Bad News for C41ers

Zygomorph · Jan 19, 2011

B&H no longer stocks Kodak Flexicolor chemicals. You can order them for in-store pickup, but there are ridiculous minimums. What on earth would I do with 12 bottles of Final Rinse??? So much for getting whatever you want when you want it for the trouble of living in New York City...

Also, I just got off the phone with minilab.com in Minnesota. I was told that Trebla no longer manufactures the Trelux FilmPAC, which I believe was also what I was told when I called PDI in Rochester, NY. They said they'd be willing to work something out with me, though... repackaged Flexicolor or Trebla materials, basically.

So! Looks like I'm reduced to the Photog's Formulary's repackaged Flexicolor. How many rolls of 35 and/or 120 might I expect to develop from this kit? I just need to see whether it will be cost-effective for me (NYC rates for processing are about $5/roll for both 35 and 120). Is replenishing such a small quantity of developer an option?

Bob-D659 · Jan 19, 2011

Have you checked with Adorama, they do ship Kodak RA4 chemistry which BH don't.

Zygomorph · Jan 19, 2011

All of Adorama's C41 chemistry is out of stock as well. I implied above, though, that I do live in NYC, so it would have been great to have had a place where I could just walk in and get what I needed in reasonable quantities. So I think if there's at all any demand and/or local organization of color DIYers, there could be a healthy gray market (or whatever you'd call it) for repackaged bulk chemistry, or group buys, etc. I think I may get on that.

2F/2F · Jan 19, 2011

That's what happens when practically nobody processes C-41 at home. Too bad.

boswald · Jan 19, 2011

Calumet?

Athiril · Jan 19, 2011

Hmm I got mine from Vanbar.. though thats Aus..

brucemuir · Jan 19, 2011

Bleach is the hardest to find in bulk.
You can get the developer fairly easily but I dont know how long this situation will last.

Jeff Kubach · Jan 19, 2011

I used to do C-41, hate to hear about this.

Jeff

Mlatterich · Jan 19, 2011

I always order mine from Adorama. They seem to restock fast in my experience.

michaelbsc · Jan 19, 2011

This is really absurd. Trying to figure out what you need has been like trying to find buried treasure. A one page PDF on Kodak\'s web site with cookbook instructions could double the C41 sales in a matter of weeks to boys like us. Instead it will go away, and we\'ll be forced to figure it out in a bathtub.

Crimey, you would think we were trying to use it to make meth. In fact I\'ll bet finding clear instructions on how to make meth is probably *EASIER* than finding a straight method to process C41.

hpulley · Jan 20, 2011

Tetenal/Unicolor do 1L kits still. I think the 5L is discontinued or maybe it is new and not yet available, I can't tell. The 1L kit is perfect for me, 12-16 rolls then done.

Chuck Mintz · Jan 20, 2011

Does anyone know someone in Kodak Pro Marketing? Their tech support is still great and tries to help but Kodakia really confusing the die hards out here. First they discontinue 50 sheet boxes of E100G. OK, I can buy five tens. Then they come out with not one, but two really nice neg films in 4x5 and 8x10. Then they discontinue the 5L kits for E6. While I have been dealing with the aftermath of that (my dealer finds the individual 10L bottles have minimum orders of six bottles), I am thinking of switching to C-41. Then they make the C-41 harder (this might just be B&H?). Life would be simpler if Kodak would just come out and say what there plans are for color films and people doing their own processing and maybe find a couple of dealers that could be national distributors. I did check with a friend at B&H and they will not reconsider shipping the hazardous stuff (which rules them out for E-6 and maybe C-41 as well. But, Adorama, Unique and Calumet have shipped this stuff. I understand that Kodak has to do what right for their business, but confusing their customers would not seem to be good for anyone.

michaelbsc · Jan 20, 2011

I'll stand by my guess above. Not that I have ever find it, but I'll bet it is easier to find instructions on how to start a meth lab in a $10 motel bathroom than it is to find instructions on color processing.

I'm beginning to think TerryM may be right about them.

EdSawyer · Jan 20, 2011

Pakor.com sells and ships all C41 flexicolor chemistry, incl. Bleach. Adorama sold and shipped all but the bleach. I bought quite a bit of chemistry and paper from Pakor, their prices were better than Adorama/BH by a little bit, and the service was great.

C-41 at home is definitely doable, and the chemistry does seem to be out there no problem. (Just not at BH apparently...... :-/ )

-Ed

alanrockwood · Jan 20, 2011

Is Trebla getting out of the C41 business altogether, or just certain products?

oldlincoln · Jan 20, 2011

What's wrong with the chemicals that Freestyle sells? The digibase C-41 kits are great for the small user and some of the larger kits seem fairly priced for those that work in color neg a lot. Don't forget to thank them for their APUG sponsorship if you order.

alanrockwood · Jan 20, 2011

Last time I checked the Freestyle web page Digibase was out of stock.

oldlincoln · Jan 20, 2011

How `bout the Unicolor then?

hpulley · Jan 20, 2011

oldlincoln said:
How `bout the Unicolor then?

AS I already said, works for me and the powder kit can be shipped or carried on no problem!

Zygomorph · Jan 20, 2011

My concern is basically that I'm trying to find a more economical way to process my film. Why make the initial investment in labware, for example, if it's going to become increasingly impossible to find the chemistry at reasonable prices (including hazmat shipping!) in reasonable quantities that I can store in my modest Brooklyn apartment? I'm trying to be pragmatic about this.

Practically speaking, I do think that for my current volume of shooting, the Photographer's Forumlary and the Rollei kits are just fine, especially since I just read that Rollei is planning to release their kits in larger portions. However, if I do start shooting at a higher volume, I would like to be able to offset the cost of film with a proportionate savings in processing.

Anyway, between Adorama and Calumet, it looks like NYC locals could possibly cobble together the proper Flexicolor SM chemicals. Though lord knows how I'd carry it home through the subways....!

I really enjoy shooting film for a whole lot of reasons, so we'll see how the economic end of it goes. So far I think it's a lot less anxiety-inducing than digital, so far as the archival process is concerned, and I kinda like the idea that there's extra information in the emulsion that needs fancy scanners to access...

Christopher Walrath · Jan 20, 2011

Don't on Kodak for more than a few years at best. And, seeing as C41 is probably way down on their list, I wouldn't wait for getting yellow chemistry to get any easier in the near future. Their Cust Relations dept has thrown out the typical P&L line that product will follow sales.

alanrockwood · Jan 20, 2011

Which kits use separate bleach and fix?

alanrockwood · Jan 20, 2011

"product will follow sales" ... The following is not to say that this quote is a false business principal, but one way to look at it is that in a growing and innovative company sales will follow product, but in a company that is milking its last profits from their product line then product will follow sales.

guyjr · Jan 20, 2011

alanrockwood said:
Which kits use separate bleach and fix?

As far as I've seen none aside from Kodak Flexicolor chemicals and the Fuji Hunt C-41 kit which is available in Europe. I actually imported one of the 5L Fuji kits last year for around $150 shipped from macodirect.de, and it works very well (this was when the Euro was at a very low point however).

Regarding E-6 and the demise of that 5L kit from Kodak... I contacted their Pro department via e-mail and actually got back a couple of documents from them that explain very clearly how to do one-shot processing with the 10L chemicals. It lists the exact amounts of replenisher and starter (for those chems that have a starter) to make 1L of working solution. I don't know if the docs are on their web site... if not, I can make them available, just let me know.

alanrockwood · Jan 20, 2011

guyjr said:
...
Regarding E-6 and the demise of that 5L kit from Kodak... I contacted their Pro department via e-mail and actually got back a couple of documents from them that explain very clearly how to do one-shot processing with the 10L chemicals. It lists the exact amounts of replenisher and starter (for those chems that have a starter) to make 1L of working solution. I don't know if the docs are on their web site... if not, I can make them available, just let me know.

The docs on E6 could come in very handy.

Bad News for C41ers

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