Hello all.
This is also my favourite paper ( althought the dust when cutting rolls is irritating ), so I thought I'd chip in with a bit of information.
In March 2010 at the "Focus On Imaging" show in the UK ( our version of PMA ) I spent some time speaking with the Marketing Director of Harman, we had a jolly good conversation and he was a very nice man, very enthusiastic about what he does and very forthcoming with information. The topic of conversation was the Harman Gloss FB Al paper.
He told me that it was being discontinued and rebranded under the Hahnemuhle name. The reason behind this was because Harman are not well known in Fine Art circles whereas the Hahnemuhle brand is ubiquitous for paper. Harman know their paper is very good and want access to this market, this is most quickly and easily achieved under the Hahnemuhle moniker.
He also told me that the paper was the same, it was made to the same formula, on the same machines, in the same factory. It is manufactured by Harman, and sold under the Hahnemuhle brand.
Regrettably it seems the price has increased quite a bit, I kind of expected this given Hahnemuhle's track record for pricing.
I imagine it's also possible they took the opportunity to refine the formula of the coating during the "relaunch" but not having seen the "new" stuff I can't compare, I'll have to wait until next Feb to ask him.