock up and freeze it! You can build a stock pile of a 10 year supply with just a few 250 sheet boxes! 2.5 times more affordable than the arista.edu!

 

[NedL]

Stock up and freeze it! You can build a stock pile of a 10 year supply with just a few 250 sheet boxes! 2.5 times more affordable than the arista.edu!

I just went to Adorama and only found 5x7 glossy VCRC. I mostly use pearl... But if I see it I'll definitely stock up.. plenty of space in my freezer!

 

[mehguy]

I just went to Adorama and only found 5x7 glossy VCRC. I mostly use pearl... But if I see it I'll definitely stock up.. plenty of space in my freezer!

I believe the pearl is completely gone now. They were offering the 11x14 just a couple weeks back but its been whittled down to just the 5x7 250ct glossy paper now.

 

[MattKing]

OK Matt I stand corrected on a point of fact, namely the name of the paper. It is Adorama paper which is " being discontinued" What difference does that make to the point I was trying to establish or have I failed to make the point I have been so earnestly trying to, namely Adorama does not make paper. It contracts either a unique paper of its own ingredients or it gets identical paper from some maker that it calls Adorama paper i.e. relabelling and for some reason has decided to discontinue it .

pentaxuser

Perhaps we were confused about what you meant to be your point. .
More generally though, if one retailer is discontinuing an Arista labelled product, then rumours are likely to fly.
So I thought I would nip those in the bud.

 

[pentaxuser]

Customer support at Adorama just told me their enlarging paper is discontinued. I'm not sure if this was already known, I didn't see a thread about it. There is still some is 250ct 5x7 VG RC glossy available.

So did Adorama say why.?

It has some nice properties that the Ilford and Arista papers don't have. What were these properties, NedL It sounds as if someone at Adorama has discovered a secret ingredient(s) that it has persuaded Inoviscoat to put into this paper, assuming that it is Inoviscoat that makes it for Adorama and yet it is being discontinued?

None of this makes sense to me. An apparently popular paper that is cheap and may have properties that neither Ilford or Arista papers have but it is being discontinued? Yet no-one seems curious about what may have happened

pentaxuser

 

[NedL]

What were these properties, NedL It sounds as if someone at Adorama has discovered a secret ingredient(s) that it has persuaded Inoviscoat to put into this paper, assuming that it is Inoviscoat that makes it for Adorama and yet it is being discontinued?

Not magic properties, but when we use paper enough, we get accustomed to speed, contrast, development properties, etc. I make a lot of paper negatives, where it is perhaps more effort to change materials. I find the Adorama base material to be similar to Ilford's and nicer to contact print through than Arista. Under the enlarger, the Adorama paper is a bit faster and a bit punchier than MGIV, but if you used both and get used to the difference it can be used for test prints first. It's also faster than MGIV and more colorful when used for solargraphy or for "retina prints" in camera. When I was experimenting with reversal processing, I found it a little easier to work with than Arista or MGIV ( cleaner separation in highlights -- less foggy/muddy ) and dialed in my process to this paper. All these things can be done with other papers, but they are all different and it takes time to dial in and get things "just right".

 

[infrar3d]

So did Adorama say why.?

They did not. I was talking to customer service using the live chat on the website.

 

[NB23]

So did Adorama say why.?

It has some nice properties that the Ilford and Arista papers don't have. What were these properties, NedL It sounds as if someone at Adorama has discovered a secret ingredient(s) that it has persuaded Inoviscoat to put into this paper, assuming that it is Inoviscoat that makes it for Adorama and yet it is being discontinued?

None of this makes sense to me. An apparently popular paper that is cheap and may have properties that neither Ilford or Arista papers have but it is being discontinued? Yet no-one seems curious about what may have happened

pentaxuser

It’s about getting used to how a paper works. When I change papers I always struggle finding the correct balance.

 

[pentaxuser]

Probably no great mystery. If a business stops selling something it is either because it cannot feasibly be produced or it isn’t profitable enough (or a combination of these).

Yes that covers it by definition and it may be that there is no magic ingredient so in essence it is not unique but is desirable because it is what the consumer is used to and all of this is fine. It may be that it is no longer feasible to produce it and this is equally fine or finally it may be that Adorama will have to pay more for the paper because of costs and has decided that to make a profit it needs to charge a price that takes away its competitive edge

All fine but why not give the "why" or "whys" to disappointed customers. If a company suddenly decides to stop a product that sells well but volunteers no explanation to its clearly disappointed customers then I'd wonder about what value it places on customer loyalty

Oh and yes you may have gathered by now that it bugs me that openness and honesty seems to be part of a new maxim that says only mugs regard such a philosophy as worthwhile. Those "in the know", let's refer to them as PR, company apologists( or is that kidologists?) have concluded such a philosophy is "strictly for the birds "

pentaxuser