cheap paper

ksmattfish · Feb 10, 2004

I have been getting my paper from Freestyle and Adorama (I was not paid by Chase to say this). But just in case, does anyone know any better deals? I'm a big fan of "house" brands if they save me money.

oriecat · Feb 10, 2004

At my local shop I get Paterson paper, 25 8x10s for 8.99. I have not seen it for sale online tho... I really like using it for my contact sheets and initial test prints.

MrEd31 · Feb 11, 2004

I've had some luck purchasing on ebay. There is a risk that the paper is fogged, but generally the sellers own stores or are distributers, so there products are good. You can generally get really good deals on ilford, kodak, and forte papers.

ksmattfish · Feb 11, 2004

I have bought paper from Ebay and found a few good deals, but usually they still want more than it costs new and guaranteed from Adorama or Freestyle.

Orie: at Adorama you can get 250 sheets of 8x10 RC for $58 which is $0.23 a sheet. You are paying $0.36 a sheet.

oriecat · Feb 12, 2004

I never thought about it that way, I just compare to the usual $12 or $13 for a 25 pak of Kodak or Ilford... at this point I prefer not to buy paper in 100's just not knowing how much I will be using, but I suppose I should think about it...

havoc · Feb 12, 2004

How can you not think about it LOL, Every time i get into a darkroom i come out at least 50 sheets thinner....

Walt · Feb 12, 2004

There's a local store called Leo's in Vancouver (Canada) that charges a flat $36CDN for most Ilford and Agfa papers.

Walt · Feb 12, 2004

Pardon the omission, that's for 100 sheets.

ksmattfish · Feb 12, 2004

I still have some Ilford pearl RC in 16x20 that I bought back in 1997 and stored in my closet in an un-airconditioned apt (in KS the ave summer temp is around 100 degrees). I broke it out last fall and it still is perfectly good, so don't worry about BW paper going bad too fast. It holds up well.

havoc · Feb 13, 2004

Hey Orie, if you use differet paper for your contact and test prints then you do for your final prints, don't you notice differences in contrast? I can't switch between papers midway because it throws off all my previous work and i end up using double the paper. It is possible i guess though to have two different papers that react very similar, i guess i haven't found them yet.