Topic: Arista Ortho Litho 2.0

[jharr]

I received 50 sheets of this as a gift for Christmas and just last weekend got around to opening it up to load a few 4x5 holders. To my surprise, the film didn't fit! It's too wide to fit in the holder. I contacted Freestyle and their reply was basically, "Yep, that's too wide. You need to buy the Ortho Litho 3.0 4x5 to fit in 4x5 holders." So my question is, is this obvious to everyone but me that a product listed as 4x5 would not fit in a standard 4x5 film holder? And my next question is, what do I do with 50 sheets of this stuff?

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/514510-Arista-Ortho-Litho-Film-2.0-4x5-100-Sheets

[Bryan]

Get a paper cutter and trim it down.  I've done that with 4x5 film to fit it into 616/116 cameras.  I just put a guide on the paper cutter that I can feel in the dark.  The one I have is a cheap little plastic cutter that is just big enough to fit 4x5 film.

http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Bypass-Paper-Trimmer-199130-1001/dp/B000NUY5Q2/ref=sr_1_50?ie=UTF8&qid=1454350494&sr=8-50&keywords=paper+cutter

[Francois]

Trim it down, and don't worry too much about it. The film is orthochromatic so it can be handled under a safelight.
Just to be sure I use the dimmest safelight I got.
Also, the film is around ISO 8 (I think the paperwork says from 6 to 12 depending on the light used), so don't worry about pulling one out of the bag, trimming ans putting back in the bag.

BTW, a 4x5 sheet film holder is really 3 15/16 x 4 15/16 inch.
1/16th of an inch is about 1mm.

[jharr]

So what is this "4x5" film used in?

[Francois]

Repro work under the enlarger.
It's used for creating high contrast positives with lith dev.
But it can also be used for doing continuous tone work.

I don't know if it has a retouchable surface, but it used to be that you would make a positive, work the highlights with soft lead, then print it again into a negative to work the shadows.

It can also be used to print negative images on paper, doing posterisations, line art and a host of special effects.

[jharr]

Repro work under the enlarger.
It's used for creating high contrast positives with lith dev.
But it can also be used for doing continuous tone work.

I don't know if it has a retouchable surface, but it used to be that you would make a positive, work the highlights with soft lead, then print it again into a negative to work the shadows.

It can also be used to print negative images on paper, doing posterisations, line art and a host of special effects.

I'm still lost as to why it's a slightly different size, but okay. Thanks.

[Francois]

Thats for using either an easel or a printing frame. They dont mais those un film holder format si thé framing would be off centered...

[jharr]

Also there are no notches, so no good way to tell if you are loading it correctly. Both sides feel the same in the dark. I guess I'll have to take a sheet out, figure out the orientation and try to keep it that way. There doesn't seem to be much of an antihalation layer, but for an ISO 6-12 film, it could make a significant difference. I got six sheets cut and loaded last night, so maybe I'll have something for the weekend.

[Francois]

The film doesn't have an AH layer... and no notches... and the back looks like the front even in broad daylight...
The only thing the AH layer (or the lack of it) will do is make the highlights bloom...

[John Robison]

You just got the wrong size for loading into film holders. Go to the Freestyle site and look for the Arista Ortho Litho (its now listed a version 3) in the 3.9in by 4.9in size for 4X5 filmholders. Or just trim yours down. But, if you decide you like it and want to order more for your holders then be sure it is the 3.9X4.9 inch size. 

[Adam Doe]

James,

Arista Ortho Litho is red light safe so you can load under a red light and under the red light you can tell which side is the emulsion and which side isn't. What I did was take sheet out of the pack and then I called Freestyle. They confirmed that the pinkish lighter side is the emulsion side. I marked that side with a sharpie (quickly, sorry for the illegibility in the picture) and then I take my sample sheet in to the red light room/closet/darkoom/underground cavern/batcave/whatever you've got and use it for comparison to the sheets I loaded.

You can get pretty good results and tone down the contrast a bit by using a soft paper developer and diluting it. I used Freestyle's Legacy Pro Select Soft paper developer, mixed it per instructions and then further diluted it 1:5 and then tray developed by inspection under red light.

Salud Beer Shop by adoephoto, on Flickr

This one was developed in Ilford multigrade at about 1:20

Pond Flower - Arista Ortho Litho 2 Test Shot by adoephoto, on Flickr

This one Ilford Multigrade at 1:18

Melissa at Flaming Chicken Studio by adoephoto, on Flickr

It's fun stuff to play around with and your post has reminded me that I've got a boatload of the stuff laying around and should get out the Crown and play away.

[jharr]

Thanks for the info Adam. That's very helpful. I haven't had good luck with ortho film and red lights, so I usually still do things in the dark, but I'll give this a go.

[Francois]

I used a paper hole punch to do a half moon hole on the edge on the right side.