Ilford colour film

[bogeyes]

Does anyone think that it would be possible for Ilford to manufacture colour film?

 

[Seele]

Ilford used to make colour films back in the 50s I think; the last time it got into the colour film business it sold repackaged Fuji colour reveral films. The investment in production facilities is not economical for a firm like Ilford to get started, especially when the market is dominated by the major players.

 

[rbarker]

Somehow, thoughts of pigs flying and cows jumping over the moon come to mind here.

Ilford will do well to remain focused on B&W, and leave color to Fuji.

 

[jd callow]

I prefer almost all of kodak's colour films to Fuji. One exception being NPL under mixed lighting.

It would be too big a leap for Ilford to get into colour. Especially since colour will probably be the first to go. It might be interesting if Kodak would sell its formulas, machinery and expertise in colour to Ilford. This would be far better than scraping the knowledge and equipment.

As I write this cows leaping over the moon seems a tad bit more likely.

 

[medform-norm]

C'mon people, of course you can have color images with Ilford film! - granted you need to have something like a Bermpohl camera and enough knowledge of additive color processes, but it's been done.

In fact, there is/was an interested thread started by (APUG-banned) mr. JJStafford on largeformatphotography.info about making color images using black and white films only. It's a bit of a detour and maybe not quite what the OP had in mind, I must admit, but it doesn't take any jumping of cows over moons or over other strange object. In this thread there are several links to brave people finding the way back to that old but not forgotten technique. And why not use Ilfords BW film for that?

Norm

 

[Brac]

It would be possible for Ilford to do so (their XP2 Super is a C41 emulsion) but what would be the point? They have just had a near death experience and fortunately have emerged to concentrate on what is their core market - black & white products. You can be 100% sure they will not be going into colour film manufacture. The last colour films they made were for the defunct TriFca lab in the 70's. Since then they have rebadged other people's films (Konica, Agfa, 3M) but it's doubtful if they would even bother to do that today.

 

[srs5694]

Incidentally, I noticed the other day that Adorama sells Ilford RA-4 paper (for prints from color negatives). Dead Link Removed Just out of curiosity, does anybody have experience with this paper? Is it actually made by Ilford, or is it a rebadged product made by somebody else?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Ilford do not make color paper

 

[jd callow]

Incidentally, I noticed the other day that Adorama sells Ilford RA-4 paper (for prints from color negatives). Dead Link Removed Just out of curiosity, does anybody have experience with this paper? Is it actually made by Ilford, or is it a rebadged product made by somebody else?

Ilford at one time made (or at least sold under the Ilford label) a super gloss and a paper called 2000. Both were excellent. I am not sure if they were rebranded or not, but the super gloss was like no other paper on the market.

 

[cvik]

Ilford do not make color paper

ilfochrome?

 

[Marco Gilardetti]

Agree, Ilfochrome and Ilford DIA 100.

The Ilford line for color was (and is) reversal. That's what you can have if you want to photograph and print color on Ilford.

 

[127]

I'm sure that if at some point in the future Ilford's core buisness (B&W) stabalizes, and is operating well, and the major players (kodak and fuji) have dropped out of the market then the Ilford buisiness guys will do a serious feasability study...

However right now they're doing the right thing - looking after their core market, and building a buisiness based upon that. ONLY when that job is done, can they worry about such triffles as colour film.

The guys up there seem to have a good idea where they're going, and I'm sure that one day they'd love to be the last major film producer of ALL film types, but right now the bw market is theirs to own, and thats where their attention needs to be.

Ian

 

[Simon R Galley]

ILFORD & COLOUR : Reply From ILFORD

Dear All,

Its a long time since we made colour film ( early 1960's ) and the simple answer is that I cannot envisage any circumstances where ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited the UK monochrome company would make colour film or colour paper.

As many people pointed out why would we do it?, I think KODAK, FUJI and the others make some rather good products, and it would not match our
business model and strategy, we want to be the best in Black & White, it
would cost millions to develop a range of colour products we would rather invest in and support our key competence MONO:

As for the Swiss ILFORD now owned by OJI Paper, ILFORD Imaging Switzerland GmbH, they make specialist reversal colour products like ILFOCHROME ( SDB - Silver Dye Bleach process ) and some specialist positive products such as ILFOCOLOR for the high quality display market, and very good they are as well.

I hope that answers your question :


Simon.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Simon, I think that your answer is quite to the point regarding color.

I don't think anyone out there really understands the complexity of film and paper manufacturing, either B&W or color. To them it is a point and shoot affair, that has none of the background of hard work, R&D and complex equipment exposed for the public to see.

Color is so specialized that it takes a complete organic synthesis facility just to support it. This is not needed as much for B&W, as I have said in another post. Kodak maintained 3 very large synthetic organic plants in the US at Rochester, Kingsport and Longview just to make photographic chemicals, mostly for color.

PE

 

[roteague]

Simon is quite right. Ilford needs to keep focused on B&W technology. I've personally always considered Ilford the best - back in my B&W days, I shot exclusively HP5, XP2 and FP4. FWIW, it would take a lot to lure me and most other landscape phtographers away from Fuji Velvia - an obstacle that would be difficult for any new player to overcome.

 

[bogeyes]

Thats that then, Ilford for B&W, Fuji for colour, sorted.

 

[roteague]

Incidentally, I noticed the other day that Adorama sells Ilford RA-4 paper (for prints from color negatives). Dead Link Removed Just out of curiosity, does anybody have experience with this paper? Is it actually made by Ilford, or is it a rebadged product made by somebody else?

Different Ilford - NOT ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited. This is produced by the the Ilford that produces Ilfochrome (Cibachrome), that Simon mentioned in his message (Swiss company).

 

[Earl Dunbar]

ilfochrome?

Not the same Ilford. This is Ilford in Switzerland, not Ilford/Harman in the UK

 

[Earl Dunbar]

Robert: LOL!

 

[Bob Carnie]

Ilfords colour lux was/is? a beautiful colour ra4 paper , I prefered this paper over fujiflex and kodaks duraflex.

 

[jd callow]

Ilfords colour lux was/is? a beautiful colour ra4 paper , I prefered this paper over fujiflex and kodaks duraflex.

I haven't seen that paper in aleast 3 or 4 years. It was lovely stuff. It may have been called Lux. I had an empty box of it I'll look -- not that it will do any good.

 

[André E.C.]

Ilford colour?
For what? IMHO, a complete waste of time and money!
Let Fuji stay with the colours.

Cheers

André

 

[gnashings]

I think given the niche nature that is being imposed on film in general and especially B&W specifically by the digital pandemic, Ilford would be best advised to really promote itself as that comapany doing one thing very, very well and devoting its resources to that one thing: black and white.
It seems that they are indeed heading that way (judging from Simon's message) and I am glad to see that they are. Not that colour from Ilford would be bad - I just think it would be detrimental (at least at this point) to building a solid foundation based on the image that Ilford wants to project (as a monochrome photography specialist) - a needless distraction of sorts. Of course, this is just my very humble and highly amateur analysis.

Either way... GO ILFORD!

 

[Ed Sukach]

Dear All,

Its a long time since we made colour film ( early 1960's ) and the simple answer is that I cannot envisage any circumstances where ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited the UK monochrome company would make colour film or colour paper.

I have **no** business interfering with your business decisions... I've ben involved in a number of them ... and I'm somewhat familiar with the "mechanics" of it all: It is necessary to temper wish-fulfillment with economics - not a pretty sight.

However that my be ... I would suggest, that limiting possibilities, as suggested by your statement, "I (we) cannot envision any circumstance where ...", is not only a slippery slope, it is a dangerous one. It is imperative to be open to all possibilities- ANY and ALL.

As many people pointed out why would we do it?, I think KODAK, FUJI and the others make some rather good products, and it would not match our business model and strategy, we want to be the best in Black & White, it
would cost millions to develop a range of colour products we would rather invest in and support our key competence MONO:

There are two parts to reply to, here:

1. "Kodak and Fuji make some rather good products". True. I have/ had (and will be, until my stocks run out) a dedicated user of Ilfocolor paper. To my eye, it was SUPERIOR to both Kodak (especially Kodak) and Fuji. Not only was the sheer quality BETTER, but there was an extraordinary stability of processing charceteristics- Lot-to-lot, and SIZE-to-SIZE. The latter is especially important to those among us who toil in our humble darkrooms in the dead of night.

2. "We would rather invest in and support our key competence - MONO." - I can't imagine anyone taking exception to that - that sounds like a truly wise and good decision for Ilfords' immediate future. - as much as I miss Ilfocolor. The key here is "immediate". I would HOPE that you keep the possibilities for the medium and long runs open.

A question I have: Where/ how ... was Ilfocolor produced? Was it made in the Swiss facility, along with Ilfochrome? Is the plant/ equipment lying fallow, has it been melted down for scrap ... is it being used by someone (OJI?) else?

For me, hope will spring eternally.

 

[roteague]

1. "Kodak and Fuji make some rather good products". True. I have/ had (and will be, until my stocks run out) a dedicated user of Ilfocolor paper. To my eye, it was SUPERIOR to both Kodak (especially Kodak) and Fuji. Not only was the sheer quality BETTER, but there was an extraordinary stability of processing charceteristics- Lot-to-lot, and SIZE-to-SIZE. The latter is especially important to those among us who toil in our humble darkrooms in the dead of night.

Actually, the question was about making color film, not color paper. Big difference between the two products. Since Ilford Imaging makes color paper with the Ilford name, I doubt that Ilford Photo / HARMAN Technology could use the same name.

A question I have: Where/ how ... was Ilfocolor produced? Was it made in the Swiss facility, along with Ilfochrome? Is the plant/ equipment lying fallow, has it been melted down for scrap ... is it being used by someone (OJI?) else?

Ilford Imaging is still using it to produce Ilfocolor paper. You can still buy it so I assume that it is still being produced. Unfortunately, my German isn't good enough to get much out of their website.