Somehow, I don’t really understand any of this anymore. The more I follow your forum – which is, for the most part, very interesting – the more I realise that it seems to be extremely important which paper or film manufacturer sells its
products under which brand name. Why don’t we just buy the originals?
Because the ‘own-brand’ products are available at a much lower price?
I have to fund my hobby somehow, and if I can get the same material for two-thirds or even half the price – mind you, without having to compromise on quality – then that’s a strong argument for me.
And since the number of companies capable of producing film and photographic paper in significant quantities is actually quite small (in stark contrast to the flood of brand names under which these products are sold), the search for cheaper ‘twins’ is an obvious solution.
It’s also nice to know what lies behind a name in the other direction; it makes no sense to buy Tura if you’re dissatisfied with APX, or Adox CHM if you don’t like FP4.
Or, when searching for the ideal lith paper, buying and testing Adox Classic, Bergger and Moersch (to pick up on the names you mentioned) – the result will be the same every time.
