Did Kodak color neg lose sharpness when it was reformulated to improve scanning?

[Drew Wiley]

Pere - the primary lineup of both Kodak and Fuji paper was reengineered with BOTH ongoing optical as well as laser printer usage in mind. A few specialty papers were not. Crystal Archive is a big brand CATEGORY of Fuji, which includes a variety of Type P papers (lower contrast Portrait papers), Type C options (commercial, mid-contrast) and polyester Fujiflex media as well. Digital printers select from among these numerous available papers according to sheen as well as contrast. It's more difficult to achieve a rich DMax laser printing, which is one reason these papers were tweaked in recent years, to improve that. In this respect, optical printing has the advantage. Inkjet struggles even worse, which is why most of those require more than one kind of black ink. CN films per se have exhibited a steady predictable evolution at Kodak. I don't see anything about them specifically oriented to digital workflow other than the micro-texture of current sheet films. Trying to achieve well balanced color alongside high acutance simply goes with the territory as camera equipment in general trends down in size, along with lenses themselves steadily improving. It would have happened regardless of what digital is doing parallel or hybrid. Same thing applies if they come out with more sizes of E100 chrome film. That itself was just the endpoint of a long steady evolution before sudden discontinuance, and perhaps now, a bit of a revival. Scanners were designed to accommodate the film far more than the other way around. Finer grain might help; but it's really the scaling down of cameras which drove things that direction all along.

[Pere Casals]

Crystal Archive is a big brand CATEGORY of Fuji, which includes a variety of Type P papers (lower contrast Portrait papers)

Is P still made? or it has been substituted by PD? (P "Digital" ?)

"Using the basic Crystal Archive structure as a starting point, Super PD is now geared towards today's digital market .... this paper should be seriously considered for heavy-duty lab work for the wedding and portrait shooter."

(https://www.bhphotovideo.com/spanish...per_Super.html)
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Scanners were designed to accommodate the film far more than the other way around.

This is the point that IMHO it is controversial.

[Drew Wiley]

Pere, PD paper is different from P. Both are Crystal Archive and digitally optimized, but the PD is geared more to automated photofinishing. The P is dual-exposure: both optical enlargement and large laser printers. I don't know the extent of distribution. Doesn't matter to me because I have no interest in softer papers. If I need lower contrast, I mask, and that way the color saturation isn't compromised. Nor have I ever printed using any kind of DP paper. Some people do use it with enlargers. Perhaps that's one source of the myth that Fuji papers aren't as good for optical printing anymore.

[Pere Casals]

The P is dual-exposure

...but it looks that's not available, discontinued?

[interneg]

DP-II is used quite widely for optical printing in Europe but is often masked/ flashed. The results are excellent.

[Drew Wiley]

Pere - the US market is different. Last I looked, type P commercial paper was available in multiple sheens and roll sizes. I don't know about cut sheet. There are all kinds of papers on Fuji's US distribution list that do not appear on ordering websites photographers use. Most are sold to the relevant commercial facilities directly. But any dealer with an account with Fuji USA can order them for an individual user if you give them the specific product NUMBER, which might take a bit of prior research. I assume something analogous pertains to European distribution, but the product selection might be a little different. My own work differs quite a bit from stereotypes about C prints, and looks more like prints generated from chromes.

[Drew Wiley]

Thanks for the further clarification, Interneg. I use CAII, which is the standard cut sheet product here, then reprint select images on the much pricier Fujiflex medium. Big full gloss images are much more difficult to frame and display illuminate, of course; so I keep the various RC sheen options an open question. But I do all my preliminary prints on 20x24 inch cut sheet RC glossy CA ii, which saves a lot of money up front working out specific image protocols, yet still yields a very nice display print. Fujiflex itself comes on 40 inch width rolls here.