Fujifilm Announces Price Increase

[RattyMouse]

Didnt see this posted anywhere but apologies if this is a duplicate thread.

Fujifilm has announced a coming double digit price increase for photographic papers due to "a decline in demand".

For those who use Fuji paper (Japan mostly for B & W), stock up while you can.

Fujifilm Announces Price Revision of Photographic Papers
August 24, 2016

FUJIFILM Corporation (President: Kenji Sukeno) has announced that it will implement a worldwide price revision of its photographic papers, commencing from October 2016.

Under the circumstances of declining demand for photographic papers, Fujifilm has been working on productivity improvement and cost reduction to absorb the rising expense ratio in order to ensure stable supply of premium-quality photographic papers to the market. However, with the prospect of continuing decrease of the demand, Fujifilm will revise the prices of photographic papers as detailed below:

1. Applicable products:
Photographic papers
2. Description of price revision:
Anticipating the price increase of at least double digit percent
3. Revision timing:
From October 2016 onward
Details of the respective countries regarding the timing and the rate of price increase will be determined in consideration of factors specific to the markets.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I'd be curious to know how many people use Fuji paper? That was the first paper I ever used when I started out ( I lived in Japan and they had floor to ceiling shelves full of the stuff and it was cheap), but soon moved on to Ilford and Forte papers.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

I'd be curious to know how many people use Fuji paper? That was the first paper I ever used when I started out ( I lived in Japan and they had floor to ceiling shelves full of the stuff and it was cheap), but soon moved on to Ilford and Forte papers.

Hedge a bet and think it's not a great many, Andrew. My personal view is that the stuff isn't up to the standard. For RA-4 work I migrated to Kodak a long time ago.

 

[mooseontheloose]

Well, I use it because it's much cheaper than any of the alternatives. Only RC is available, so I use it for contact prints and the postcard exchange mostly. I have a fridge and freezer full of other paper for serious printing.

That said, they just had a price increase not that long ago (in the spring maybe) - I remember stocking up on paper then. If prices are going to increase by double digits, then I may move back to using Ilford or other papers since they'll probably be closer in price. Either way, this will probably start to limit the amount of printing I do, and possibly the exchanges I take part in. The other thing that sucks about it that the graded RC paper liths really well, so that is something I will definitely need to stock up on before the prices go up.

 

[AgX]

I'd be curious to know how many people use Fuji paper?

For example Europe's largest industrial finisher.
That is where their market is.

 

[Henning Serger]

I'd be curious to know how many people use Fuji paper?

Simply the majority of RA-4 paper users. Fujifilm has been market leader for years in this market. And by the way, this market is still huge and much much bigger (on a m² production basis) than the film market. With a worldwide volume of above 500 million m² p.a.
The problem in this market for the manufacturers has been for years the extremely low prices: Here in Germany for example you can get 9x13cm RA-4 prints for only 1 Cent (!!!) in one of the drugstore chains. The competition in this market is extremely hard. The industrial style mass volume labs which are making billions of RA-4 prints every year have a strong market power. The profit margins in RA-4 paper production are extremely low. Remember the news from Kodak Alaris some months ago stopping their RA-4 operation in Harrow and transferring more production back to their production partner Carestream. That was needed to remain profitable.
AFAIK Fujifilm has still two paper production factories: one in Japan, the other in Tilburg, Netherlands.

So as this price increase is needed to stay profitable and keep the lines running, it is good. And as the price for RA-4 has been extremely low over all the years, this price increase is economically justifiable and acceptable for users.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[twelvetone12]

@Andrew: are you talking of B&W or color paper? Does Fuji even make BW paper nowadays?

 

[Henning Serger]

@Andrew Does Fuji even make BW paper nowadays?

They are also making BW paper, e.g.:
http://www.japanexposures.com/shop/film-analog/darkroom/printing-paper/?features_hash=3-1

But RA-4 silver-halide colour paper is of course by far their biggest market.
The whole worldwide BW paper market is a very small niche market compared to the RA-4 market.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[AgX]

AFAIK Fujifilm has still two paper production factories: one in Japan, the other in Tilburg, Netherlands.

Years ago, Fuji cancelled paper-base making in Tilburg. That was an early indicator of the changes in the RA-4 world.

 

[unityofsaints]

Can I be honest and say I was shocked by the headline but then let out a sigh of relief when I saw that it's "only" for papers and not film? It's still not good news but double-digit price increases for large-format Velvia for example could have just killed it outright.

 

[RattyMouse]

@Andrew: are you talking of B&W or color paper? Does Fuji even make BW paper nowadays?

Fuji makes a lot of B & W paper, but rarely exports it. You can find shelves of it in stores when you are in Japan.

 

[Henning Serger]

Years ago, Fuji cancelled paper-base making in Tilburg. That was an early indicator of the changes in the RA-4 world.

But they are producing their RA-4 papers there. And getting the paper base by specialised high-tech paper base manufacturers like Schoeller is normal business in photo paper manufacturing for years, even decades for most photo paper manufacturers (Agfa, Ilford, Adox, Konica, Foma, Forte for example).

Best regards,
Henning

 

[Henning Serger]

Can I be honest and say I was shocked by the headline but then let out a sigh of relief when I saw that it's "only" for papers and not film? It's still not good news but double-digit price increases for large-format Velvia for example could have just killed it outright.

Here in Germany Fuji Provia 100F and Velvia 100 large-format films are significantly cheaper than Kodak Ektar and Portra large-format films.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[unityofsaints]

Here in Germany Fuji Provia 100F and Velvia 100 large-format films are significantly cheaper than Kodak Ektar and Portra large-format films.

I should have specified more clearly. Yes, Ektar is more expensive than Velvia/Provia 100 but Veliva 50 is almost twice as expensive per box of 20 than the other slide films, which makes it the most expensive per sheet of any film currently in production.

 

[Henning Serger]

I should have specified more clearly. Yes, Ektar is more expensive than Velvia/Provia 100 but Veliva 50 is almost twice as expensive per box of 20 than the other slide films, which makes it the most expensive per sheet of any film currently in production.

Then you may perhaps change your distributor. For example here the price difference is tiny:
http://www.japanexposures.com/shop/film-analog/film/colour-reversal-film/

Best regards,
Henning

 

[mehguy]

Until recently, I never knew fuji made B&W paper. Do they even make variable contrast paper?

 

[mooseontheloose]

Until recently, I never knew fuji made B&W paper. Do they even make variable contrast paper?

Yes - the only black and white paper they have right now is called Fujibro. It's RC and there are two versions - graded (Grades 2-4) and VC, both in matte or near-matte and glossy versions. The paper is quite thin (and fast) compared to other papers but it's not single-weight. Quite a few images in my gallery are printed on this paper.

(a few examples: early attempt at lith, normal black and white, and infrared)

 

[RattyMouse]

^Gorgeous shots!

 

[RattyMouse]

Until recently, I never knew fuji made B&W paper. Do they even make variable contrast paper?

They make all kinds of black and white chemicals too. A shame it's all kept in Japan.

 

[mehguy]

They make all kinds of black and white chemicals too. A shame it's all kept in Japan.

Yeah I see that. They even rival some of the other manufacturer's chemicals in terms of price.

1000 yen for 8l of paper developer? Thats certainly a good price.

 

[Henning Serger]

They make all kinds of black and white chemicals too. A shame it's all kept in Japan.

Why should they be more active in an extremely competitive niche market, which is for years absolutely oversaturated with a huge amount of different products and brands / competitors: Adox, Tetenal, Ilford, Kodak, Spur, Moersch, Bellini, Paterson, Bergger, ars-imago, Amaloco, Rollei-Film, Photographers Formulary, Foma, Calbe, Clayton, Edwal, Arista, Argenti....and some others.
There is nothing to win in such a competitor-flooded market environment in the western world.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[RattyMouse]

Why should they be more active in an extremely competitive niche market, which is for years absolutely oversaturated with a huge amount of different products and brands / competitors: Adox, Tetenal, Ilford, Kodak, Spur, Moersch, Bellini, Paterson, Bergger, ars-imago, Amaloco, Rollei-Film, Photographers Formulary, Foma, Calbe, Clayton, Edwal, Arista, Argenti....and some others.
There is nothing to win in such a competitor-flooded market environment in the western world.

Best regards,
Henning

Because their prices are VERY low. The developer that I bought while in Japan was something like $5 to make 5 liters. Fuji's volume allows for low prices on many chemicals. Plus, those who have used their developers say they are excellent. Fuji's experience with photo chemistry is simple worlds ahead of all of the above (except Kodak of course). Fujifilm moves product all over the world. How hard would it be to include a few pallets of developer?

 

[Henning Serger]

How hard would it be to include a few pallets of developer?

That is not the problem. Selling in reasonable quantities is the problem. With "a few pallets" you have much more work than profit. Makes no sense for a big company (Fuji made more than 2 billion (!!) dollars last fiscal year with silver-halide products; that is much more than all other photo film/paper/chemistry companies together).
Developers and fixers from all of the other brands are extremely cheap and excellent. Fuji would be on the same level, but not better.
Why should someone who is using e.g. Rodinal, D76, FX-39, XTOL, ID-11, HC-110, HRX, Finol etc. for years, and is very satiesfied, give up on them and use Fuji developers he never heard of instead?
That will not happen. And Fuji knows that.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[mehguy]

Why should they be more active in an extremely competitive niche market, which is for years absolutely oversaturated with a huge amount of different products and brands / competitors: Adox, Tetenal, Ilford, Kodak, Spur, Moersch, Bellini, Paterson, Bergger, ars-imago, Amaloco, Rollei-Film, Photographers Formulary, Foma, Calbe, Clayton, Edwal, Arista, Argenti....and some others.
There is nothing to win in such a competitor-flooded market environment in the western world.

Best regards,
Henning

Most of those brands dont have the marketing presence like Fuji. When you walk into a local camera store, do you ever see Adox, Foma or clayton products?

 

[AgX]

Fuji's experience with photo chemistry is simple worlds ahead of all of the above (except Kodak of course).

You should study the history of the industry.