Oriental paper seems to have returned. I noticed it advertised in the Freestyle Sales catalog and I was wondering if it is the very same product that has been discontinued for some time now. I personally have never used the original, but I've heard others rave about it and that, to date, nothing has come close to matching it's quality. Is this graded glossy known as Seagull G the real McCoy? If you haven't seen it yet, check out www.freestylesalesco.com. Thanks in advance,

Walter

-- Walter Massa (Massacam@aol.com), May 26, 1999

Answers

According to published test reports it is the same as the original Oriental.

-- James D. Steele (jdsteele@erols.com), May 26, 1999.

response to IS REALLY Orientall?

I personally tested oriental VC, and appear to me that is the same as the old version vc, not the newer VC plus which allowed much greater contrast capability.

-- mario abbatepaolo (maab41@mindspring.com), June 05, 1999.

I've used a couple of 50 sheet boxes of 16x20 so far and it seems to be the Real McCoy! Happy day for me!

-- J.L. Kennedy (jlkennedy@qnet.com), May 30, 1999.

It's good stuff. A bit cold. Careful when you burn in aas its very sensative. If you're going to use sepia toner make sure it is fully washed

-- Robert Carew (rcarew@melbpc.org.au), June 01, 1999.

It sure appears to be the real thing!!!. I used it before it went bankrupt and I was really PO'd when it went off the market. Cachet tried to make people beleive they had the old method to make it. But the paper was crappy. The new seagull IS from japan and I just made some prints and it looks as beautifull as the old version.

-- Jorge Gasteazoro (JorgeGM@msn.com), June 07, 1999.

Thanks all!

I just got some Seagull G graded paper and it's excellent. I wanted to do some high contrast work so I bought some grade 4. Let me tell you, that's all the contrast you'll ever need! Ice cold prints with a normal neg. Tones great in selenium as well.

Thanks again!

Walter

-- Walter Massa (Massacam@aol.com), June 08, 1999.

I investigated the comeback of Seagull awhile ago this is what I found: Thought you and others would be interested in the correspondence that I have had with Freestyle Sales Co. regarding the Seagull Oriental Paper. The person that I have been dealing with is Cheryl Ann Bartelt at "Freestyle Customer Service"

Our latest e-mail is as follows:

Dianne - here are the answers to the questions that you requested, along with portions of your original message so that my answers are easily understood.

-----Original Message----- From: Dianne Horvath [mailto:dijames@idirect.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 1999 6:44 PM To: Cheryl Bartelt Subject: Seagull Paper

I have some other questions regarding the Oriental paper.

1/ Is Freestyle the manufacturer of the paper?

**No, we are not the manufacturer.

2/ If not the manufacturer, then who is and is it the original formula, or merely a similar product?

**The manufacturer is Oriental Photo Industrial Co, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. They have a web site at http://www.orientalphoto.co.jp It is mostly in Japanese. Their Head Office address is 1-14-11, Kanda Nishikicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan

All of the paper is produced with the same formula, on the same machines, in the same factory as the originals. It is not a copy, it is not another product with the Oriental name on it, it is not new or different. It is not similar, it is exactly the same as original Oriental, because it is original Oriental.

There are some people which believe that your Seagull Oriental Paper is not the real thing and believe that it might actually be a poor rendition of the real Seagull paper.

**There are many rumors about what happened to the original Oriental. "They sold the company to new owners"; "they sold the Oriental name"; etc. None of them are true. The company is the same, the ownership is the same, and the products are the same. The truth of what happened to Oriental for a time (while it was unavailable) is that they were under bankruptcy, and were prohibited from exporting their products from Japan. This issue is now resolved, and the products are once again available. As I said above, the Oriental that we are selling is not a copy, or another product with the name Oriental on it, or new paper also called Oriental, or anything else. It is not "similar" to Oriental, or an "imitation" of Oriental. It is the original Oriental paper, exactly the was it was before. I cannot stress this enough.

**I hope that the information that I have provided you above is convincing enough.

For Freestyle to be selling something other than Oriental under the name "Oriental" and claiming that it is the original product would be nothing short of illegal and fraudulent. Before we began advertising the paper, our darkroom technician, Richard Risemberg, tested the products and found them to be exactly the same as the originals. Richard's expertise/knowledge/experience in the darkroom is without question, and he assures me that he is personally satisfied with the product itself, irregardless of all the facts I have already stated.

If you have any further questions, please let me know.

Cheryl Ann Bartelt Customer Service Manager ******************************************** <<<>>>

5124 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027

Local Phone 323/660-3460 Local Fax 323/660-4885

Toll Free Phone 800/292-6137 Toll Free Fax 800/616-3686

E-Mail Orders emailorder@freestylesalesco.com

E-Mail Customer Service foto@freestylesalesco.com

-- Dianne Horvath (highlight.canada@home.com), January 03, 2000.