I may be wrong, but as is on the Foma's website, they already went through a thinning down and are in private hands since 1995. (They were a state owned company till then) So I think (or hope) the case for Foma is a little different...
Jiri
Where do Foma and Efke fit in the grand scheme? Are they in the same boat as Forte (big old high-capacity factories)?
I believe nothing without convincing evidence. My experience shows it is first tier quality. What evidence can you offer to the contrary?
Ilford seems to be doing well these days despite cheap competition from rebranded second and third tier manufacturers' products. The only way I think black and white products from China could negatively impact Ilford is if they were at the same quality level. While there may be exceptions, most Chinese products aren't noteworthy for their high quality. That might change in future decades -- I remember when the epithet "Japanese junk" was common -- but such transformations typically take a long time.
I believe nothing without convincing evidence. My experience shows it is first tier quality. What evidence can you offer to the contrary?
Ilford seems to be doing well these days despite cheap competition from rebranded second and third tier manufacturers' products. The only way I think black and white products from China could negatively impact Ilford is if they were at the same quality level. While there may be exceptions, most Chinese products aren't noteworthy for their high quality. That might change in future decades -- I remember when the epithet "Japanese junk" was common -- but such transformations typically take a long time.
Ilford is not that good quality as you think it is! Believe me!
Ilford is in better shape financially than any other manufacturer, except for Kentmere of course who are just in amazing shape for any company, full stop (I've checked the accounts, available to anyone via the Companies house website).
Lets hope they stay that way.
Since then I have been looking for alternatives and settled on Kentmere VC and Forte Polywarmtone. Now Forte (apparently) is dropping out.
I wish I liked Ilford papers better but I don't seem to have a feel for them. Maybe I should work with them some more so that I don't have to deal with the market changes.
As far we are informed by our international contacts it seems to be that Forte is closing down their factory at the end of this month. The only thing which is missing is an official press release from the factory itself. We will see in the near future what is really happening.
Further I can not give any comments.
Best regards,
Robert
uraniumnitrate.
I assume that you must be a major customer of Forte for you to be sent a personal letter on its closure.
In other words are you a wholesaler of the product or at least a major customer in some other way? Otherwise if you are a normal retail customer and there are thousands of those then I can't work out why you got a personal letter. I and many on this site are retail customers of Ilford, Fuji etc but we wouldn't get a personal letter telling us of Ilford's or Fuji's closure.
I think it reasonable to assume that other major wholesale customers will have been sent the same letter as you received. Such customers include, I believe, Silverprint and possibly Retrographic in the U.K. so we might see confirmation from say Silverprint or another source.
You seem to be known to Forte and from what I can gather your native language isn't English and yet Forte has decided to write to you in English.
It may be of course that your native language is one that Forte does not have a translator for and that's why it has written in English.
I has assumed that your language was Hungarian and that Hungary was your country of orgin but these are of course assumptions on my part.
So just out of curiosity: 1.What is your customer status with Forte?
2.In which country do you live?
3.What is your native language?
Thanks
pentaxuser
I just found out Fortezo grade 3 and it's the best paper I have been used so far. Guess it's time to stock up again.
Hope what Mr. Nitre said is not true.
Alex W.
Reciprocity performance, as well as other emulsion characteristics, appears not directly related to silver content. That's my observation with T-Max, which is reputed to have less silver than conventional-grain films, and the stated position of other posters (such as Ron Mowery) who possess real knowledge of this subject.When I'm talking about quality I'm talking about what a film can do in different light situations! now I know that If one film does not work in the conditoins I have here in the north than there is no silver in the film! And when I'm getting difficulties with their rep. table! I mean how come they using the same for all black and white film? It's against all low of physics! More silver the more correction you must have and that' it!
...I will get kodak if my stock of Forte goes!...
Reciprocity performance, as well as other emulsion characteristics, appears not directly related to silver content.
Ilford's documentation is obsolete and thin in areas. As a company still getting up to full speed after reorganization following receivership, I'll cut it some slack on that score. Kodak, which had the most extensive and reliable product support documentation in the industry, also suffers from lack of attention to those data sheets now.
Reciprocity performance, as well as other emulsion characteristics, appears not directly related to silver content. That's my observation with T-Max, which is reputed to have less silver than conventional-grain films, and the stated position of other posters (such as Ron Mowery) who possess real knowledge of this subject.
Ilford's documentation is obsolete and thin in areas. As a company still getting up to full speed after reorganization following receivership, I'll cut it some slack on that score. Kodak, which had the most extensive and reliable product support documentation in the industry, also suffers from lack of attention to those data sheets now. Kodak reciprocity information is out of date at least since its film production was relocated.
Should you be interested in accurate reciprocity data for many current films, I suggest reviewing work published by Howard Bond in the July/August 2003 issue of Photo Techniques magazine (Voume 24, No. 4). Among the products he tested, Ilford Delta 100 performed exceedingly well, a result not consistent with your allegation that lack of silver degrades this parameter.
See my 'doom and gloom post'.
Everyone is talking about the Kodak sale of medical imaging but missed the fact that they are laying off 500 workers immediately due to a sharp drop in analog film sales. Another 2000 are expected to go this year.
They are selling 3 buildings related to analog products.
PE
Nitrate;
Please read my post again.
Kodak has experienced a very sharp unexpected drop in analog sales and has had to lay off 500 people. Read the post I made elsewhere.
PE
Howard's table is based on his own empirical testing. His methods appear sufficiently rigorous for this investigation and I've successfully used his results.Now do you know how that one works or you just base this on you own observations! Have you ever heard about mr Schwartschild? And the teory of his?
I think Ilford may be our only hope...
I disagree; such a demand is unrealistically greedy. We need to support them by buying their existing products. If, in the face of ongoing market contractions, they survive and maintain sufficient profitability, any advancement in the materials that becomes possible will be a bonus. Current materials are already at a high level....As photographers we need to communicate with the companies like Ilford and tell them we will support their product if they make the investment to advance the materials we need to do our work.
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