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Film Ferrania - Developments from October 2023 onward

flavio81

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Amazing!!

I like ADOX film, I have some boxes of Customed For Henning Serger (CHS II 100) around ready to use.
 

halfaman

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Theoretically it is also the factory that hopefully some day will coat Adox paper.
 

Nzoomed

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The Ferrania film edge markings (in 35mm) were like this. There were (IIRC) + and/or dots in purple, orange and green depending on the generation of the film.

View attachment 411998

View attachment 411999
Yeah thats pretty much what my Solaris looks like, I have some other negatives i shot on a cheap disposable camera from the 90s too which will be interesting to check the markings.
Ferrania made xray film for Kodak and boxed it into yellow Kodak boxes. They sold that division to Kodak at the beginning of the '00. There are many interviews from ex Ferrania people on YouTube that talk about this.
Yes I remember hearing a bit about this, that means that likely Ferrania had some good patents for X-ray film if Kodak purchased their division, its not Like Kodak wasnt making the stuff themselves prior.
I remember watching their video showing the scale of the big boy coater, it certainly was huge. Im not sure how it compares in volume to Kodak or Fujis coaters at the time, but it appeared to make a huge amount of waste per run too which is understandable, so to be economic, they had to sell enough volume.
Perhaps thats why they lasted so long if they were supplying to other generic brands? I question if they could have actually survived entirely had Kodak and/or Fuji's business collapsed.
Its a miracle that Kodak is still here today and we should be thankful.

Ferrania were also making their own acetate film base which is impressive, im not sure when they stopped making that, but I have the impression they were doing it for a long time.
They could have quite a lucrative business making that stuff since Kodak dont even make it anymore as far as im aware (only estar is made by Kodak) and I could imagine other film companies would be interested in purchasing it.

I have the feeling their market was mainly house brands near the end, I have never seen Ferrania films available here in New Zealand that I can remember, but I have likely purchased re branded Ferrania film from the dollar store on occasion.
At the peak of film consumption worldwide, how many companies were coating colour film on such a scale? I can only think of Kodak, Fuji, Agfa and of course Ferrania, I remember seeing Konika film around, but I dont know if they coated much themselves, or if it was all Ferrania film? It appears they had rebranded Ferrania film at some point from what I can tell.
It looks like in their last days that they were selling more film under their own brand with the Solaris trademark, I dont see any evidence that Solaris was around for many years prior, seems to be from the early 2000s onwards.

I think this is the key here, C41, and not just any C41 film, but every day consumer film, not the professional lines of film, but just film that the average consumer could pick up and shoot and have acceptable photographs for their 4x6 prints.
Its good news to see that not only that this machinery has been saved, but is being put back into use, I remember reading some time back that ADOX was investing in building a new factory for producing more film, but this appears to be a separate venture they have done?
I shot some ADOX Colour implosion a while back, had quite a retro feel, but I think it was coated for them by someone else at the time.
Its also good news to see more colour film on on the market and means that the decline has bottomed out and that there is now more demand.
I wonder where it will go from here? Will we ever see Cibachrome again?
 

fs999

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I remember reading some time back that ADOX was investing in building a new factory for producing more film, but this appears to be a separate venture they have done?
Yes. If you look at my link, you can see everything about their factories.
 

foc

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I remember seeing Konika film around, but I dont know if they coated much themselves, or if it was all Ferrania film?

My understanding was that Konica, at sometime in late 1980s & early 1990s, were buying bulk master rolls of film from Kodak and adding their own edge markings. Konica also did private label. I remember at one stage Polaroid 35mm was made by Konica. Infact Polaroid 35mm was made by Agfa, Ferrania and Konica at different times.
 

flavio81

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Yes, they had a big, separate building for acetate film base production..


I remember seeing Konika film around, but I dont know if they coated much themselves, or if it was all Ferrania film? It appears they had rebranded Ferrania film at some point from what I can tell.

Konica was probably the first photographic materials producer in Japan, predating Fujifilm by at least 20 years. They also made the first color film in japan.

They also had a unique product: Konica Centuria 3200, the fastest C41 film.

Yet it is possible they have used rebadged Ferrania film at some point in time.

I shot some ADOX Colour implosion a while back, had quite a retro feel, but I think it was coated for them by someone else at the time.

I think it was InovisCoat. Maybe. I can be wrong. But now, what was InovisCoat is now part of the same group that owns "Original Wolfen" and Ferrania.

I wonder where it will go from here? Will we ever see Cibachrome again?

To get Cibachrome again, slide film needs to be massively popular again first.
 

polaromar

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I think it was InovisCoat. Maybe. I can be wrong. But now, what was InovisCoat is now part of the same group that owns "Original Wolfen" and Ferrania.

It was, I'm pretty sure. All the ADOX color films are InovisCoat/Filmotec, renting time from Polaroid's Monheim facility. I believe InovisCoat is the only company that does custom films for 3rd parties (eg. many of the Lomo films), as opposed to just relabeling.
 

Klaus_H

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According to the commercial register, the two companies Filmotec GmbH and Inoviscoat GmbH have been dissolved and are in liquidation. Neither company has a managing director; instead, they are headed by a liquidator. Business activities are now limited to winding up the companies. Nothing is being produced here anymore. The word/figurative mark “ORIGINAL WOLFEN” has been deleted from the European Union Intellectual Property Office.

( Source: Northdata.de )
 

halfaman

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ADOX Color Mission was a film ordered 10-15 years ago to the original Inoviscoat company that was formed after Agfa Leverkusen disolution. Inoviscoat went down briefly after serving the film to ADOX. The film was freezed waiting for better times (prices) and the company was sold to Impossible/Polarid to produce their instant films. The Filmotec Inoviscoat was formed after original closure by some of the staff, it is a fabless company with some production time available at Monheim.

Polaroid Monheim does not have any roll confectioning line, original Inoviscoat (like Agfa Gevaert) didn't want to be on consumer still film but on B2B (aerial, lithographic, PCB, medical) and, of course, there is no need either to produce integral or peel apart instant films. So all LomoChrome and Orwo films must be confectioned in some other place, Color Mission is confectioned by ADOX themselves.
 
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cmacd123

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mshchem

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Such fun to pick them
Sooters is #3 in the second row, I am Not sure if they were in the states
sears and k-mart at 2 and 7 in the 7th row
and Zellers (part of Hudson's bay at 7 in the last row

I wonder who printed the decoration on the metal cassettes? That's pretty cool.
 

ChrisGalway

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By coincidence, yesterday I was given an old camera, a Canon AF35M, batteries still in, leaked and have corroded the camera, but inside was this film ... presumably one of the many different branded Ferrania/3M films

 

Ainarref

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The letters “EXL” appearing on the roll are the name of the 3M Ferrania color negative film generation from the period 1991-1994.
 

ChrisGalway

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The letters “EXL” appearing on the roll are the name of the 3M Ferrania color negative film generation from the period 1991-1994.

Thanks, and I reckon those disintegrated batteries had also been in the camera since the early 1990s!
 

foc

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Belmont was a large wholesale photofinisher/lab in Northern Ireland. It was bought out by Spectra Photo, the largest lab in the Republic of Ireland at the time. The Spectra brand was rebadged Agfa but AFAIK, they kept the Belmont brand as Ferrania.
 

ChrisGalway

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Belmont was a large wholesale photofinisher/lab in Northern Ireland. It was bought out by Spectra Photo, the largest lab in the Republic of Ireland at the time. The Spectra brand was rebadged Agfa but AFAIK, they kept the Belmont brand as Ferrania.

That fits, the person who gave me the camera lived in Co. Galway.
 

runswithsizzers

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A while back I requested to be notified if B&H Photo in New York got some more Ferrania P33 stock for sale (135, 36 exp). Today I got an email telling me: "You are receiving this message because you asked to be notified when this item becomes available. We regret to inform you that this item is unfortunately no longer available at B&H."

A quick check at 5 or 6 other film retailers, and all show either "out of stock" or "no longer available"

Is Ferrania P33 gone forever?
 

Ainarref

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As I write this post, new batches of P33 are being processed at LRF. Format 135 - 36 exp.
 

Ainarref

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Sorry, in English the acronym stands for Photographic Research Laboratories (Ferrania)
 

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MattKing

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Just because film is being made doesn't mean that the distribution channels will necessarily include B&H ....