Repackaged 4x5 sheet film

I recently bought some Arista Ultra 100 and 400 4x5 sheet film. I have been disappointed by what appears to be damage in the emulsion -- thick scratches, blotchy areas. I see from other threads that I'm not the only one to experience this. In addition, the 400 doesn't seem to be much faster than the 100. My 100 negatives come out with the density I expect, but the 400 is noticeably thin. This could be because I'm actually underdeveloping it -- I use Pyrocat HD at 1:1:100 for 12 min @ 70F for the 100, and 1:1:80 for 16 min @ 70F for the 400. I'm going to try increasing the development time for 400 to see if that gives me acceptable results.

But.

This exercise has raised a number of questions about repackaged film that I'm hoping some of you can answer. Does anyone know at what point sheet film is notched? It strikes me as odd that the 100 and the 400 have the same notch. I read in a another thread the suggestion that for some film makers the notch does nothing more than provide a reference for the emulsion side. I also read that Arista has in the past repackaged film from a number of manufacturers, including Kodak and Ilford. I think I am correct in thinking that Kodak and Ilford use notches that unequivocally identify the film. Does anyone know what the notches on the Arista film looked like when they were repackaging Kodak or Ilford film? Does Arista (or anyone else who repackages film) get film without notches and then add them? If so, I can easily see how we might end up with film that picked up new flaws in the notching/repackaging process. It would also offer a new opportunity to end up with mis-labeled film (a 100 film mistakenly packaged as a 400, for example).

I'm hoping there are APUG members who have good info about this. My experience so far has me ready to ditch any "brand" that repackages film but maybe my lack of knowledge about this process is creating unnecessary fears. Any insights would be most welcome.

I'd been under the impression that Arista films are confectioned (cut to final size, perforated/notched, rolled onto spools or into cassettes, or stacked and bagged and boxed) for Freestyle in the Foma factory -- that is, on the same equipment, in the same location, where Foma branded stock is handled. There has been speculation that they may be old stock, stored on the master roll or cut-to-width pancake longer than Foma would do under their own name, but I don't know that anyone has shown good evidence of this.

I don't believe that Freestyle, who own the Arista brand name and distribute Arista branded products have any manufacturing capacity.

I have Arista 400 that does expose and develop at iso400. I would find it very unusual if both 100 and 400 films had the same notch. Maybe your 400 is actually 100?

And I think that your use of "repackaged" will confuse people.
A really large percentage of photographic products nowadays are manufactured by one entity, under contract, and then sold with the name of the other contracting party's on the packaging. In many cases as well with film, one entity makes the raw stock, a second entity does the confectioning and a third entity has their name put on the box and sees to some or all of the distribution and final sale to the end user. That approach is referred to by a number of names, but toll manufacturing is a common one.
Repackaging would normally refer to taking, as an example, a box of Kodak manufactured and labelled film and putting the contents into a box with Freestyle's Arista brand name on it.

A lot of brands of 4x5 film don’t notch the film code, and it’s only there to identify which side of the film has the emulsion. The Foma/Arista films, the Bergger films, the “Rollei” films, Catlabs. I’ve only shot a limited number of films, the the only current once’s I’ve shot with actual notch codes are Fuji, Kodak, and Ilford.

couldabin said:

I I also read that Arista has in the past repackaged film from a number of manufacturers, including Kodak and Ilford. I think I am correct in thinking that Kodak and Ilford use notches that unequivocally identify the film..

Click to expand...

Freestyle at one time DID "repackage" film. the last couple of decades that have just been selling "private label" film. Manufactured and packaged by a company that makes film, but labeled with the "arista" brand. MOst of the offerings have been 35mm and 120 size. Each variant has been named differently.

Englands Finest == Ilford
Arista EDU == Forte
Arista ii the next generation ===Agfa
Arista Premium == Kodak
Legacy Pro == Fuji
Arista EDU Ultra == Foma.

FWIW, I use Arista EDU Ultra 400 in 4x5, and do not have these issues with scratches (well, I had a negative fall off the drying line, but that doesn't count) or blotches.

I shoot at box, develop normally (usually with Ilfosol 3), and scan.

I've bought Arista EDU 100 and 400, mostly because it was cheap and I wanted cheap film for test shots. It seemed to me to have very chunky grain and sometimes pinholes but I never got scratched or blotchy negs...

Try using 1+2+100 for 7 minutes @ 86 f (30 c) for the 400 speed film.

Thanks for all these responses. I will try some different formulations for the remainder of my 400. I am posting a scan of the "notch". This is identical on the both the 100 and the 400. Does anyone have either 100 or 400 Arista Edu Ultra with a different "notch"?

I haven't measured, but by touch, 100 and 320 Foma and 100 and 200 Arista have the same notch. Never shot the other speeds to say for certain, but as far as I expect they are all the same.

I've used .EDU 100 and 400 in 4x5 as well as 9x12 cm -- notch codes are the same for all, AFAIK. BTW, Freestyle offers the 100 in a number of obsolete sizes -- 2x3, 3x4, half plate, etc. as well as some European sizes like 6.5x9 and 9x12.

Thanks for the helpful info on repackaging/confectioning. New info for me.