Local Photo supply store told me Kodak has discontinued all development chemicals

[Steven Ruttenberg]

Was there today and bought the last three bottles of Tmx developer and last three bottles or HC-110 (non syrup kind). They told me that Kodak had stopped making chemicals to develop film and they would be receiving no more.

Has any heard about Kodak discontinuing the making of chemicals to deveolp film?

[j.e.simmons]

There's a thread on photrio about this. It seems that Sino Promise, which had been making the Kodak chemistry for the last several years(or having it made) has ceased production.

[Tin Can]

I have never in 25 years used any KODAK Chemistry

not counting Pro processors

I use a simple chem set and do not experiment

[Michael R]

Eastman Kodak (the company in Rochester that makes Kodak film) has been out of the processing chemical business for a very long time, so this has little to do with EK.

When Kodak Alaris was marketing/distributing Kodak chemicals, and before that, the chemicals were made by various other companies - Champion, Tetenal...

Kodak Alaris sold this and some other things to a Chinese company called Sino Promise in mid-2020. Although there were periodic hiccups/issues before that, availability has been increasingly problematic since Sino Promise took over the marketing/distribution of Kodak-branded chemicals.

There have been rumors over the past few years that Sino Promise/Kodak chemistry is basically no more, but as far as I know there still hasn't been any sort of official announcement of this. What we hear about are usually retailers/channels being told it is over.

My suggestion would be to move on. For example when it comes to B&W:

-There are various commercially available clones of XTOL
-D-76 can either be made at home or is available commercially as Ilford ID-11 which is identical
-HC-110 has equivalents (purists should note HC-110 itself has been formulated in various different ways over the decades/years)
-D-23 and many other Kodak formulas can be made at home
-Dektol can either be made at home or substituted with an array of print developers that all do the same thing
-Kodak fixers, with the exception of Flexicolor fixer, are plain old acid fixers easily replaced with any number of other fixers
-KRST is functionally/chemically no different than Harman and others

[Steven Ruttenberg]

yeah. I am also worried about the film side. I am starting to stock up as often as I can. Especially for things like Portra, E100 and Extar

[paulbarden]

I very much doubt the Film production at EK is in any way affected by what Sino Promise did (and didn't do). Eastman Kodak has made it very clear in recent times that their commitment to film is 100%, and they are working to improve the volume of product they can put out.

[Michael R]

This is true. We should not confuse Eastman Kodak with Sino Promise and the manufacture/availability of Kodak-branded chemicals.


I very much doubt the Film production at EK is in any way affected by what Sino Promise did (and didn't do). Eastman Kodak has made it very clear in recent times that their commitment to film is 100%, and they are working to improve the volume of product they can put out.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

I very much doubt the Film production at EK is in any way affected by what Sino Promise did (and didn't do). Eastman Kodak has made it very clear in recent times that their commitment to film is 100%, and they are working to improve the volume of product they can put out.

Cool. Now if they could bring the prices back down that would be great. The last two years worth of price increases is nuts. They should take back the chemical side of things for developing as well. Not that "kodak" developers are the best, but I like them and until recently were not hard to get. They are stable too. I am using developer, Tmax and HC-110 that expired 3 plus years ago on film exposed 4 years ago and the results are excellent. I just bought 3 more Tmax Professional Developer and 3 more HC-110. Both new formulas. The HC-110 is different for sure, still a concentrate, but consistency of water whereas the stuff I bought long time ago and still have is like syrup. I hope the new formulas are good. I am not ready to switch or to start making my own developer just yet.

[paulbarden]

1) Kodak's film prices are never coming down, they only go up. The rest of the film manufacturers have, and continue to do the same. I like TMX and TMY a lot, but I only buy a roll or two as a "treat" once in a while. Ilford gets 90% of my film budget now.
2) There are plenty of excellent alternatives to Sino Promise chemistry, aimed to take the place of "Kodak" chemistry. Adox, for one, is doing a great job of filling that hole, and Photographers Formulary has many outstanding offerings as well. (I really like their FA-1027, which lasts for ages even after opening.) These days, I almost exclusively use PMK, but occasionally make my own D-76, Mytol, and Thornton 2-Bath - all of which are pretty simple to put together. I've even made my own PMK from scratch and it's not difficult either.
The whole DIY developer thing just isn't much of an obstacle, but some folks seem really hesitant to work with powders that have to be measured. You make your own and you know you can trust it - Kodak, not so much anymore.

[wclark5179]

Freestyle still has a good selection of products.

https://www.freestylephoto.com/

I notice a clip titled, “Understanding Color Management.”

https://www.freestylephoto.com/color-gamut-and-color-profiles

That was a task that the lab I used would take care of.

[gnd2]

The whole DIY developer thing just isn't much of an obstacle, but some folks seem really hesitant to work with powders that have to be measured. You make your own and you know you can trust it

Sure, for B&W, but some of us like a little color now and then. I have no problem making my own D76 and dektol, but C-41, RA-4 and E-6 are another story.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

I prefer Kodak, E100, Extar, Portra, tmax and 320. The prices are what they are, but inflation is driving that. If they are serious about staying true to film then when recession hits, then prices are gonna have to come down. On the other hand, this could just be a way to justify bailing on the film industry. I suspect if Kodak were to bail, pretty much all film companies will bail. :( I shoot 4x5 and 8x10, prices between D100 and Tmax are not radically different. Tmax is more expensive though. For color, Kodak is it that I am aware of, Fuji still has provia, but E100 eats its lunch.

Oh well,
Time to start stocking up on film and invest in a deep freezer.

[AuditorOne]

I buy the generic c-41 packs from Freestyle. I don't know who is making it for them but they are still selling it.

I shoot so little color film anymore that it is pretty much a luxury when I do. I shot a roll of Portra 400 last month and a roll of Portra 160 on the first. I usually shoot the most right now during the fall season. I picked up some Ektar 100 in 120 roll film with some Xmas money early this year. That is the most recent I have bought any but I have some Portra on ice. I probably have enough to make it through next year. But I will go looking for some more Ektar this Christmas again. Maybe I'll splurge and buy two 5 pack boxes this year. :D

[Drew Wiley]

Some of the Kodak label Sino Promise chemistry was being made in the US all along, probably by the old Champion plant. If there is enough demand, and the relevant patents now expired, the identical chemistry could reappear under another label, but not necessarily under the same readily recognized name, like HC-110 or whatever. But even recognizable tweaks of that are available under other labels, not to mention the availability of D76 clones. And in many cases, you can mix your own black and white developers from scratch. No big deal.

C41, E6, and RA4 are in no trouble whatsoever. It just appears like that to small volume home users who haven't linked up to the right sources yet.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

Some of the Kodak label Sino Promise chemistry was being made in the US all along, probably by the old Champion plant. If there is enough demand, and the relevant patents now expired, the identical chemistry could reappear under another label, but not necessarily under the same readily recognized name, like HC-110 or whatever. But even recognizable tweaks of that are available under other labels, not to mention the availability of D76 clones. And in many cases, you can mix your own black and white developers from scratch. No big deal.

C41, E6, and RA4 are in no trouble whatsoever. It just appears like that to small volume home users who haven't linked up to the right sources yet.

It does appear like that to the home users. I have good sources, but there is always the worry the makers of these chemicals will go full woke and just cease production or change the formulae so much it is crap. We may find ourselves going full circle back to making our own glass plates wet/dry and mixing our own chemicals. Not because we like to, but because we have to. I'm down either way.;

I am one of the lucky few who can afford more than a box of E100 in 4x5 or 8x10 on occasion or Extar or Portra, Tmax, 320. D100 is good too. I have only shot that in my 8x10 until I am confident enough I won't make mistakes except few and far between before I move to the expensive stuff.

I have 5 boxes of Acros 4x5. As soon as I heard production was stopped, I bought everything I could find. I was about to purchase a literal ton from BH, as soon as pushed the buy button, it said no longer being sold. I was p*ssed. Anyway same reasoning I have not used is it is a rare commodity and I want to be sure my hit to miss ratio is as good as it can be.

I still cross my fingers it will come back into production for 4x5 and 8x10.

[j.e.simmons]

I moved to mixing my own chemicals and making my own paper when Kodak killed Azo and the last local photo store closed. Now there are few things to worry about changing except for paper stock.

[Michael R]

I moved to mixing my own chemicals and making my own paper when Kodak killed Azo and the last local photo store closed. Now there are few things to worry about changing except for paper stock.

Film?

[j.e.simmons]

I have a freezer full to the brim of 8x10, 4x5, 120, and a bit of 35. I think I'm set for a little while. Plus a few thousand sheets of old photo paper given to me. I'm hoping it will be good for paper negatives.

[Drew Wiley]

I very much doubt Acros will reappear in sheet version. It's now just a niche product even in 120 roll film, with the II version being dramatically higher priced than the original product. We'll have to see if even it survives. But I'm down to only a dozen sheets or so of 4X5, and ran out of 8X10 several years ago. Acros II is even better than the first version, but whether it gets coated again even in roll version is hard to say.

The prognosis for Kodak sheet films is far better. But in terms of current cost, I'm sure glad I stockpiled 8X10 Ektar as well as both speeds of TMax into my freezer back when the pricing was about a fourth as much as now. I also have a fair amount of 4x5.

[paulbarden]

I very much doubt Acros will reappear in sheet version. It's now just a niche product even in 120 roll film, with the II version being dramatically higher priced than the original product. We'll have to see if even it survives.

I doubt Acros will be around for long. Many retailers (some of which I have spoken with on the subject) often have to sell off their inventory of Acros as it reaches its expiration date, since many find it too expensive now (It used to be one of the least expensive, and now it's one of the MOST expensive) so it sits on their shelves as the months tick by. I stopped buying it after Acros 1 went extinct. I have no compelling reason to buy Acros II.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

yeah, I keep looking for Acros. I have been finding as long as the film is stored well, it is good well after expiration.

[Jim Andrada]

I liked Acros a lot. Used to buy it from BIC camera in Tokyo and fly back with it when I had 2 -3 business trips a month across the "pond". And then after that stopped had it shipped to a friend in Japan and he'd bring it on his monthly trips to the US. Pandemic put a stop to all that. Funny - when I lived in Tokyo I wasn't doing any serious photography. Too busy with work and language school and dating my then wife to be, I guess.

[jnantz]

I moved to mixing my own chemicals and making my own paper when Kodak killed Azo and the last local photo store closed. Now there are few things to worry about changing except for paper stock.

same here .. takes me 20 mins to make a batch of emulsion ..