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01/18/2006 06:42:21 PM · #1 |
I have a pinhole class this quarter at school and I was wondering if there was anyone around here that knew a good trustworthy place to buy cheap darkroom paper. I looked on ebay but I don't even know what I'm looking at. (I'm a digital major) the school book store doesn't carry dark room papers anymore becuase this is the only class they offer that still uses it. In my search I have found two different kinds, rc and fiber paper. I was wondering if someone could help me on what paper is better suited for my needs and where I can by it in bulk for cheap.
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01/18/2006 06:45:39 PM · #2 |
feel free to delete one of these threads, I'm not sure why it did this. I tried to post it one time and my wifi cut out so I just hit refresh and posted it again. sorry :)
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01/18/2006 06:56:41 PM · #3 |
It's a while since I did any of this stuff but RC paper just stands for "Resin Coated" which is still photographic paper, just a newer iteration of it. RC paper needs less washing and as I recall is generally easier to use but is otherwise for your purposes just the same as the 'old' type.
The only place to buy it is from photographic suppliers ... via Google or the Yellow Pages.
Brett |
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01/18/2006 06:58:58 PM · #4 |
Freestyle Photo (www.freestylephoto.biz) sells a lot of really good papers. I've used the Arista.EDU Ultra paper, which is dirt cheap and okay (it's really thin, but prints nicely enough) and I've used Freestyle Private Reserve, which I love. It's about 2/3 the price of Ilford, thicker, and just a better paper IMO.
Really, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Arista line as long as you realize that Arista.EDU and Arista.EDU Ultra are made to be cheap and therefore are thin paper.
And remember to buy Resin Coated (RC) paper, not Fiber Base (FB).
Edit to add:
Fiber Base requires about an hour of active rinsing, meaning you have to somehow use moving water to make sure you don't get freaky paper. Whereas, with RC paper, you have to rinse it for about 10 minutes in still water and it turns out nicely. RC Paper is also supposed to be better for archival purposes.
Message edited by author 2006-01-18 19:00:59. |
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01/18/2006 07:00:00 PM · #5 |
Call B&H Photo at 800.952.3386. The intro film course that I just finished used RC (resin-coated) paper. It dries much quicker than the FB (fiber-based) paper which is used in the advanced film classes.
Message edited by author 2006-01-18 19:04:30. |
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01/18/2006 07:42:49 PM · #6 |
If you are just screwing around, RC paper is cheaper and will give decent enough results. For pinhole, if you are using the paper as a negative and contatc printing from that, you will want something that will let some amount of light through the base or your print exposure times might run into the hours.
You might also try using a liquid emulsion (Liquid Light) and coating that onto a transparent base like a blank overhead transparency sheet. You can also coat it onto a textured paper, like watercolor paper. If you are really into it you can mix your own light sensitive emulsion.
For print quality, fiber base FB paper is the way to go. There's a lustrous depth to the image that's just not possible with RC papers. FB papers also take toners much better than RC papers. FB paper does require more rinsing, but that's mostly to get the chemical rinsed out of the paper base. As far as FB prints being less archival, I doubt it. If you aren't sure, just use a weak selenium toner solution and that will help preserve your image for ages.
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