Ilford update

[tim atherton]

From the BJP:

Ilford move secures black-and-white future

It's good news at last for black-and-white photographers - following last month's management buyout, Ilford Photo says that not only will it continue its current range of monochrome products, it also plans to reintroduce abandoned lines.... more:

http://db.riskwaters.com/public/showPage.html?page=211150

[steve simmons]

Iford wll have a booth at the View Camera conference which is another good sign.

steve simmons

[evan clarke]

Black and White has a good future. Here in Milwaukee, the wedding photogs are doing a huge amount of Black and White. A young lady told me the other day she was going to have her wedding shot this way because it looks classy ( a quote)..Evan Clarke

[Andre Noble]

She's a classy lady herself for recognizing the quality of B&W.

[Tim Stahl]

Thanks for posting this, I was starting to wonder what's going on with Ilford.

[David Luttmann]

I'd love to see Pan F in 4x5!!!

[Donald Qualls]

For example, we are the only company in the world that can coat glass plates, so while it would not be a big part of our business, we want to consider it.

Hmmm. Perhaps someone should tell that to the Russian company that recently sold a whole boatload (almost literally) of glass plates on preorder to Retro Photo. For that matter, Ole Tjugen reported not long ago on APUG buying glass plates from stock from a German company -- he seemed to think they coated their own, and the plates he got were fresh.

The only company in the world that can coat a modern emulsion like Delta 100, or coat inch sizes, perhaps, but certainly not the only remaining company that can coat glass plates. OTOH, I can't say it would hurt me terribly to be able to buy FP4+ on 9x12 cm glass, providing it costs a good bit less than the $8/plate the Russian buy ran to...

[Pete Watkins]

The Sales Manager who I spoke to at The Focus On Imaging exhibition in the UK mentioned coating Glass Plates but I took it with a pinch of salt, perhaps I was wrong (this is a real possibility considering my track record).

[Roberts]

How about the future of Ilfochrome Classic Deluxe?

[RJ Hicks]

I had my wedding shot on black and white film, specifically for the look. Some of it was shot color for my wife's parents. The black and white is more pleasing to me, and no, it wasn't shot digitally. I talked with the photographer quite a bit about the look and the shots and equipment. It was quite fun and he enjoyed it, especially after I bought all his beers. It was one major reason I went with him.

If they continue to produce fp4 and hp5 I'm set.

[Frank Bagbey]

Since I cannot obtain old style TriX I am inclined to switch to Ilford for all my large format films. Something in me makes me want to support those who actually support large format users. I don't see Kodak doing that in any way.

[Kevin Crisp]

Frank: I don't suppose building a new plant to make sheet film qualifies as supporting large format users in any way? I have compared new and old tri-x side by side and wonder what it is about the new material that would cause you to stop using it. Slightly different development times in my test (tray processing, can't speak to rotary processing) and it takes longer to fix. So what is the problem? It seems to look the same in prints.

[Frank Bagbey]

Kevin, I hope you are right. I am afraid to use up my old style 8X10 TriX until I am convinced I can safely replace it with the new stuff. In the back of my mind, however, I think there was another reason the new plant was constructed. The bit about "reducing static" just does not grab me as legit. Why change it? Some input from the serious contact printers might help.
TriX, Velvia 50, if it is not broke why change it?

[Donald Qualls]

if it is not broke why change it?

If a question begins with the word "why", the answer is most likely "money." -- Robert A. Heinlein

If it was, for one reason or another, unprofitable (or "under" profitable) to continue making the film in the old plant, then it was "broke" and needed to be changed. One of the reasons it might be unprofitable is if there were problems with quality control due to static issues (how many times would you have to have an image ruined by static discharge marks, like tiny lightning on the emulsion surface, before you switch to another film?); another is if the cost of labor, maintenance, or real estate were too high in the old location relative to the price obtainable for the product.

Regardless, the only change I've heard of in the qualities of Tri-X with the change in coating plant is that the 400TX is now said to actually have slightly finer grain than TMY, though it still retains the classic "gritty" Tri-X grain structure at a slightly smaller scale. I haven't heard of any visible changes in the 320TXP made in sheet formats compared to the old TXP.

Have you tried the new 320TXP yet?

[Kevin Crisp]

Frank: I had the same concern, I think you'll find it is essentially the same material calling for slight adjustment in what you've been doing. The film is slightly thinner and has lower b+f. It is more inconvenient to fix (think TMAX) but that isn't the end of the world.

[Dave Perry]

With regards to the Illford situation.

Just for everybodies info. I work in the camera retail world and we had recently received notice from Illford of some substantial increases in prices. I live in Canada and we don't have a distributer for their products so everything has to come from the US. As an example of the new prices we had received some new orders of fixer and the price was just about doubled.

Up here digital has really knocked the stuffing out of the film world. We sell about 9 1/2 digital cameras to 1 film camera. B & W is hurting even more.

[Gene Crumpler]

Dave;

The slump in the dollar to the euro and the pound creates a lot of this problem. I ordered 50 sheets of Gigabit sheet film and the chemistry from the UK and ended up spending $153.

Rolex has increased their prices twice in the last 8 months. The MSRP of my Daytona has increased over $2,000 since I bought it 14 months ago. I invest in Rolex watches and I keep an eye on the price situation.

Bet you never sold a lot of 4x5 equipment even before digital.

Gene