T Max 400 ULF- What Are You Waiting For?

[Michael Kadillak]

I was in touch with John at J&C today and he informed me that the orders received to date for the T Max 400 ULF offering is lukewarm. What are you waiting for?

In order to avail ourselves of the standard high priced Special Kodak Order and to get Kodak to consider cutting T Max 400 in ULF sizes, we needed to get their attention by purchasing an entire master roll. Encouraged by the interest expressed from the ULF community to put T Max 400 into the film holders of the ULF shooter, we invested a year of our time to secure terms and pricing that we have the opportunity to take advantage of as we speak. When we pre-notified the ULF/LF community of our success in climbing this mountain, we received tremendous interest in this project that encouraged us to set up the payment vehicle at:

http://www.jandcphoto.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=24

I honestly felt that folks would be absolutely chomping at the bit at this opportunity and so far, that is not proved to be the case. . Come on fellow sheet film users, help us out here. We opted to act in the best interests of the entire ULF/LF community when we could have negotiated a deal for a handful of participants.

Considering the cost of a master roll of any film, the willing underwriter (J&C) needs our commitment in the form of actual film orders to offset a reasonable portion of the financial exposure to make this deal work. Without every interested person downloading the payment forms and committing to the largest commitment of this film possible, there is a real risk that this deal could not come to fruition.

Why? Unlike the Ilford offering that is being fronted by the manufacturer, J&C is stepping up BIG TIME to fund the purchase of the master roll but cannot (and should not) be asked to accept the entire financial exposure for this deal. Our participation as a group of sheet film users in the form of real orders is absolutely essential to offset a reasonable portion of the cost of this deal.

A tactical strategy in insuring that we have quality sheet film in the future is to take an offensive posture and convey to the film manufactuers that we are in fact a ready willing and stable market now and in the future. Given what we felt was the interest in T Max 400 that is exactly what we did with Kodak. To allow this offering to fail for a fundamental lack of participation would be absolutely devistating to the prospects of the future for ULF sheet film. It would make us as consumers completely reliant upon 50 year old film plants in Eastern and that does not set well with me one bit.

Help us help you and secure the prospects of participating in this marvelous art form for years to come - step up to the plate and send your order form to J&C.

Sincerely,

[Matt Miller]

I'm not a ULF shooter, just 3x4 & 8x10. I noticed the other day that 3x4 is on the list, so I ordered some. There are no other options for a 400 speed film in 3x4. This is very cool, I hope that it comes to fruition.

Buy up guys.

[Oren Grad]

My big order will go to Ilford, but I've already sent John an order for 3x4 TMY as well.

[Robert A. Zeichner]

I sent my check in over a week ago and I know of one other individual who did the same. I will contact the rest of the folks I informed of this program and encourage them to do likewise if they haven't already. Failure is not an option here. We now have to step up with $$$ or we may never get this chance again. Michael, thanks for the update.

[Tsuyoshi]

Micheal,

I will send my 100 sheets of 7x17 order soon.

It just a little tough since everything is happening at the same time. I am in the middle of organizing the group purchase of Palladium Chloride and trying to buy $800 worth of chemicals for myself... I just wish I had more time to be financially ready. Then I would be able to order more. A month is not enough time to get ready for people like me. I think this will be a key point next time this is happening.

Regardless, I hope it will go through. I appreciate time and effort you are putting into this matter.

Warmly,
Tsuyoshi

[Diane Maher]

I think part of the problem with all of these wonderful ULF offerings is the timing. January is typically a month where people are trying to let their credit cards cool off after the holidays. I have also placed an order with Ilford and will do so again before their deadline - mostly because I've never shot with T-Max 400 extensively. However, I think it's great that these offers are being made.

[Philip_5765]

It also says "No refunds" on their info page. Does that mean if I prepay and the order never comes to fruition that I'm out my money?

m

[Bob Eskridge]

I'm ordering! I'm ordering! Just haven't taken the time!

[JandC Photo]

"It also says "No refunds" on their info page. Does that mean if I prepay and the order never comes to fruition that I'm out my money? "

Nobody will be charged on their credit card until we reach the minimum.

From the info page:

"We will authorize your credit card upon receipt of the order. Once we meet the minimum order volume to place the order with Kodak we will charge your card for your order. "

Checks will be cashed upon receipt. We will refund if the minimum is not met.

Thanks

[Michael Mutmansky]

I was discussing the Kodak special order with a person recently, and he mentioned that the language indicates that if enough preorders are not made, then this special purchase will not happen, and of course, the money will not be charged to the card.

However, one thing that he indicated is that he is concerned that he may lose out on ordering ANY film because of this possibility; if the Kodak order falls through he will have lost the possibility of putting in an order on Ilford film due to the timing.

This is part of the reason the timing of these two offers is extremely unfortunate, and could possibly be a reason that some people are hesitant to order the Kodak products. Is there a way to adjust the timing so that people can know before the Ilford deadline whether the Kodak order will fail? Some people, probably many people, are not going to be purchasing film from both companies for various reasons, and if a person commits to a Kodak purchase and then gets left out of the Ilford purchase due to the timing, then they may be in really poor shape as far as film goes.

---Michael