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Thread: The price of paper is UP!

  1. #1
    Large format foamer! SamReeves's Avatar
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    Angry The price of paper is UP!

    I just peed my pants.

    Even the cheapo Arista papers have been jacked up in price. 8x10 Glossy fiber base is up to $72 per box, and the Ilford is over $100 per box at Freestyle.

    I think I'm going to be printing lots of RC semi-matte for now on. Damn you digital.

  2. #2
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    Re: The price of paper is UP!

    At both B&H and Adorama, Ilford MGIVFB is $80.70 for a box of 100 8x10 glossy. At B&H, if you go for the box of 250 sheets for $194, you get free shipping too. Adorama also offers its own private label variable contrast FB paper at $48.95 for a box of 100 8x10.

    Freestyle provides an important service in making available many products that are otherwise hard to find and more generally in keeping a large stock of traditional materials. But they're not competing on price.

  3. #3
    Greg Greg Blank's Avatar
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    Re: The price of paper is UP!

    High prices should encourage two things:
    Becoming a bettter printer.
    & Learning not to waste Paper.
    Digital influence aside , How much paper and chemicals do you
    think are wasted each year? Probably tractor trailer loads.
    "Great things are accomplished by talented people who believe they will
    accomplish them."
    Warren G. Bennis

    www.gbphotoworks.com

  4. #4
    Kirk Gittings's Avatar
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    Re: The price of paper is UP!

    IMHO how much paper you "waste" has nothing to do with "becoming a better printer". Perhaps it has something to do with becoming a more efficient printer.
    Thanks,
    Kirk

    at age 73:
    "The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep"

  5. #5
    Roger Cole's Avatar
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    Re: The price of paper is UP!

    The best printers I know "waste" a lot of paper.

    This is somewhat old news, but some may not have checked prices in a while. I try to support Freestyle if the difference is not too great, but will go elsewhere when the difference crosses some ill defined but "I know it when I see it" level of difference.

    This has much more to do with the price of silver than it does with digital. It's true that prices would increase from lower demand in this case, the reverse of classic supply and demand but the demand being so much lower than it used to be many economies of scale disappear. But in this case, the demand can't have really gone down that much in the past year. The price of silver, on the other hand, HAS gone up that much in the past year.

    My "issue" with B&H is that I can't figure out their shipping. Generally I am not available to sign for shipments. My fiance works days and I work most nights and sleep all day most days (today is an exception.) They list a "super saver" in the information that is not signature required but they don't list that in the shipping choices! UPS ground is the cheapest but not if I can't get my package - I don't even know where the pickup location is. The info lists stuff about UPS Mail Inovations but it isn't clear which, if any, of the UPS choices use that. I've just chosen US Mail on the one recent occasion I've ordered from them because the post office is close in any event (but no signature was required.) But US Mail costs more than the UPS Ground and isn't listed in their information.

    Their shipping info is an impenetrable mess to try to sort out, IMNSHO.

  6. #6

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    Re: The price of paper is UP!

    I wonder if this is truly the result of digital. Good digital papers are just as expensive as silver papers...in some cases far more expensive than silver papers.

    The price of silver is up markedly in the last year as a result of a flight to safety away from fiat currencies. That is a result of world economic conditions.

  7. #7
    Roger Cole's Avatar
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    Re: The price of paper is UP!

    Quote Originally Posted by Donald Miller View Post
    I wonder if this is truly the result of digital. Good digital papers are just as expensive as silver papers...in some cases far more expensive than silver papers.

    The price of silver is up markedly in the last year as a result of a flight to safety away from fiat currencies. That is a result of world economic conditions.
    Not only are the papers for digital printing often as expensive or more so, the ink is far more expensive.

    This is only somewhat compensated for by the fact that, once a good calibration and workflow are established, a good digital printer should be able to waste little, not printing test images and such until the image is right. This seems to rarely work quite that well in practice.

  8. #8
    Large format foamer! SamReeves's Avatar
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    Re: The price of paper is UP!

    Quote Originally Posted by Oren Grad View Post
    At both B&H and Adorama, Ilford MGIVFB is $80.70 for a box of 100 8x10 glossy. At B&H, if you go for the box of 250 sheets for $194, you get free shipping too. Adorama also offers its own private label variable contrast FB paper at $48.95 for a box of 100 8x10.

    Freestyle provides an important service in making available many products that are otherwise hard to find and more generally in keeping a large stock of traditional materials. But they're not competing on price.
    Forgot about Adorama's own private label. They look like the winner for now.

    I do agree on Freestyle. They got the cheapest film that I know of, and I'll still support them on that.

    Quote Originally Posted by Roger Cole View Post
    The best printers I know "waste" a lot of paper.
    Yup, in the real world it takes usually two to four sheets before you call it a final print.

    This has much more to do with the price of silver than it does with digital. It's true that prices would increase from lower demand in this case, the reverse of classic supply and demand but the demand being so much lower than it used to be many economies of scale disappear. But in this case, the demand can't have really gone down that much in the past year. The price of silver, on the other hand, HAS gone up that much in the past year..
    My issue is it just the price of silver, or is it overall inflation? Just in the last week, I've noticed increases in orange juice, cookies, and of course gasoline. The incomes aren't keeping up either.

    I think we're all going to have to be "efficient" printers in the near future.

  9. #9
    Roger Cole's Avatar
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    Re: The price of paper is UP!

    Quote Originally Posted by SamReeves View Post
    My issue is it just the price of silver, or is it overall inflation? Just in the last week, I've noticed increases in orange juice, cookies, and of course gasoline. The incomes aren't keeping up either.

    I think we're all going to have to be "efficient" printers in the near future.
    This is OT, but food inflation right now is mainly a fallout from energy prices and energy policy. As long as we don't go anywhere and don't eat, and don't use silver based photo materials, we should be fine.

  10. #10
    All metric sizes to 24x30 Ole Tjugen's Avatar
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    Re: The price of paper is UP!

    The economy has crashed, which drives the price of silver up and the value of the dollar down. Which again leads to an even larger increase in the price of international commodities priced on USD, like e.g. oil. One way to say that is that the trust in the US economy is at an all-time low, at least until the election. After that it could get a little worse, or alternatively much much worse.

    Anyway, international prices are going up, US domestic prices are going a little more up, and (US) wages are not increasing enough to compensate. For those who HAVE jobs.

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