Found this ad on my facebook news feed at about the 10 hour old mark.
$65 TMY2 8x10!
Clicked on it and it was all gone :-(
Found this ad on my facebook news feed at about the 10 hour old mark.
$65 TMY2 8x10!
Clicked on it and it was all gone :-(
Originally Posted by k_redder
As explained by Oren, that was simply because they had sold out their special order stock. More now available:
Good news!
TMY is basically an addictive substance. Use it once and you'll pay whatever you have to.
I might have a quote for my sig line, thanks!
Absolutely spot on. I used to just let it fly in the field with TMY in years past but no longer. I now regularly come back to the darkroom with only one side of a holder exposed. The net result driven by necessity is that I am continuing to hone in on using Ilford as a viable option given its half cost position in the market. I continue to wonder why if you have the best product in the market why Aleris would not drop the price 35-40% for a short time because the increase in revenue would easily make up the margin discount. I would probably be buying another chest freezer under that scenario.
Ironically, I'm still keeping TMY-2 as an option in case Acros100 shuts down (good reciprocity failure reasons) etc.
I took only one shot this week, and it was 8x10 TMY, even though though it was a memorably beautiful day with wildflowers and fascinating rock formations everywhere. I'm am strongly rooting for all the machine-gunners out there, who shoot lots of film and keep reordering it. But I don't shoot something unless I intend
to print it. But it all seems to work out, budget-wise. One thinks twice about wasting 8x10 shots. There are inevitable goofs and near-misses, and nobody hits a
home run every time. I don't know what the Kodak/Alaris profit margin is, but plenty of people go out of business precisely because they don't have a realistic profit
buffer. I squirm at at the price of 8x10 film, esp color, but also realize that I'd rather pay more and have it around tommorrow than whine later, if the business model failed. Sustainability is the key these days.
In addition to manufacturing RA-4 paper itself, Kodak Alaris is a British marketing/distribution entity for film manufactured by Eastman Kodak Company in the latter company's Rochester, New York Building 38 facility. Volume of Kodak film sales is a miniscule fraction of what it once was, but the coating line in Building 38 is sized for "the good old days." None of us are privy to Kodak Alaris' supply agreement with Eastman Kodak, but I strongly suspect there are two problems with dropping the price as you suggest. First, wholesale cost may already be so high and margins so low that any price reductions are not viable. Second, any resulting percentage increase in revenue is likely to be calculated on a baseline that's already vanishingly small. It's a tough business case to make.
Last Thursday, Kodak Alaris' new CEO, Ralf Gebershagen, posted this video:
In it, he asks for questions and comments. On Saturday I emailed him the following message:
Dear Mr. Gerbershagen,
You asked for questions -- here are mine.
- What contractual commitment do you have from Eastman Kodak Company to continue producing the current range of Kodak still camera films?
- Is it connected to sales volume?
- Does it relate to the manufacturing of motion picture film, which Eastman Kodak can reasonably expect to plummet when existing contracts end next year?
- Is there some date after which or sales volume floor below which Eastman Kodak is no longer obligated to coat films for Kodak Alaris?
- In the event that Eastman Kodak Company, for one or more of the reasons listed above, ceases to be a Kodak Alaris supplier of still camera films, does your agreement with it include any provision for transitioning production of existing Kodak-branded still films from Building 38 in Rochester, New York to your facility at Harrow?
- Would associated engineering/manufacturing personnel and intellectual property be transferred to Kodak Alaris?
- Can your coating line at Harrow be switched back and forth between RA-4 paper and the film products without undue disruption?
- If neither Eastman Kodak supply nor relocated production in Harrow are available, does your agreement permit Kodak Alaris to source still camera films elsewhere and use the Kodak brand on them?
Thank you in advance for your answers. Photography forums around the world are abuzz with rumor and speculation, none of which is based on facts or knowledge. This situation cannot be positive for Kodak Alaris. In my opinion, sharing factual information is the only way you can prevent customers from fleeing to other film sources in the face of uncertainty.
Best regards,
Sal Santamaura
Perhaps Mr. Gerbershagen's response (if any) will offer some insight concerning future availability and prices of Kodak-branded films, TMY in particular. Or not.
Sustainability. They scaled down the line so that they don't have to coat such big batches, but can do it more frequently as needed. That's a good business model. Eliminate redundancy. Fewer films, but the remaining ones are very high quality, more versatile, and have a distinct market niche. Don't subsidize an unrelated part of the corporation with film sales. Operate for hard profit rather than smoke and mirrors on the stock market. They've done all that. So they don't need anywhere near the cumulative volume to be profitable as they once did. Why would they want to relocate? And why on earth would anyone want to make film on the same line as linty paper? That sounds like something certain plants in Eastern Europe did, and drove everyone crazy with quality issues. Ilford knows better than to do that. Why would Alaris? And a move wouldn't just an intellectual property transition. You'd need the equipment and the experience talent behind it. Ron Mowrey over on APUG has already addressed some of these very questions and provided realistic answers. But nobody has a perfect crystal ball.
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