Forte stop it's production

uraniumnitrate · Jan 12, 2007

Probably you are going to see some changes on the market! Some of your items and favourites disappear! Also some of the repacking and re-labelling companies going to disappear or going to sell some cheap low quality film in their box as Forte closed down the production of photographic materials do to huge overcapacity.

The demand on photographic films and papers are very low and Fortes facilities are designed to produce a large quantity each year. It had been exported its products to some 53 countries world wide Do to Todays low demand on films and papers the investors decided to not to rebuilt or invest on new line but to closed the the factory down. This is now 99.99%.

Here goes another European manufacturer into the grave and sadly both Agfa and Forte were my absolute favourites along Kodak. This is a sad story as Forte produced superior quality of Black and white paper so as films. The result of this is that low quality films going to appear in the market From Russia and China.

Sadly with Fortes sortie a bit of Kodaks history has ended too the factory established by George Eastman as a Kodak Factory in 1922 ends here.

firecracker · Jan 12, 2007

Really? Where is the source?

uraniumnitrate · Jan 12, 2007

firecracker said:
Really? Where is the source?

Here!

Dear xxxxxx.

To our greatest regret we have to advise you that the owners have come to the decision to stop the production of Forte photographic products by January 26th, 2007 definitely.

The factory established by George Eastman as a Kodak Factory in 1922, as well its successors have been manufacturing mainly black & white photo films and papers of superior/high quality especially with warm tone, in a very wide range.

During the past decade the demand for black & white photo products felt back drastically due to the fast technological development, that is confirmed even by the sales figures of your country.

The factory has been working with huge overcapacities, and on a large piece of ground, with uneconomical infrastructure resulting in continuous losses.

Considering the above, the long negotiations with several potential industrial investors have failed.

We thank you for your several years/decades smooth and fruitful co-operation, and wish you good success in the future.

Best regards,

Béla Kummer, Gen. Manager László Varga, Com. Adviser Edit Stirling, Area Manager Attila Ollé,Area Manager

BarryWilkinson · Jan 12, 2007

I know you have contacts at Forte uraniumnitrate, so this is really bad news. They were in this position previousy so I hope they can find a way to continue smaller production.

Barry

matti · Jan 12, 2007

This is not good news. I have just run through a pile of different Ilford, Kentmere, Bergger and Forte papers, and decided on using Forte PW and graded and only use other stuff for contact sheets.
/matti

uraniumnitrate · Jan 12, 2007

BarryWilkinson said:
I know you have contacts at Forte uraniumnitrate, so this is really bad news. They were in this position previousy so I hope they can find a way to continue smaller production.

Barry

It's impossible as the coating facilities are huge and Forte during the communist era where producing for the entire communist world, to their inside market (China and Russia just for example) and to the Middle East and to South America and to the North American continent. We are talking about 53 countries! Just imagine how big that is.
Thats why many of their products worked well in the tropical conditions.
It would be like building a completely new fabric, need new investors to step in with big, big money to shrink production facilities feet into a new lower demand! Thats exactly what Agfa understand so well so they just step out of it as Forte does now!
And who would do that today as even the demand of inkjet products shrinking do to the new technology.

uraniumnitrate · Jan 12, 2007

matti said:
This is not good news. I have just run through a pile of different Ilford, Kentmere, Bergger and Forte papers, and decided on using Forte PW and graded and only use other stuff for contact sheets.
/matti

No wonder why! Forte papers are superb once you learn how to really use them.

Jerevan · Jan 12, 2007

Too bad to see them close down. The market is really shrinking, and with it, the choices. Especially bad as they were a paper and film producer.

Foma could be next up... Or Kodak.

kjsphoto · Jan 12, 2007

This really sucks. I just switched over to using Forte paper not to mention the fact it did lith so well. This is not good. Now what?

What is left?

Kentmere
Ilford. Does Ilford Warmtone lith
Foma

I am not mentioning repackaged stuff.

coriana6jp · Jan 12, 2007

Personally I have never used Forte film, its hard to find much of it here in Japan. But the little paper I have used was nice. I think over the next few years, the market should settle down. Probably Fuji, Ilford and a few other smaller companies will survive. Especially, those with smaller facilities that run film in smaller production runs. Lets support those that we can!

Gary

BarryWilkinson · Jan 12, 2007

uraniumnitrate said:
It's impossible as the coating facilities are huge and Forte during the communist era where producing for the entire communist world, to their inside market (China and Russia just for example) and to the Middle East and to South America and to the North American continent. We are talking about 53 countries! Just imagine how big that is.
Thats why many of their products worked well in the tropical conditions.
It would be like building a completely new fabric, need new investors to step in with big, big money to shrink production facilities feet into a new lower demand! Thats exactly what Agfa understand so well so they just step out of it as Forte does now!
And who would do that today as even the demand of inkjet products shrinking do to the new technology.

Yes, you are correct. If the factory is the same size as it was in 1922...

Dead Link Removed

it would be difficult to consider small runs here.

I really liked Forte paper.

Barry

acroell · Jan 12, 2007

kjsphoto said:
This really sucks. I just switched over to using Forte paper not to mention the fact it did lith so well. This is not good. Now what?

What is left?

Kentmere
Ilford. Does Ilford Warmtone lith
Foma

I am not mentioning repackaged stuff.

There is also Efke as a 4th "survivor", and Fuji makes paper, too. Still, this is sad news.

kjsphoto · Jan 12, 2007

What other paper will lith print>? I was using Forte warmtone and polygrade V. What is another warmtone paper that will do lith?

uraniumnitrate · Jan 12, 2007

kjsphoto said:
What other paper will lith print>? I was using Forte warmtone and polygrade V. What is another warmtone paper that will do lith?

Not as good as Forte but you have a lot's of testing to do ahead! As I have stated ealier somewhere when you learn one product really deep down and if its gone than your knowledge is gone too! Thats what happened with me on Agfa!

uraniumnitrate · Jan 12, 2007

coriana6jp said:
Personally I have never used Forte film, its hard to find much of it here in Japan. But the little paper I have used was nice. I think over the next few years, the market should settle down. Probably Fuji, Ilford and a few other smaller companies will survive. Especially, those with smaller facilities that run film in smaller production runs. Lets support those that we can!

Gary

We are only a few nowadays it's not gonna save everybody! Just looked this site It's droping of Ilford and Kodak! They representatives here are like hawks try to keep that little market left! I'm just supprised by the fact that Fuji is not here!

EmilGil · Jan 12, 2007

kjsphoto said:
What other paper will lith print>? I was using Forte warmtone and polygrade V. What is another warmtone paper that will do lith?

Many people, including Dr Rudman, recommend Fomatone as an excellent lith paper.

firecracker · Jan 12, 2007

uraniumnitrate said:
Not as good as Forte but you have a lot's of testing to do ahead! As I have stated ealier somewhere when you learn one product really deep down and if its gone than your knowledge is gone too! Thats what happened with me on Agfa!

This is getting pretty scary... I too went through that last year with Agfa, and that was a good lesson.

firecracker · Jan 12, 2007

uraniumnitrate said:
We are only a few nowadays it's not gonna save everybody! Just looked this site It's droping of Ilford and Kodak! They representatives here are like hawks try to keep that little market left! I'm just supprised by the fact that Fuji is not here!

I was always wondering about that, too because I use and mention about a lot of Fuji products, but that's not helping this site if Fuji is not a sponsor here.

But I'm almost convinced that Fuji and Ilford cannot be in the same market to compete each other without securing their ways to make enough profits first. If we customers jump on to either one and diss the other, that will be a tragedy, too. We need some balance.

uraniumnitrate · Jan 12, 2007

firecracker said:
I was always wondering about that, too because I use and mention about a lot of Fuji products, but that's not helping this site if Fuji is not a sponsor here.

But I'm almost convinced that Fuji and Ilford cannot be in the same market to compete each other without securing their ways to make enough profits first. If we customers jump on to either one and diss the other, that will be a tragedy, too. We need some balance.

The ballance here is not to gone up to Ilford or Kodak or Fuji ( I tip Fuji and Kodak of those big ones as winner) it's like gone up to those like Efke to secure films on low price! Because if they dissaperes than you pay the prices of those and it's not sure you can afford it as I know many of you don't! A result of this that even less of using a film and more companies going to close! Ilford got a big financial problem too once and I'm not sure it's over but expencive thay are!

kjsphoto · Jan 12, 2007

If people would stop screwing around and talking about I like this or I like that and just buy the products then this wouldn't happen. But with all the talk and no one buying what can we expect. One box a year is not going to keep anyone in business.

If we don't buy products film will be gone in no time flat and we can only blame ourselves.

TheFlyingCamera · Jan 12, 2007

Kevin-

I think most of us buy as much product as we can afford, in the time frame we will use it in. Not everyone here is a working professional who can make a $1000+ order for film or paper, multiple times a year.

juan · Jan 12, 2007

Scott is right. From JandC's sale, I bought several boxes of Polywarmtone and Nuance - it's more paper than I've ever had at one time, and I've been printing in a darkroom for almost 40 years. I buy what I can afford, when I can afford it.

I had begun to get good prints from the Polywarmtone, so I'm going to be sorry to see it go.
juan

uraniumnitrate · Jan 12, 2007

juan said:
Scott is right. From JandC's sale, I bought several boxes of Polywarmtone and Nuance - it's more paper than I've ever had at one time, and I've been printing in a darkroom for almost 40 years. I buy what I can afford, when I can afford it.

I had begun to get good prints from the Polywarmtone, so I'm going to be sorry to see it go.
juan

J&c is one of the company going to be directly effected by the Forte's production stop! Along many others!

Ted Harris · Jan 12, 2007

First off I'll put this in the unconfirmed rumor category for the moment and hope that I am right. If some of the folks ffrom Fotoimpex and others that sell rebranded Forte film make any confirming posts then I will begin to mourn. Second, with all due respect to the possible truth of the original post, it is tough to swallow when I think of all the Forte film that is sold by others and rebranded as their own. Next, even if true it may not be the end of the world. It could be an opportunity for some of the other European film manufacturers to enter the sheet film market if they see a niche that can earn €'s that has become a void worth filling. Finally, while I have never used any of the films produced by Chinese companies I am willing to give them a chance.

I do hope I am not being overly optimistic.

Mark Layne · Jan 12, 2007

kjsphoto said:
What other paper will lith print>? I was using Forte warmtone and polygrade V. What is another warmtone paper that will do lith?

Kevin
The two best (remaining) lith papers are Kentona and Fomatone MG.

Multigrade warmtone will lith but is best developed normally, bleached and redeveloped in lith

Mark

Forte stop it's production

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