Tag: paper

Fuji raises film & paper prices

Nicolai Grossman Leave a comment

Excerpt from a Fujifilm UK press release:

FUJIFILM UK Ltd. (Managing Director Hiroshi Saigusa) has announced that it is to increase prices on its range of photographic papers and films in the United Kingdom. The price changes are being implemented on a worldwide basis. [emphasis added] Prices will be increased from July 2008 and will range between 10% and 20% depending on the product group.

To sustain its photo imaging business, FUJIFILM has been undertaking intensive structural reforms to reduce fixed costs and improve productivity, and has been absorbing the increasing costs of raw materials used to manufacture films and papers over the past few years. However, the recent soaring costs of such materials as silver and crude oil mean that FUJIFILM is no longer able to absorb these costs during the production process.

FUJIFILM’S photographic paper and film continues to set the standard in terms of image quality and they are appreciated by professionals and enthusiasts alike. We remain fully committed to this important market and plan to continue our product development of new photosensitive material.

Agfa Multicontrast Classic fibre paper to be reissued by ADOX!

Nicolai Grossman 1 Comment

It’s coming back, maybe in August [2008]! ADOX says:

The Emulsions for this paper are being produced on the original Agfa machinery which ADOX purchased together with former Agfa engineers from the liquidator of AgfaPhoto in Leverkusen.

They are identical in all measurable parameters with the papers formerly sold by Agfa under the “Agfa Multicontrast Classic” name.

This paper is among the technologically most advanced papers in the world. With its four separately made emulsions which are coated together it yields a range of achievable contrasts from 0 to 5,5. Other variable contrast papers, especially those with only one emulsion layer, reach at the outermost grade 4…

Continue reading at ADOX’s product page

Via Tom Persinger

Harman Professional photo inkjet paper

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HARMAN Technology Limited Press Release:

Harman, the leading professional imaging specialist has provided the first ever glimpse of its new professional photo inkjet paper, just days before officially unveiling the products to the industry at the Photokina exhibition in Cologne, Germany. This exclusive shot of the product and its packaging has only been distributed to selected online media and is the only picture to be made available before the Photokina show. The picture shows the first two products in the range, which incorporate a real photo Baryta layer within their coating – the only photographic inkjet media to do so. The matt finish product pictured, will incorporate instant-dry silica technology. Created primarily for the fine art and professional photography market, HARMAN wanted the real users to see the innovative products first.

Howard Hopwood, Marketing Director at HARMAN technology commented: "At HARMAN technology, we believe ourselves to be very much a part of the photographic community. We are very enthusiastic about the launch of our first professional photo inkjet products, and we wanted the people who will benefit most from using them to see the products first."

The black boxes will provide a strong presence on shelf, and colour coding has been used within the artwork to easily identify each individual product in the range. Product test packs will be distributed to the photographic media over the coming weeks, and detailed launch plans are due to be announced in the very near future.

Via PhotographyBLOG

Ilford Galerie FB digital paper

Nicolai Grossman Leave a comment

Ilford Photo press release:

Having long established its reputation for the production of market-leading black-and-white photographic paper, ILFORD Photo has now taken the whole genre onto a new level of archival and presentational excellence with the fusion of modern digital technology and true silver gelatine printing.

ILFORD Photo has announced the addition of a new paper to its range of specialist black-and-white photo products, which not only represents a major step forward in the production of high quality images, but also utilises the latest advances in digital processing. Called ILFORD GALERIE FB DIGITAL, this 315gsm fibre base baryta paper has been created for printing with digital laser printers, and is compatible with digital printers such as the Durst Lambda and Océ Lightjet models. This is the only paper in the world which utilises ILFORD Photo’s renowned fibre base baryta material, made famous by such products as Ilfobrom Galerie FB and Multigrade IV FB papers, with the ability to be exposed in digital laser printers (Lightjet and Lambda) writing directly from digital files. 

The optimised spectral sensitivity of ILFORD GALERIE FB DIGITAL, combined with the proven long term archival benefits of traditional fibre base black-and-white papers, provides the opportunity to create genuine silver gelatine prints from digital images. This unique combination makes ILFORD GALERIE FB DIGITAL the ideal choice for exhibition and fine art prints.

Initially being supplied in 100ft (30.5m) rolls in 20, 30, 40 and 50ins (51, 77, 102 and 127cm) widths for high-end prolab use, ILFORD GALERIE FB DIGITAL has been undergoing rigorous testing by a select handful of labs in North America and Europe.

Each lab has been extremely impressed at the quality prints which have been achieved, and is already recommending this paper for clients such as fine art collectors, museums, art galleries, photographers producing limited edition prints, and graphic design agencies.

"For the first time, fine art photographers can benefit from the best of both worlds," says ILFORD Photo chairman Phil Harris. "This unique product brings together the added creative benefits offered by digital manipulation, with the long established aesthetic and archival properties of true baryta base black-and-white silver gelatin prints."

Being launched at Photokina, ILFORD GALERIE FB DIGITAL will also be demonstrated via a series of exhibitions in the UK, Europe and the USA later in the year through to early 2007.

For more detailed information on ILFORD GALERIE FB DIGITAL paper and other fine black-and-white products from ILFORD Photo, visit www.ilfordphoto.com

Via PhotographyBLOG

Fujifilm Fine Art Museum inkjet paper

Nicolai Grossman

Fuji press release:

Fuji Hunt’s dedicated R&D division has long been developing methods to bring digital printing media to a par with traditional papers. Now, a new trio of especially smooth finishes have passed the quality barrier and represent the very best materials on which imagery of all types can be printed.

Fuji Hunt’s range of FUJIFILM Fine Art Museum inkjet media, which has already proven extremely popular with users seeking a higher than average result, especially when used for display and exhibition work in both black-and-white and colour, has been extended with three additional products: Fine Art Museum Baryt paper; Fine Art Museum Smooth RAG paper; and HD White Cotton Canvas.

Baryt, or baryta, photographic paper has long been recognised for its superior smooth finish. Traditionally, the baryta sizing used on this paper overcomes any fibrous effect by filling the pores of the paper via a barium sulphate suspension, the material then being calendered to produce an exceptionally smooth surface. This gives images printed on it a high level of sharpness, maximum tonal range and separation, while also avoiding contamination by any impurities in the paper base.

Creating baryt paper is an extremely specialist process, and it is usually only used for the best hand finished fine art printing. However, with FUJIFILM Fine Art Museum Baryt paper, Fuji Hunt has launched a unique inkjet 300gsm version which incorporates all the benefits of a silver halide baryt paper, and enables a superb level of reproduction or original imaging to be achieved across a wide range of applications.

In fact, the density rating (d-max) of the product is higher than that of traditional silver halide baryt paper, enabling images to be created which exhaustive testings and close examination have shown to be of a higher grade than pure silver halide.

Initially, FUJIFILM Fine Art Museum Baryt paper is being supplied in roll form in sizes to fit all the FUJIFILM/EPSON Stylus Pro printers, with cut sheet form in sizes up to A3+ (329x483mm, 13x19ins) due in the autumn.

The current Fujifilm Fine Art 300gsm Photo Rag paper is a mould-made fine art paper with special matt coating which has proven a leading medium for high quality fine art reproductions. Now, the company is introducing a unique smooth version called, appropriately, FUJIFILM Fine Art Museum Smooth RAG paper.

The unique structure of this material ensures not only that beautifully finished and highly contrasted images will result, but also that the material will stay flat, without the curling which often faces users of smooth heavyweight media.

Canvas materials have long been popular for printing reproductions of works of art and for showing fine art photographic work to its best. So it is that Fuji Hunt is completing the new smooth trio with a high-density 400gsm brilliant white canvas called FUJIFILM HD White Cotton Canvas.

This specially coated pure cotton canvas brings a vitality to images printed on it which was not previously possible on authentic canvas materials. Its brilliant white finish enables bright, vivid colours to be shown as fresh as newly painted. When used for black-and-white prints and reproductions, this product comes into its own as it produces maximum contrast images with the full gamut of subtle mid tones and shades.

Altogether, these new media take the field of inkjet printing to a new level of excellence and authenticity not previously possible, and are expected to make a strong impact on its markets.

For full details of the FUJIFILM Fine Art Museum media contact Greg Jackson at Fuji Hunt Digital Solutions by telephone: 02476 455 575, email: gjackson@fujhunt.com or visit www.fujihunt.com

Via PhotographyBLOG

Next-gen fine art inkjet paper review

Nicolai Grossman Leave a comment

The introduction of new papers from Hahnemuhle, Innova, and Museo have everyone scrambling for these papers, as they are suppose to be the reason to finally come out of the darkroom. After all, B&W silver gelatin paper manufacturers are starting to disappear, causing more artists/photographers to convert to digital printing methods. This does not mean that we should start expecting these paper companies to create exact replicas of our favorite silver gelatin papers. We as a community, need to start suggesting what we would like them to change about their current papers rather than asking them to match paper that is oriented to a completely different process. These three papers are derived from exactly that, all three companies listened to the cries of those tired of RC semi-gloss or luster papers. The papers they produced are a tremendous accomplishment for the first generation of a new product, remember these papers are first generation.

…

I personally along with many other photographers have refused to print on so-called luster or semi-gloss papers due to their look. The next generation of paper’s large color gamut and DMax allows for a higher color saturation, which produces a look that creates images that have a similar image quality and feel as traditional photographic paper. These three papers are nothing like any paper I have ever used, digital or traditional, because they have their own image qualities. We finally have the technical tools, to create the imagery that we all have been waiting for with the advent of these papers.

Continue reading at Booksmart Studio

Via The Online Photographer

Fine art matte inkjet paper roundup

Nicolai Grossman 1 Comment

Darren of One Stop Under writes:

"Edwin Leong over at CameraHobby.com has done a nice roundup review of several fine art matte inkjet papers from Crane, Legion, and Moab.

"I like the way Edwin has published two sets of results – one titled ‘Technical, Nitpicky and Anal-Retentive Comments’ to keep the pixel peepers happy, and one titled ‘Aesthetic Comments after I Power Slammed the Technician Out of the Way’ for people who just care about how their art actually looks."

Couldn’t have said it better myself (so I didn’t).

Read the roundup at Camera Hobby

Via One Stop Under