Ilford film price increase

[P Sanders]

Was totally floored this morning ordering film (I usually stock up during the winter months). Ilford HP5+ and FP4 at 120 size now costs $11 per roll (B+H and Adorama) and 4x5 HP5+ costs a whopping $95 for 25 sheets!! Kodak prices have remained stable. . . . is it wrong to understand this is a senseless tariff hike?

 

[Don_ih]

is it wrong to understand this is a senseless tariff hike?

It's pretty much the same price in Canada. The tariff looks like it's only 10%. For now, that has probably been taken out of profit (by the distributor or final merchant). I'd expect the price to rise if the tariff remains in place.

 

[RezaLoghme]

Was totally floored this morning ordering film (I usually stock up during the winter months). Ilford HP5+ and FP4 at 120 size now costs $11 per roll (B+H and Adorama) and 4x5 HP5+ costs a whopping $95 for 25 sheets!! Kodak prices have remained stable. . . . is it wrong to understand this is a senseless tariff hike?

See this post:

Ilford XP2 prices

Just wanted to order another 10 rolls of XP2 - just to find out that most sellers increased prices from what used to be 10 EUR / roll (Summer 2025) to 15, even 20. Hahaha, not with me!

www.photrio.com

it is incredible!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

No tariff here, but it now costs $97 Cdn up here for 4x5 HP5. $314 for 8x10. $15 for 120. The 120 price has almost doubled since pre-covid.

 

[Milpool]

I don’t use Ilford film but the paper has become very expensive too. Pemberstone / Harman be bisnessing. That’s how it goes.

Was totally floored this morning ordering film (I usually stock up during the winter months). Ilford HP5+ and FP4 at 120 size now costs $11 per roll (B+H and Adorama) and 4x5 HP5+ costs a whopping $95 for 25 sheets!! Kodak prices have remained stable. . . . is it wrong to understand this is a senseless tariff hike?

 

[John Wiegerink]

Could be a lot of reasons for these price hikes on Ilford film and paper. One is just to say the word tariff can be an excuse for a preemptive price hike. For folks in Canada it could be that Ilford /Harman are stabbing you a little just to make up for the sales they know they are going to lose in the U.S.. For us here in the States the tariffs mean we're going to make billions and billions of dollars. At least that's what we're told anyway, but who is "we"? All I know is these tariffs are making me part with more and more of my hard earned cash.

 

[retina_restoration]

Film prices have usually increased at the beginning of every new year. It's been happening for a long time, and there's no reason to expect anything different next year, and the year after that..... If anyone is surprised by this, they just haven't been paying attention, honestly.

 

[pentaxuser]

How much of this switch in reverse so to speak of the Ilford v Kodak film prices whereby Ilford is more expensive now is down to tariffs is difficult to say but the 2 conclusions I draw would be :

Conclusion 1. The tariffs are working in that they were intended to reduce the consumption of foreign goods
Conclusion 2. If Ilford are losing U.S. sales as a result of tariffs then increasing prices may indicate that it has no other choice if it wants to sell a reduced quantity of its goods at a profitable level

In the meantime unless Ilford can make up for losses in B&W film by increasing its colour film sales then I wonder where it might get enough profit to make the next quality breakthrough for the next generation of colour film which presumably has to undercut Kodak film prices

What is or at least seems very likely is that the last vestige of the spirit of "film making till we die", should that ever have existed in the first place , ended with the buy-out by Pemberstone so we cannot rely on the new owners feeling that way

All very much a "doom and gloom" outlook or so it seems to me

pentaxuser

 

[EarlJam]

Silver prices started rising in the latter half of 2025 and then skyrocketed in January to $100/oz. Prices have eased a bit this past week, but still up about 4x over the 2020-2024 average and double Q4/25. I think things are going to be ugly for a while, similar to what we experienced in 1980 on "Silver Thursday", when the Hunt Brothers cornered the silver market. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Thursday)

 

[retina_restoration]

Silver prices started rising in the latter half of 2025 and then skyrocketed in January to $100/oz. Prices have eased a bit this past week, but still up about 4x over the 2020-2024 average and double Q4/25. I think things are going to be ugly for a while, similar to what we experienced in 1980 on "Silver Thursday", when the Hunt Brothers cornered the silver market.

The cost of the silver is just a tiny fraction of the cost of manufacturing film. It's simply not realistic to look at the price of silver and assume that is THE reason for increases in film prices. Film prices have increased 10-15% every year for at least the last decade. This is not new, nor is it a deviation in the trend.

 

[retina_restoration]

Was totally floored this morning ordering film (I usually stock up during the winter months). Ilford HP5+ and FP4 at 120 size now costs $11 per roll (B+H and Adorama) and 4x5 HP5+ costs a whopping $95 for 25 sheets!! Kodak prices have remained stable. . . . is it wrong to understand this is a senseless tariff hike?

I have to assume it's been a few years since you've bought film. Every year, both Kodak and Ilford have upped film prices by 10-15% in January or February. Happens every year, without fail.

 

[GregY]

You haven't factored into the equation, the drop in the value of the USD.

 

[mshchem]

I think Ilford is finally working a strategy that makes sense. Good, Better, Best. Kentmere is Chevy/Pontiac. Ilford is Buick/Cadillac. Phoenix is a whacky sports rig.

Ilford needs to offer at least a few sizes of sheet film in Kentmere 200, affordable.

Paper price was inevitable, probably 5% of their film customers buy paper.

 

[P Sanders]

Yes, prices do go up every year however this is a 30% increase from December. Canadian to US exchange rate is $1 CD to .75 USD. The US is a large buying market but it isn't the only market. Ilford will sell more to the rest of the market unless US photographers pay the extra US govt tax. I'm furious. . . and will not step into politics here.

Frankenstein 200 4x5 is $44 for 25 sheets.

 

[Don_ih]

this is a 30% increase from December ... will not step into politics here

No need to get into politics. The tariff is 10% of the wholesale price. You're seeing a 30% increase in retail that probably comes from a genuine increase from Ilford. Like I said, the film is the same price in Canada.

And at Nik and Trick, in the UK, it's 8.50GBP - which is actually more than it is in Canada.

 

[chuckroast]

I think Ilford is finally working a strategy that makes sense. Good, Better, Best. Kentmere is Chevy/Pontiac. Ilford is Buick/Cadillac. Phoenix is a whacky sports rig.

Ilford needs to offer at least a few sizes of sheet film in Kentmere 200, affordable.

Paper price was inevitable, probably 5% of their film customers buy paper.

Having never used Kentmere, I'm curious. What makes is different or lesser than the Ilford emulsions? Is it a quality thing or something else?

 

[GregY]

I think Ilford is finally working a strategy that makes sense. Good, Better, Best. Kentmere is Chevy/Pontiac. Ilford is Buick/Cadillac. Phoenix is a whacky sports rig.

Ilford needs to offer at least a few sizes of sheet film in Kentmere 200, affordable.

Paper price was inevitable, probably 5% of their film customers buy paper.

Ilford is much more consistently reliable than either Buick or Cadillac.....

 

[mshchem]

Ilford is much more consistently reliable than either Buick or Cadillac.....

Well, I would tend to agree on that point . But the modeling is valid

 

[Vaughn]

Just as a data point, I bought box of 4x5 FP4 in Tokyo at the start of the year and when converting to US dollars, it was very close to B&H’s price at the time…within a couple bucks.

 

[retina_restoration]

Yes, prices do go up every year however this is a 30% increase from December. Canadian to US exchange rate is $1 CD to .75 USD. The US is a large buying market but it isn't the only market. Ilford will sell more to the rest of the market unless US photographers pay the extra US govt tax. I'm furious. . . and will not step into politics here.

Frankenstein 200 4x5 is $44 for 25 sheets.

You realize when you buy "Frankenstein" you are buying Fomapan, right? All these "Monster" films are rebranded Foma films. Nothing wrong with that, of course as long as we all know what we're getting when we buy these things.

 

[brian steinberger]

There are other places in the US to buy Ilford products other than B&H and Freestyle who both operate in areas that I’m sure tax them to the max to operate a business.

Recently Midwest photo had HP5 120 at $8.89 a roll. They’re currently out of stock but that’s a really good price. I see continental photo sells HP5 cheap too but I’ve never bought from them. Reformed film lab is another option.

 

[Craig]

And at Nik and Trick, in the UK, it's 8.50GBP - which is actually more than it is in Canada.

Does that price include 20% VAT?

 

[loccdor]

Now there's a +50% price increase when going from Kentmere 400 to HP5+. Never more reason to try out the humble Kentmere (or use Tri-X or TMax 400 at only +~25%).

 

[blee1996]

Kentmere 400 is quite good: I tried in both 120 and 135. We have a darkroom course, and we were using HP5+ because Foma 400 was not as good. Now we have both Kentmere 400 and HP5+ as "approved" class material.

 

[chuckroast]

Was totally floored this morning ordering film (I usually stock up during the winter months). Ilford HP5+ and FP4 at 120 size now costs $11 per roll (B+H and Adorama) and 4x5 HP5+ costs a whopping $95 for 25 sheets!! Kodak prices have remained stable. . . . is it wrong to understand this is a senseless tariff hike?

There are likely multiple reasons not just one. Anong them:

• Rising silver cists
• Though better than a few years ago. inflationary pressure remains across many countries
• Tariffs effectively act as taxation by other means on buyers
• Lower aggregate demand means production costs have to be spread over fewer purchases
• Kodak opened the door with huge increases a few years ago
• We faithful will pay what it takes