Is Kodak Chemistry Going Away?

[jnantz]

A fellow LF photographer dropped by Tempe Camera today (Arizona) to purchase some fixer. He was told by one of their senior management folks that Kodak is getting out of the chemistry business. He said their suppliers tell them that Kodak will continue to produce film, but is getting out of the chemistry business. Is this old news? Another Kodak rumor? I don't use Kodak chemistry, so it wouldn't impact me.

have you called kodak alaris to ask them for some information? someone who might be of some help is Mr Mooney he posted his contact information on a pug a few years ago >> profilm@kodakalaris.com ( also found on https://imaging.kodakalaris.com/photographers/resources ) .. they might not be honest if they are phasing out the chemistry licensed with their name on it though. years ago when then Eastman Kodak was consolidating timber and paper milling concerns in South America I called and spoke with people at EK and they were like "oh it's nothing we do this all the time" and a few months later ... photochemistry's so easy to mix oneself if your favorite gets canned you won't be in too much trouble..the only difference between now and 1899 is it's a mail order apothecary ( artcraft, the formulary, bostick and Sullivan &c ) instead of the corner druggist where you'll find your essentials.

[Michael R]

I don't think Alaris has anything to do with the chemicals. They just market/distribute still films and do a few other things. You'd have to contact Sino Promise about the chemicals. I doubt they will tell you anything about business plans/issues but anyway.

See here https://kodak.sinopromise.com/photo-chemistry.html

have you called kodak alaris to ask them for some information? someone who might be of some help is Mr Mooney he posted his contact information on a pug a few years ago >> profilm@kodakalaris.com ( also found on https://imaging.kodakalaris.com/photographers/resources ) .. they might not be honest if they are phasing out the chemistry licensed with their name on it though. years ago when then Eastman Kodak was consolidating timber and paper milling concerns in South America I called and spoke with people at EK and they were like "oh it's nothing we do this all the time" and a few months later ... photochemistry's so easy to mix oneself if your favorite gets canned you won't be in too much trouble..the only difference between now and 1899 is it's a mail order apothecary ( artcraft, the formulary, bostick and Sullivan &c ) instead of the corner druggist where you'll find your essentials.

[Oren Grad]

I don't think Alaris has anything to do with the chemicals. They just market/distribute still films and do a few other things.

This. The chaotic and still-evolving separation of manufacturing from branding and marketing rights coming out of the Eastman Kodak reorganization is the ongoing source of enormous confusion among that great majority of users who don't spend their time closely following industry news. It damages the very brand value of which all the players are trying to take advantage.

[jnantz]

This. The chaotic and still-evolving separation of manufacturing from branding and marketing rights coming out of the Eastman Kodak reorganization is the ongoing source of enormous confusion among that great majority of users who don't spend their time closely following industry news. It damages the very brand value of which all the players are trying to take advantage.

yea it's a confusing mess. .. but this isn't too confusing. KA licensed the name to SP to make chemistry, just like EK licensed the name for Champion to make it before SP ...

I don't think Alaris has anything to do with the chemicals. They just market/distribute still films and do a few other things. You'd have to contact Sino Promise about the chemicals. I doubt they will tell you anything about business plans/issues but anyway.

See here https://kodak.sinopromise.com/photo-chemistry.html

IDK i figger KA might know what's going on with stuff with their name on it, wouldn't you? it's probably a large source of income ... the thing is it's probably in their contract they have to play dumb and make believe they have no clue...

[Tin Can]

only yesterday I looked at my perfect Kodachromes

even 65 years on

watched the farewell movie 3 times so far

Rest in Peace

[Kevin Crisp]

Paul Simon was right.

[Sal Santamaura]

yea it's a confusing mess. .. but this isn't too confusing. KA licensed the name to SP to make chemistry, just like EK licensed the name for Champion to make it before SP...

I've no insider information, but am relatively certain that 1) Kodak Alaris didn't simply license Sino Promise to make photo chemicals, it sold that business outright and 2) Eastman Kodak merely hired Champion to make photo chemicals before the bankruptcy, never licensing anything to Champion.

...IDK i figger KA might know what's going on with stuff with their name on it, wouldn't you? it's probably a large source of income ... the thing is it's probably in their contract they have to play dumb and make believe they have no clue...

As best I can determine, recent Kodak-branded photo chemicals had no markings of Kodak Alaris on them. Sino Promise was apparently identified as the manufacturer. Having sold that business to Sino Promise, Kodak Alaris is unlikely to obtain any further income based on future sales.

If anyone has better insight (I've not purchased Kodak-branded photo chemicals since all this transpired, but occasionally seen images of labels that others posted in forums), please correct any errors in this post.

[jnantz]

https://www.sinopromise.com/index/contactUs.html
and
info@sinopromise.com
and
https://www.sinopromise.com/themes/cooperation.html

[William D. Lester]

Took delivery of a bottle of indicator stop bath this week. The label says made in the USA for Kodak Alaris. No idea how old it is. Best before date is late 2024. It is the newer round bottle.

[Fungus]

The complication with home-mixing of ascorbate developers is that aside from Ryuji Suzuki's formulation attempt, the lack of a strong iron/copper chelating agent makes the developer very vulnerable to fast-paced oxidation which the user will not know about beforehand. The most easily obtainable chelating agents such as EDTA or Calgon won't help.

Since XTOL is only a tiny net improvement over D-76, D-76 is a more reliable option for the home mixer.

Has anyone, such as Photographer’s Formulary, come out with an exact replacement for Xtol? It’s just a matter of reverse engineering the formula. Kodak’s patent expired in 2016.