New Art Paper! Freestyle's Arista Silver Artist Series Paper

[zsas]

Received my Spring 2012 Freestyle catalog in the mail today and also saw in the April email newsletter mention of a new art paper, Arista Silver Artist Series Paper! A Matte surface to boot! Just placed and order for a pack of 8x10 look forward to trying it out!

Below per Freestyle and supporting link re Arista Silver Artist Series paper:

Freestyle's unique positioning in the world market of photographic products has enabled us to create a totally new and unique B&W variable contrast paper. We've matched a high silver content B&W emulsion with a 100% cotton, fine-art paper; BFK Rives 280 gsm, manufactured in France. BFK Rives is considered one of the finest and most respected of all fine art papers in the world. Initially available in very limited quantities in 8x10 and 11x14 sizes with a choice of either a whitebase matte or grey-base matte surface texture. This product is different from anything you've ever seen! If sales are successful we will expand the line to include other sizes and base colors. With your support we can create a unique product that will endure for years to come. Best used under red or dim OC safelight conditions!

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/arista-silver-artist-series.php?sc=22007&utm_source=silver-artist&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=april-newsletter

There is also mention of lower international rates for you non-US folks, here is the newsletter w mention of a new shipping option:
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/industry-updates/april-2012/snapshot.html

Thanks Freestyle for the good things you do to support analog photography!

 

[bsdunek]

Just saw that in my new catalog too. I'm wondering if it is Ilford Art 300 with their brand. If so, it's a little better price. If not, it may be a great addition to good papers. Either way sounds like a winner.

 

[wildbill]

It's made in france. Can't be ilford.

 

[zsas]

Paper base made in France by BFK Rives and coated in Croatia (by I presume Fotokemika)

 

[payral]

Paper could be made in France (like Arches Platine and others Arches papers) but not the coating.
Guilleminot the last photographic paper factory is dead for about 20 years now and coating machine werre disassembled so Guy Gerard (Bergger label) could not get them.

 

[bsdunek]

Paper base made in France by BFK Rives and coated in Croatia (by I presume Fotokemika)

Sounds logical. In any case, I'll be trying it. I like the Art 300, but the Arista price is a little better, so if I can get the same quality it's a good deal.

 

[Rick A]

Keep this in mind, Ilford does not rebrand any of its products. Wouldn't it be grand if they did. It would be far out if it were Bergger.

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

New paper coming soon Arista Artist series

I got a sample pack.
Emulsion on Rives paper. Grey or white base.
Very good dmax. Very nice texture.

Thank you Freestyle to bring some new stuff !

 

[MattKing]

Keep this in mind, Ilford does not rebrand any of its products. Wouldn't it be grand if they did. It would be far out if it were Bergger.

Ilford have stated that they won't re-brand their own products, but they are available for contract manufacture.

So there are products out there that are designed by others, but manufactured by Ilford for them.

 

[Mahler_one]

Interesting....I wonder if the new paper is in the same general "category" as Ilford Fine Art MG VC....that is, a photo-emulsion on a high quality thick paper.

Is the new Arista paper furnished in a matt or glossy finish?

 

[zsas]

Glad to hear G you like it!

Mods - Can we merge this w my thread since I think I beat G to the punch?

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

Sorry Andy, I didn't see it !
The paper is matt.

 

[SuzanneR]

Threads merged.

 

[zsas]

Thanks Suzanne!

G - Deep blacks you say? Have you had a chance tone it?

I can't wait till my pack arrives!

 

[Terry Christian]

They have a sample pack available? What's the item number?

 

[Chazzy]

How dark is the grey paper?

 

[oldglass]

Man, I'm late to the party.

Freestyle website now shows they are out of stock.

Would those who get a chance to try it post a snapshot or scan of the print for us?

I'm especially interested to see the what "grey base" looks like.

 

[zsas]

Guillaume has a scan of a print done in the gray stock in the Apug Gallery

Terry the stock numbers are below:
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/arista-silver-artist-series.php?sc=22007&utm_source=silver-artist&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=april-newsletter

 

[zsas]

Just got my first print done! This paper is stunning! What is most interesting was just seconds after it hit the dev tray the full image appeared. Never printed on cotton paper, I am usually printing FB. More of a write up of it in the (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[Roger Cole]

I got a pack of 8x10 that I haven't had a chance to print on yet. I opened it up to take a look under the safelight and also to get any documentation out. I found there was no documentation at all, no recommended development, fix/wash instructions, nada. I assume I can treat this like any heavy double or premium weight fiber paper? It certainly has a different feel than any photo paper I have any experience with.

EDIT: I see there's a link to a pdf on the Freestyle listing now. I don't recall that before but maybe I missed it.

 

[Roger Cole]

I don't see the gray paper on the site anymore. My guess is that it didn't sell. I didn't see any reason to be interested in it myself - maybe if they'd included a sample pack of 5 sheets with a pack of 25 of the white, some of us might have decided we liked gray highlights.

At any rate, got around to printing on the regular stuff. Looks nice, once it dries - before that, it looks almost like any regular FB paper. Impressions: it's not cold but not particularly warm. It's cooler than MGWT FB, with both developed in Ilford WT developer, though most papers would be. Nor does it respond to brown toner like a true warm paper. MGWT loves that stuff, so much so I've gone to diluting it 1/8th the dilution on the bottle, down from the 1/4 strength recommended here by Drew Wiley. Toning the Arista for the same time in the same solution produced no or only very slight color change. That's not a knock, just an observation. I didn't expect it to be a really warm paper. But I printed the same portrait on both it and MGWT+brown toner, since I was ready to print that negative.

It's about one and a half stops slower than MGWT, again with the same developer and again just an observation that makes no difference at all. I detected no fog with my Patterson OC safelight suspended several feet above my trays with white cardboard above and behind it to reflect the light from those directions down, plus a Jobo Maxi-Lux LED set for black and white on the dry bench and shining on the (white) wall. Both safelights are connected to the enlarging timer which also reduces exposure to them.

It can be hard to tell the emulsion from the back of this paper. For a full sheet it's not too bad because there's a very slight curve toward the emulsion, enough to use for that determination anyway. But after cutting two test strips I wasn't at all sure about the third, now about 1/3 the width of the paper, one. I frankly had to guess which was emulsion side and guessed right.

Dry down is more with matte papers but since I don't normally print on matte papers I was still a bit surprised, albeit in this case it worked to my advantage. The blacks, which are rich when wet, dry to what you'd probably expect on such a paper. The result of this is an apparent large decrease in contrast as the blacks dry and lighten while higher values are less affected. In my case, using the same MG filter (#3) the print looked considerably more contrasty than the MGWT (FB glossy) when wet, and like I'd have to make another, I just didn't have time. But after it dried the contrast is considerably less and it's actually a pretty close match in contrast, though still slightly higher (see the highlights on the face, hand and collar), for the same grade filter on MGWT FB glossy.

I think I'm going to really like this paper, albeit for a minority of my images. In hand it also has an (expected) tactile feel that's impossible to translate in a scan or words but gives it the feel of something old, and a bit of a look as if it were part photograph, part charcoal drawing.

Here's my first print on the stuff, an available light 35mm portrait of one of my friends.

35mm Tri-X, EI 1600, developed in Diafine. Ricoh XR-7, Pentax 50mm F/1.7 lens, exposure unrecorded but most likely wide open to f/2.8 at perhaps 1/30th or so. As mentioned above, very lightly brown toned but it really doesn't change anything without a lot more time, a lot stronger toner, or both.

Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed by Roger Cole, on Flickr

For comparison, here's the same image on the Ilford MGWT FB glossy, toned 50 seconds in 1/8th strength brown toner:

Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed by Roger Cole, on Flickr

 

[zsas]

Wonderful review Roger!!! I had noticed the same about figuring out which side to print on, it was easy with full sheets, and normally I do test strips on full sheets, but this time I cut them up and a few times printed on the wrong side since telling which side was which was next to impossible, I finally realized that I should just mark the back with a light pencil a B for 'back', that has since worked. I have run into similar toning, or lack thereof toning, I put a sheet in gold toner for I believe 10 mins and cant see any affect on the print vs the untoned. Next time I am going to heat my gold up to 105 and let it sit for a while and see if I get any impact. It feels so wonderful in hand and agree that it has an aesthetic of print v charcoal, which for me and some of my prints is a joy....

Pls post more of your tests!

 

[Roger Cole]

Will do Andy. To be fair, I use VERY dilute brown toner because MGWT responds so strongly to it. I LOVE the look I get with dilute brown toner and MGWT. I can go stronger/browner if I want, of course, easily getting what looks very much like a regular sepia toned, but with a light touch on it I get rid of the slight green cast and move it to a slightly warm brown, which I find quite nice for portraits, old wood etc. This is what I used above - that's 1/8 ounce of toner concentrate in a quart of water. OTOH, I also toned some Arista Private Reserve Pearl (aka Adox MCP 312) with the same regimen and, while I don't like the color produced, it certainly does change color.

I'm going to try the Arista stuff in both much stronger brown toner and in selenium. I keep selenium mixed at 1+19 for use with MCC 110 and some other papers, but my guess is this stuff will take a much stronger solution.

I think they have a winner here. I hope they decide to continue supplying it, and in 16x20 size too. I'm not set up to print larger than that and I can always cut down smaller from 8x10 - I think some images would look extremely nice printed to 5x7 on this.

Great idea about marking the back - I'll start doing that next time I use it!

 

[zsas]

Agree that they have a winner here! Love the dead matte look of it and stark whiteness of its base. When I put a MGIV FB and a Arista Silver Artist next to eacher (untoned/same paper dev), the Silver Artist is a hair more stark white, which for me is a joy. Just a beauty of a paper.

Oh and the gray is still around....I think Guillaume bought some too. I think my next pack will be the gray. I have some really high contrast negs that might be a bit more controlled on the gray base.

Check below if you are thinking gray....
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/arista-silver-artist-series.php?sc=22007&utm_source=silver-artist&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=april-newsletter

 

[Roger Cole]

Weird, if you navigate directly to the paper through their menus they don't list the gray:

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_search.php?q=paper&rfnc=503&mfg=278&catsel=all&