Bulk Chemicals in Ottawa, Canada

[Doc W]

I would like to hear from others in Ottawa who mix their own chemistry or are looking into it. I would like to make a bulk order to Photographer's Formulary (or somewhere like that) and a bunch of us could probably save some money by ordering together. It would also be good to get together and compare results.

Gimme a shout.

 

[mrred]

You don't really need to order as a group to get savings.

Don't order from PF directly, as they will confim your order and not apply shipping until they decide what way they want to ship it. For some reason they do not let you review the order at that point. That could translate to a surcharge from ups (on top of the shipping) of about $30 for broker fees.

I have had good success from BH with what they carry. They also offer cheap and friendly prepaid taxes and duties with purilator. If they have it, I generally go on-line to get it.

Get friendly with the folks in TO. There are places there that are not on the radar and are photographer friendly.

It's often easier and cheaper to get stuff from non US sources. It was quite reasonable to get Stannous Chloride from the UK via ebay. US sources would not ship it past the border.

There are chemical distributors in Ottawa that can sell some of the chemicals you will need. I looked at some of these a while ago looking for some pyro developer ingredients.

There is all kinds of stupidity over the simplest of items so prepare to be creative. It would not hurt to be incorporated.

Just some thoughts from a dude from Montreal who makes most of his own stuff.

 

[Bob Carnie]

We use Nymoc in Toronto ask for John he is a fantastic guy and his son Murray is just as nice .
you can mention my name and get a free bar of soap,

I have also found Artcraft in NJ very friendly, responsive with good prices.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Contact Hexavalent here on APUG. He is in Ottawa and orders a lot of chemicals. IDK if he would want to do what you suggest, but there is a fellow APUG member that you might try.

PE

 

[Kevin Kehler]

you can mention my name and get a free bar of soap,

That is got to be one of the strangest sentences I have read in a while. Does the mere mention of your name make one dirty or is this a promotional item they give away?

 

[Hexavalent]

I PM'd the OP (doncha just love acronyms!)

I've bought specialty chems from the Formulary for emulsion work - their quality is excellent.

For moderate quantities of off-the-shelf chemicals, New Horizon Scientific in B.C. have been very helpful - and they are super nice to deal with.

If found Canadawide Scientific to be overpriced on many items - they would not be my first choice.

For bulk purch of several kilos of "common" chems like hydroquinone, hypo, KBr etc. there are some distributors in Montreal that might be worth looking at.

I'd be interested in participating in a group/bulk purchase.

 

[Bob Carnie]

Both
John fancys the ladys and gives two or more bars.. Nymoc makes soap for a lot of alternative vendors,
But if you talk to some about me it gets quite nasty.

That is got to be one of the strangest sentences I have read in a while. Does the mere mention of your name make one dirty or is this a promotional item they give away?

 

[mrred]

The issue I find with Montreal suppliers is their unwillingness to deal in small volumes.

For example, anachemia (where I get my p. dichromate, tea, sulfuric acid, etc) wants a $300 minimum order and insists on using a courier when it was only 5 minutes away. I have enough dichromate to do me a half a lifetime.

Looking at my comment about PF, it was about their on-line store. I get their products from BH.

As far as cost, my staples tend to be cheaper and less of a hassle from BH; assuming they can ship it.

does anyone know of a reasonable canadian source of CD-4?

 

[Hexavalent]

Ditto on Anachemia. They were less than helpful, wanted a large min order, and insisted on a very pricey delivery method.

Last time I check, http://www.kamapigment.com/ in Montreal carries dichromate and few other items that are useful for alt-process at very reasonable prices.

 

[Doc W]

This is all extremely helpful and I am glad I posted. My needs are pretty simple at this point. I just want to experiment with a few developers and possibly fixers. Nothing exotic yet.

I also found PF's page a little confusing but Sherry assured me that if there was a cheaper method than what I saw on the screen, PF would do that, and if it was MORE expensive, she would let me know before shipping. Also - and I may have misunderstood - she said that ALL fees were included in their shipping price. So I got the impression that when I ordered from PF, there would be no little UPS surprises this side of the border (which usually amount to about 40 bucks on shipments between $100-$200).

I found Nymoc very helpful but, honestly, a little expensive, even if I factor in the shipping from a US supplier. I don't why this stuff is so dang expensive up here. Does no one make it in Canada? I couldn't find any places in Ottawa that sold what I needed for a reasonable price. Some pharmacies sell some of what I need but they have only pharmaceutical grade which is WAY more expensive, and the minimum quantities are huge.

I checked out Artcraft too and they are a little cheaper than PF, I think, but they do not sell glycin and I would be hit by UPS charges over the border.

I am not that far from the border (about an hour). Have any of you fellow Canucks had orders shipped to a UPS depot just south of the border for pickup? It would probably not save me much but I could turn it into a photography trip (my fave 8x10 neg was taken near Brockville: (there was a url link here which no longer exists) ) Is there any hassle bringing chemicals across the border if I drove down to pick them up?