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Alex Hawley
3-Mar-2007, 21:24
Anyone else tried the Slavich paper from Freestyle? I'm working my way through a package of grade 3. Looks promising. Anyone else know much about it?

Gene McCluney
3-Mar-2007, 22:44
I got a 25 sheet pack of 8x10 grade 3 double weight, liked it so much, I ordered a 100 sheet box. This is good stuff.

Alex Hawley
2-Jul-2007, 20:11
Bump. OK, a few months have gone by. Anyone else tried Slavich yet?

Mike Davis
2-Jul-2007, 20:40
Bump. OK, a few months have gone by. Anyone else tried Slavich yet?

Alex,

I'm ordering grades 2,3,4 based in part on your preliminary response to it (well that and a chance to try another single weight paper).

I have recently switched from VC to graded Bromide paper anyway (I got a very good deal on Gallerie grades 2 and 3). But let's face it, doubleweight (anything) is like cardboard after azo.

When can we expect some Hawley 7x17's in the Gallery?


Mike Davis

David A. Goldfarb
3-Jul-2007, 04:25
I haven't tried it myself, but I saw some pretty good prints on Slavich paper at the FS Distributing booth at PMA by one of the photographers on Freestyle's advisory board (I forget who at the moment).

Arthur Nichols
3-Jul-2007, 07:34
I have used both grade 2 and 3. I think that it is a quite nice paper. Very neutral. In my experience it seems to be a very contrasty paper. Grade 2 is more like grade 3. To get nomal contrast levels I use it with Anso 120 (like Koday Selectol Soft). I find it too harsh for my negatives with Dektol. It can be good for thin negatives. It is quite flexible when used with different developers. For an old time graded paper, it gets two thumbs up.

scott_6029
3-Jul-2007, 11:00
Alex, I've got a pack of 8x10 to try and will compare it to AZO and others. Just haven't gotten around to it yet. Needs a red safelight. Came well recommended by FS. It's really inexpensive...so why not just try some. FS will refund in 30 days if you don't like it...I will post my findings when I get to it.

Doug Howk
3-Jul-2007, 17:19
It is somewhat contrasty - had to use a water bath after about 30-45 sec in regular developer to control a high contrast neg. Do like the single weight. Appears cool tone rather than AZOs warmtone. I still prefer Kentmere Bromide for cooltones and am learning to control Kentona for warmtone ( it is very susceptible to developer fogging). But for smaller prints (11X14 & less) plan on using the Slavich paper.

kjsphotography
3-Jul-2007, 18:39
I have used Slavich quite a bit. I rally like it in Ansco 130. I mainly used grade 3. I have been moving more and more towards Kentmere Bromide though as the blacks seem richer on the Kentmere. Slavich is very nice thou8gh.

Alex Hawley
3-Jul-2007, 18:52
When can we expect some Hawley 7x17's in the Gallery?

Workin' on it Mike. ;)




I have used Slavich quite a bit. I rally like it in Ansco 130. I mainly used grade 3. I have been moving more and more towards Kentmere Bromide though as the blacks seem richer on the Kentmere. Slavich is very nice though.

That's pretty much in line with my observations Kevin. I must say, I like it better on most things than Kentmere Bromide. I'm not a big cold-tone fan. Slavich has just a slight bit of warmth to it when hit with the selenium.

alec4444
27-Dec-2007, 19:14
Rejuvenating this thread. I just got a trial (25 Sheets) in 11x14 Grade 3 Single Weight. It was on my list after getting an AZO print in the last exchange. Really excited. Couple questions:

--I use a rental lab with whatever chemicals they supply for dev, stop, and fix. Do bromide papers require anything special?

--FS and packaging says red light safelight only...has anyone ever tested this? The rental darkroom has an orange safelight. I figure I can give it a try, or if need be, work in complete darkness.

I have a separate PMK question which I'll post in a different thread.

Cheers!
--A

Gene McCluney
27-Dec-2007, 19:16
Bromide papers can develop well in all photo paper developers.

Alex Hawley
27-Dec-2007, 19:30
--I use a rental lab with whatever chemicals they supply for dev, stop, and fix. Do bromide papers require anything special?

Reiterating what Gene said, nothing special in developers is needed.


--FS and packaging says red light safelight only...has anyone ever tested this? The rental darkroom has an orange safelight. I figure I can give it a try, or if need be, work in complete darkness.

I don't know, I've always used a red safelight, but there's a discussion going on APUG (http://www.apug.org/forums/forum37/45573-got-my-slavich-papers.html) on this same question.

Alec, please update us with your results.

Jim Fitzgerald
27-Dec-2007, 20:49
Alex I'm printing some of my 4x5 negs from a recent trip to the Eastern Sierra. I'm using Ansco 130 1:1 for my Efke 100 negs. I toned in KRST 1:20 for 3 minutes and it seemed to loose some of the warmth. I'm thinking of cutting down on the toning time to maintain the warmth. I'm going back and forth between the Slavich and the Emaks. The Emaks is warmer overall and does not come in single weight. Also, has anyone noticed that the SW and the DW Slavich tone differently. I'm attaching an image of Lundy Lake on the Slavich DW grade-3 developed and toned as above. When this was dry I was so impressed that I went to Freestyle today and bought some of each size. I need to see this image at 16x20. The print really "glows". The monitor does not do it justice. Thanks.


Jim

Alex Hawley
27-Dec-2007, 20:59
Jim, that's a wonderful-looking print. Would like to see the real thing!

I've used very little of Slavich DW so haven't had the chance to assess if it tones differently. I'll keep my eye on it in the next few months.

Jim Fitzgerald
27-Dec-2007, 21:28
Alex, thanks I think this paper is a sleeper. eventually I'm going to try some in Amidol. Can't wait to do the 16x20. Here is another one I'm going to go big on. Same p[aper and tech info as on the first post. I had this shot with the 8x20 and when I developed the neg's I discovered that the holder I used was just a bit smaller than my others and got a light leak across the entire neg. Man was I pissed off!
Jim

Alex Hawley
27-Dec-2007, 21:45
I had a similar experience with this one. Shot it on the 7x17 with a 270mm Dagor 3 which didn't get full coverage. There's 3 windows on this wall but the outer two were vignetted so I got a nice 7x10. At first, I printed this on Kentona, then went to Slavich G3 which rocked! (PF130, 1:2)

kjsphotography
27-Dec-2007, 21:54
If anyone is interested I wrote an article about this paper. You can read here on our blog;

http://silvervista.blogspot.com/2007/12/slavich-photographic-paper.html

Thanks,

Kev

Alex Hawley
27-Dec-2007, 22:03
Good article Kev. Thanks for posting the link. :)

kjsphotography
27-Dec-2007, 22:20
Thanks Alex. By the way, I really like the photograph above. I bet it is just beautiful in person. Thanks for sharing it!

Kevin

alec4444
27-Dec-2007, 22:53
Alex I'm printing some of my 4x5 negs from a recent trip to the Eastern Sierra. I'm using Ansco 130 1:1 for my Efke 100 negs. I toned in KRST 1:20 for 3 minutes and it seemed to loose some of the warmth. I'm thinking of cutting down on the toning time to maintain the warmth. I'm going back and forth between the Slavich and the Emaks. The Emaks is warmer overall and does not come in single weight. Also, has anyone noticed that the SW and the DW Slavich tone differently. I'm attaching an image of Lundy Lake on the Slavich DW grade-3 developed and toned as above. When this was dry I was so impressed that I went to Freestyle today and bought some of each size. I need to see this image at 16x20. The print really "glows". The monitor does not do it justice. Thanks.


Jim

Thanks, all! I'm stoked! Can't wait to give this a try. Will book darkroom time tomorrow.... hoping no safelight fog - will report back.

Cheers!
--A

Kirk Gittings
27-Dec-2007, 22:58
I've been using the SW graded for HABS projects. It has a superb DMax and works well with any developer it seems but especially well with diluted developers at long times (4-6 min.)

Jim Fitzgerald
28-Dec-2007, 08:37
Kirk, what kind of developers and dilutions are you using. This sounds very interesting. Thanks.

Jim

Kirk Gittings
28-Dec-2007, 12:40
Nothing special, usually Dektol (sometimes with a touch of benzotriazol) at 1:3. I replenish after every print with the amount absorbed by the paper (1/2 oz) to keep it at strength and repeatable.

Jim Fitzgerald
28-Dec-2007, 19:46
Kirk, thanks. I tried Dektol at 1:5 and extended the development to 5-6 minutes on some work a while back. I'll have to get it out and evaluate it against what I'm doing now. Thanks.

Jim

Alex Hawley
28-Dec-2007, 20:28
Man, you guys are getting adventuresom. I've been generally pleased using PF 130 diluted 1:2 with about two minutes time in the tray.

alec4444
29-Dec-2007, 22:22
Got back from the lab - had a blast with the Slavich Unibrom 160 Single Weight Grade 3 Paper! It rocks! Here's the scoop:

First, did a fog test to see if the yellow / orange safelight would be a problem. In total darkness, I slid a sheet straight into the devloper, then stop, then fix. It came out pure white. A good start! Then, I took out another piece and laid it face up on the counter, while under pretty bright safelight. It sat there while I exposed some other prints on my Ilford Multigrade IV fiber. About 10 mins later, I grabbed it and held it in brighter areas of the darkroom, and even a foot or two from the glowing safelight. Developed it, and it was still pure white. No safelight issues!

Proceeded to make some contact prints with some of my 5x7 negs. A dilemma ensued - what grade do I set the enlarger light to? Decided to stick with Grade 0...why not?

The 5x7 negs are all on FP4, which is a new film for me. As such, I'm not used to the negs having so much contrast, and on the Slavich Grade 3 paper the contrast was a bit too much. However, I noticed that the development time dropped significantly. I'm used to seeing development stop after about 2 mins on Multigrade IV (I still develop for three mins), but the Slavich was pretty well developed after a minute and a half. I kept it in there for 2 and a half mins to be safe.

I switched over to some of my Efke R100 negs taken on my Rollei SLR. The contrast on these aren't terribly high, and I like that....it's what I'm used to. First prints on the Slavich were incredible! The scale is amazing, the paper seems to have an ever-so-slight warm tone to it, though the hightlights remain brilliant. I find the "finish" of the paper to my liking. The dry-down dulling was very slight, almost not noticeable. The only drawback...perceived drawback I should say, is that the paper felt very...delicate...when wet. Fine when dry, but I paid careful attention to how I handled it with print tongs. No problems mind you, hence the drawback being "perceived".

So in the end? I'm sold. If I'm going to make prints larger that 11x14, single weight may be a bit weird. But I don't do that very often, and I think that Slavich is going to be my new paper of choice. There's only one unknown: it's effectiveness to last over time. But the whole reason I got into large format in the first place was for alt process - so if I need something to stand the test of time I can go that route.

Cheers!
--A

http://www.alec.com/images/FrankischerAlps.jpg

Alex Hawley
29-Dec-2007, 22:56
Thanks Alec, that's a good report. Very nice photo too. I'm glad you tested the safelight. Now I don't feel apprehensive about using my OC light.

Good job! :)

John Bowen
30-Dec-2007, 05:16
Does this paper incorporate developers into the emulsion? If not, then I would assume it would have a pretty long "shelf life."

Alex Hawley
30-Dec-2007, 08:49
Does this paper incorporate developers into the emulsion? If not, then I would assume it would have a pretty long "shelf life."

No, it does not, based upon my observations.

Justin Cormack
30-Dec-2007, 10:51
Anyone know if you can buy this in Europe - none of the usual places seem to sell it (odd fora European product!).

Kirk Gittings
30-Dec-2007, 13:08
Man, you guys are getting adventuresom. I've been generally pleased using PF 130 diluted 1:2 with about two minutes time in the tray.

There is a subtlety of tone that can be achieved through long development which is hard to see except in side by side comparison. It may not be noticeable or important to anyone but me.

Bruce Barlow
30-Dec-2007, 13:13
Does this paper incorporate developers into the emulsion? If not, then I would assume it would have a pretty long "shelf life."

In the market for paper?? You??

John Bowen
30-Dec-2007, 15:38
Alex,

Thanks for the info.

Bruce,

Not this week, but you never know when the 7x17 will need some more paper to print those negatives that just don't seem to fit on 8x10 paper.... :0)

Alex Hawley
30-Dec-2007, 20:44
There is a subtlety of tone that can be achieved through long development which is hard to see except in side by side comparison. It may not be noticeable or important to anyone but me.

That sort of thing is important to me Kirk. Thanks for passing it along. Think its time to for me to more fully explore the possibilities of this paper and get them down in my notes.

Gene McCluney
31-Dec-2007, 02:00
I too have very good impression of this line of photo paper from Russia. I just wonder if there is some of the "good stuff" in this paper that was taken out of other manufacturers products?

Bruce Barlow
31-Dec-2007, 06:59
I too have very good impression of this line of photo paper from Russia. I just wonder if there is some of the "good stuff" in this paper that was taken out of other manufacturers products?

Others know much more, but as I understand it, if they're like others they're probably still using really toxic manufacturing methods (cadmium, as I recall).

Anybody actually know?

Doug Howk
31-Dec-2007, 08:23
Is/was Cadmium primarily used on warmtone papers, which Slavich Unibrom is not?

Alex Hawley
31-Dec-2007, 08:34
Others know much more, but as I understand it, if they're like others they're probably still using really toxic manufacturing methods (cadmium, as I recall).

Let's please don't get into any speculation on this one. There's the Lounge forum for soapboxing.

Roy Hammans
12-Jan-2008, 02:57
Anyone know if you can buy this in Europe - none of the usual places seem to sell it (odd fora European product!).

Just to keep this question live: Does anyone know if there is a European supplier for this Russian paper?
It used to be available in the UK from RK Photographic I believe, but supply was rather erratic. The only place I can find that will supply to the UK is Freestyle in Los Angeles - seems a bit 'carbon-unfriendly' to have it shipped almost around the entire planet.
I'm keen to try it though, so will probably order from US if I can't locate another source.

Skorzen
12-Jan-2008, 07:41
Hi everyone,

I am planning on giving this paper a try to see how I like it and maybe move away from VC (and RC). Can you give me any idea as to how the Slavich grades compare to Ilford MGIV RC and Ilfobrom grade 2? The Ilfobrom us the only graded paper I have used so far, I got a box of 11X14 grade II with some darkroom gear. the problem with it (aside from being expensive) is that it curled from the dampness somewhat at the edges. I think I may use it for some of my 6X6 negatives and cut off the edges. It definitely is a nice paper, just looking for something more budget minded to learn on (and from the sounds of it the only thing budget about this paper is the price). I would be curious if anyone has compared this to the Emaks paper as well as they are similarly priced.

Kirk Gittings
12-Jan-2008, 12:07
First, did a fog test to see if the yellow / orange safelight would be a problem. In total darkness, I slid a sheet straight into the devloper, then stop, then fix. It came out pure white. A good start! Then, I took out another piece and laid it face up on the counter, while under pretty bright safelight. It sat there while I exposed some other prints on my Ilford Multigrade IV fiber. About 10 mins later, I grabbed it and held it in brighter areas of the darkroom, and even a foot or two from the glowing safelight. Developed it, and it was still pure white. No safelight issues!

FWIW, a slightly better test is to do a threshhold exposure to the paper (ever so slightly above paper white), tear it in half and then do as you indicated to half. Sometimes as in your highlights, with a threshold exposure in place, a safelight which tests well will show some fogging. This is more often an issue with multicontrast papers, but IMO a useful additional effort.

Roy Hammans
13-Jan-2008, 03:04
FWIW, a slightly better test is to do a threshhold exposure to the paper (ever so slightly above paper white), tear it in half and then do as you indicated to half. Sometimes as in your highlights, with a threshold exposure in place, a safelight which tests well will show some fogging. This is more often an issue with multicontrast papers, but IMO a useful additional effort.

The threshold exposure is a very good idea.
In addition, we always used to lay a large coin on the paper before exposing to threshold light/safelight. It made it much easier to judge if there was any fogging.

Robert Hughes
9-Feb-2010, 22:23
Recalling an old thread that I hadn't seen before - I just bought some Slavich #4 single-weight paper to attempt contact prints with the CXS x-ray film I run through my DYI 8x10 camera. When using VC papers I was having trouble with some of the thinner negatives (gray on gray), but this Slavich graded paper solves that problem, toot sweet - lots of contrast available.

I've never tried graded papers, and am happily trying some out. Why hadn't I done so sooner? :)