No more Arista Paper!

Freestyle is selling off ALL the Arista b/w printing paper it has in stock as Ilford will no longer supply Arista with surplus production. This is the first time that Freestyle has admitted in print that the Arista brand of paper was indeed made by Ilford. Personally, when I used Arista b/w papers a few times 6 or 7 years ago it seemed that the " Ilford branded" paper was noticeably superior to the Arista branded product. No matter, I'm trying to support Freestyle more as they have a long history of supplying analog photography chemistry and papers. Several members of the store staff have told me that Freestyle will continue to be a good source for analog photography supplies.

For Arista users- Freestyle is having a "clearance sale" while supplies last.
I never thought I'd feel sad seeing a paper I didn't particularly care for getting discontinued!

The one that kills me is losing Arista.edu Forte manufactured paper. I love it and it was about a third cheaper than Forte branded paper. I used some of the new Foma manufactured Arista.edu Ultra and hated it, so my cheap paper supply is now gone.

By the way, I have used the Arista II, made by Kentmere and I think it is great, but the savings are pretty small.

Paul.

Beware the rope's-end

Changeling1 said:

No matter, I'm trying to support Freestyle more as they have a long history of supplying analog photography chemistry and papers. !

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How does purchasing their depreciated stocks of Ilford rebaged papers--- that they purchased at fire-sale prices from Ilford when they were desperate for cash--- support Freestyle's tradition of supplying "analog" chemistries and papers? It (especially by announcing that it is Ilford) creates noise on the market to (intentionally or not) try to put obstacles in the path of Ilford's road to recovery--- haunted again by their old sins and misjudgements. Freestyle I see acting out of contempt in the role of a spurned wife. Stocking up on a mountain of these papers does nothing more than reduce your future demand for materials. It produces a short term increase in Freestyle's revenues but will (should you regularly purchase your materials from them) reduce your spending in the near future on paper from Freestyle and push the question of their commitment (as they try to find new markets) down the road. You will--- however much you print--- find yourself reflected in those statistics on the decline in B&W materials. Companies such as Ilford don't survive by people using materials but by purchasing their materials. The current trend to hoard film and papers does little more than exagerate the apparent decline from quarter to quarter. If you are truely concerned about supporting Freestyle in analog and supporting Ilford then I'd treat these papers as................

I do not find any closeout pricing of Arista paper on the Freestyle web catalog. Where did you see this - in the store?

First, I'd like to emphasize that, AFAIK, this applies only to the "Arista" products that have been discontinued. Freestyle is continuing to use the "Arista" name in reference to rebranded products made by others, such as Foma. I believe that "Arista II" and "Arista.EDU Ultra" are their current lines (made by Agfa and Foma, at least for film, if I've read between the lines correctly), while "Arista Pro" and "Arista.EDU" are discontinued (made by Ilford and Forte, I believe, at least for films).

Second, be aware that some of this clearance material may be pretty close to expiration. I bought some 100-foot spools of Arista Pro 50 (aka Ilford Pan F+ 50) recently, and the boxes have expiration dates of 2/2006. Thus, if you buy this clearance material, you might want to be prepared to use it all quickly or freeze it. Personally, I've got three 100-foot rolls of that Arista Pro 50 in the freezer and a fourth carved up into 36-exposure rolls, about half of them used. At $17/bulk roll for the Arista stuff vs. $40/bulk roll for Ilford Pan F+ from B&H (or $43 from Freestyle), it's hard to pass up the "Arista"-branded stuff, even if it's short-dated!

gma said:

I do not find any closeout pricing of Arista paper on the Freestyle web catalog. Where did you see this - in the store?

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Freestyle sent out emails announcing their clearance sale on Arista/Ilford papers.

Nikki

From their e-mail today. Arista selling at same old price, not Ilford label at Arista price.

" Due to contractual obligations, we could not disclose the manufacturer as Ilford, but now the secret is out and all remaining Arista black and white products are available at their original prices until sold out."

Can you forward that info?? I get their catalog but never registered my email address....