Or better yet, why not just put a legible manufacturing date on the packaging? Why use a “code”? Who benefits from the secrecy?
You need to email Harman, give them the batch code and they will tell you the manufacturing date and the recommended shelf life.
the email adderss is: technical@harmantechnology.com
It turned out that the packets of Ilfosol 3 which I ordered online were already well past their recommended "use by" date when I received my order.
Retailers also benefit when they sell outdated products to unknowing customers at full retail prices. If the retailer would delay putting newer stock on the shelf until after the old stock is gone, then problem solved.Retailers benefit, because customers have a habit of pushing the oldest bottle to the back of the shelf, and buying the newest.
Retailers benefit, because customers have a habit of pushing the oldest bottle to the back of the shelf, and buying the newest.
Retailers also benefit when they sell outdated products to unknowing customers at full retail prices. If the retailer would delay putting newer stock on the shelf until after the old stock is gone, then problem solved.
That’s the case here in the States too. Food products are also required to put nutrition information on their labelling as well.I can't speak for the U.S. or Canada but in the U.K. food producers and retailers are required to use "best before" and "sell by" dates for the benefit of the consumer
I can't speak for the U.S. or Canada but in the U.K. food producers and retailers are required to use "best before" and "sell by" dates for the benefit of the consumer so I am unsure why such dates should not apply to photographic chemicals where their efficacy is time bounded. Yes retailers may be left with an "out of date" bottle of a developer that may or may not be affected but isn't this the same as film expiry dates where the usual solution is to offer it to customers at a reduced price?
pentaxuser
Yes, that is the way it is supposed to work.While I agree with you respecting outdated products, the approach is actually directed to product that is well within its optimum use by date range.
The retailer can control its inventory based on the code - emphasizing first in and first out - and the customer still gets top quality product.
Yes, that is the way it is supposed to work.
But the Simplicity Ilfosol 3 which I bought (online) from B&H Photo in Feb, 2022 was manufactured in Nov 2018. According to Ilford's <data sheet> "New sachets can be kept for up to 2 years..." so the developer was over a year past past Ilford's recommended use date when I got it. And by the time I was ready to use it in October 2022 it was almost 4 years old.
But without emailing Harman, I had no way of knowing any of this. If there had been a date on the product - either a manufacturing date or a use-by date - then I would have known to contact B&H as soon as I received the product. But by the time I discovered the issue, it was well past the B&H 30-day return window. Fortunately Harman replaced the product, so I did not have argue with B&H about it.
So, I have to wonder, Is the retailer really the best entity to trust if doing the right thing can have a negative impact on their bottom line, and ignoring old product dates is more profitable? Conflict of interest, maybe?
The Russian proverb, "Trust, but verify" comes to mind. So for anyone who has purchased Ilford photo chemicals and wants to verify that you have received in-date product, the email address is: technical@harmantechnology.com.
FWIW, that 2 year figure is probably referencing the time that the customer owns the product, not the time between manufacture and use. Calculation of any such estimate would normally factor in an additional typical period of time between manufacture and retail sale.But the Simplicity Ilfosol 3 which I bought (online) from B&H Photo in Feb, 2022 was manufactured in Nov 2018. According to Ilford's <data sheet> "New sachets can be kept for up to 2 years..." so the developer was over a year past past Ilford's recommended use date when I got it. And by the time I was ready to use it in October 2022 it was almost 4 years old.
Do you know this to be a fact, Matt? It sounds from what you are saying that the retailer can legitimately sell a product way beyond its expiry date and then and only then has the customer 2 years within which to use it? The way it is written it sounds as if it is 2 years from the customer's purchase so its newness starts with that????FWIW, that 2 year figure is probably referencing the time that the customer owns the product, not the time between manufacture and use. Calculation of any such estimate would normally factor in an additional typical period of time between manufacture and retail sale.
Do you know this to be a fact, Matt? It sounds from what you are saying that the retailer can legitimately sell a product way beyond its expiry date and then and only then has the customer 2 years within which to use it? The way it is written it sounds as if it is 2 years from the customer's purchase so its newness starts with that????
So what in heaven's name does new sachets can be kept for 2 years actually mean? I have to say that your interpretation makes it sound as if it is vague enough to be the classic "get out of jail" clause which enables the retailer to do just that
I am all for small retailers "getting a fair crack of the whip " but your interpretation gives them a licence to sell items beyond my sense of reasonableness
pentaxuser
No - there is no expiry date on most non-light sensitive photographic materials.
There are only recommendations respecting storage life.
And when those recommendations are directed to consumers, the recommendations are calculated based on "typical" times, incorporating average time lags between manufacture and customer purchase.
That includes factors like the fact that Ilford branded chemicals are shipped by boat from the UK (or the EU) to the USA - the USA being the largest market for them.
I am unsure why such dates should not apply to photographic chemicals where their efficacy is time bounded.
Thanks I have sat down with that cup of tea for half an hour and sadly in principle of items that are know to deteriorate beyond a certain time such as film to use one example only I sadly cannot come up with something
pentaxuser
Thanks I have sat down with that cup of tea for half an hour and sadly in principle of items that are know to deteriorate beyond a certain time such as film to use one example only I sadly cannot come up with something
pentaxuser
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