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Thread: Anyone else discovering Kentmere Paper?!

  1. #1

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    Anyone else discovering Kentmere Paper?!

    After toying around with Forte paper for the longest time, I need a change. So I got some Kentmere paper, and wow, what a paper! I got the neutral tone, glossy, and in 130 developer the tone is so neutral, hardly any green cast at all. And the finish is gorgeous, much better than Forte. I toned for 5 minutes in selenium 1:19 at 70 degrees, and just enough to bump the Dmax up and barely push it towards pure neutral.

    I'm wondering if anyone else is using this paper. I searched the site for topics on it and haven't really found much. I would like to fully switch over, but how stable is the Kentmere company? Who coats their paper? I think availablility might be hard to come by, especially on the warmtone paper. Looks like it on B&H. I'd like to try some of the warmtone paper. I think it might give a nice tone in selenium. Any thoughts?

  2. #2
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    Anyone else discovering Kentmere Paper?!

    Kentmere has been around for a long time; their website is here. The paper that they manufacture was imported to the US for many years under the Luminos brand, but they are now distributing directly under their own name.

  3. #3

    Anyone else discovering Kentmere Paper?!

    Brian, Freestyle is behind Kentmere 100%. In fact their arista brand paper is now kentmere. So, give em a call. What film are you using? I've had a tough time with the curve/contrast with the fineprint vc fiber and was thinking maybe a more compatible film would be helpful.

  4. #4

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    Anyone else discovering Kentmere Paper?!

    Bobby, I'm using HP5 developed in D-76 1:1. I'm developing Kentmere in the Photographers Formulary 130 Developer for 3 minutes at 70 degrees.

    How did you find the curve information for this paper?

  5. #5

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    Anyone else discovering Kentmere Paper?!

    I've been using it for rc workprints and have found it good except for the higher contrast settings, say above 3.5, where it just doesn't keep up w ilford in my experience.

  6. #6
    Beverly Hills, California
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    Anyone else discovering Kentmere Paper?!

    I was in Freestyle this week. regarding Freestyle paper brands:

    Arista = Ilford

    Arsista II = Kentmere

    It appears Kentmere is good, but has issues. Do a Kentmere search on Photonet or APUG.

  7. #7

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    Anyone else discovering Kentmere Paper?!

    These days I am concentrating mainly on pt/pd printing. However, when I develop new negatives, I always make a silver contact print as positive reference images. For that reason, I didn't really see why I should be paying higher prices for paper. I had been using Bergger for quite some time, but decided to try some less expensive brands to see what the differences were. So, a while ago, I ordered four different paper types from Freestyle to test them out.

    The papers I tried were Bergger Variable NB ($23.50), Arista VC FB ($15), Kentmere Fineprint VC ($16), and Foma Variant 111 ($17)- all vc fiber based. I took one 8 x 10 negative and tried to make an equal contact print of each paper to see how they all compared. Keep in mind that I don't consider myself a master printer, but I tried my best to make each print look the same. All were developed in 130 developer.

    Here are the comparison stats for each of the four papers.

    Bergger - 50 seconds @ F8 with #1 vc filter

    Kentmere - 21 seconds @ F8 with #1.5 vc filter

    Arista - 24 seconds @ F8 with #1 vc filter

    Foma - 27 seconds @F8 with #3 vc filter

    As you can see, the Bergger was considerably slower, not that it created a problem. What surprized me was the significant difference in contrast with the Foma. In the final evaluation, both the Bergger and Foma were not nearly as bright in the whites and both were a little greener in the overall tone of the prints. The Foma seemed to lack some of the punch that the other three papers had as well. I would rate the Foma as last of the four. The Bergger was nice, but I felt that the overall tonal quality was not quite as good as the Arista and Kentmere. Maybe this had something to do with the whites.

    I have read here before, and Bobby points it out, that Arista and Kentmere are supposed to be the same paper. However, in my comparison, they seem a little different. Both look close, but the paper base whites look a little different. I wonder if they are the same or not.

    Keep in mind that I didn't tone any of the prints, and selenium toner might change things significantly. However, my final decision was that I'm going to go with Kentmere for the time being. It's less expensive than Bergger and has a whiter paper base which, for me, is more of what I like.

  8. #8
    Gary L. Quay's Avatar
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    Anyone else discovering Kentmere Paper?!

    Kentmere Bromide prints spectacularly with Amidol. I bought a bunch of their stuff from Freestyle to try out (I never leap into anything with just one foot). They're truely fine papers. I'm missing Kodak less and less all the time. They hadn't really inovated anything in over a decade. Kentmere is another tool in thearsinal, but Forte, Ilford, Foma, Oriental, Bregger, etc. are all wotrth keeping around. I like variety.

    --Garyg

  9. #9

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    Anyone else discovering Kentmere Paper?!

    I found Kentmere to be a high quality paper, but on the cold side. Anybody try their warmtone variant(s)?

  10. #10

    Anyone else discovering Kentmere Paper?!

    Along this line, has anyone use the Kentmere double weight paper with a vacuum easel. It has a bad curl right out of the box that I find hard to hold down with my easel. I am considering building a vacuum easel but have some reservations about it being able to pull the paper flat.

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