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Is Bergger Pancro 400 done, or just out of production again, for a long time?

Fortepun

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Budapest
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No 35mm or 120 in stock anywhere, so I'm just wondering.
 
asked the US importer, and he said more was being coated soon, but I won't be planning on it until I actually see it.
 
abruzzi said:
asked the US importer, and he said more was being coated soon, but I won't be planning on it until I actually see it.
Click to expand...

I'll believe it when I see it. The sheet film sizes have not been available for nearly 6 years now, so I consider that a defunct product. Circa 2021/22 I emailed Bergger several times to ask about future availability of the sheet film sizes of Pancro 400 and never got a reply.
Yes, I know that some boxes of 8x10 have appeared in the marketplace on occasion, but its old inventory and what's available right now is expired. B&H lists boxes of 8x10, and I inquired a few months ago about the expiration date on those boxes, and they made an excuse about not having access to that information and declined to provide that information. I know that Freestyle listed inventory at the same time, and theirs was listed as expired in June of 2025, and I expect B&H's inventory came from the same origin.

So, Bergger doesn't "make" anything — they contract other manufacturers like Harman, Arches, and Inoviscoat to make their products, which they brand as their own for sale. That's fine — many retail brands do that (Like Rollei). But I am guessing that the Pandemic made things very difficult for companies like Bergger, and they are having difficulty persuading their manufacturer/suppliers to produce product for them, as they are struggling to recover themselves. I don't know. But all that said, I doubt Pancro 400 will be around for long, and sheet film sizes are likely gone forever.
 
For now I have plenty in 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10 plus a few rolls of 120 so I'll keep shooting it until I run out. If it is rereleased, great, if not I'll shoot it all until it is gone.
 
Here in the US, Austin Camera & Midwest Photo has some 35mm of it in stock, Legacy Photolab & Glass Key Photo has some of it in 120 format in stock
 
Just saw yesterday that Bergger has some 120 in stock on their site now:

BERGGER Pancro 400 - 120

Photographic B&W film Sensitivity : 400 iso Exposure from 160 to 1600 iso Grain : classical Size : 120
bergger.com
 

Must admit, I've never heard of Arches. I don't have any Bergger packaging around, but I'd be curious to know if it says which country the film is manufactured in. I'm also idly wondering if Pancro400 will return in 35mm. I am really quite clueless why things like this disappear from the market... If there's a willing manufacturer, a willing distributor and willing customers, what's missing? I guess capital, and maybe just the fear/risk that stock won't sell to meet targets.
 
I was under the impression that Berger used it own formulas for it's paper and film which was then outsourced for production.
 
That's what I heard. They "designed" their own emulsions, then contracts out to (I think) InovisCoat or Harman.
This thread reminds me that I still have an 8x10 box sitting in the fridge for over a year, that I really need to get to...
 
It's more likely they also contracted out the actual engineering and, if anything, fed some requirements (and some money) to the actual manufacturers.
 
@koraks yup, that is most likely what happened. Now, if I had unlimited cash, I would be on the horn to Harman with a few film requirements of my own, like a real IR film!
 
We could try for a Photrio crowdfunding effort. I think we would end up asking a manufacturer to make us a broad-spectrum color film that's also usable for IR, but that can be developed in normal B&W chemistry and so desired can yield direct positives, with an ISO speed of 50 - 1600 depending on user choices and a fine but very distinct and universally appreciated grain pattern.

Oh, at a retail price of $5/roll or $10 for a 50-sheet box.
 
Isn't Pancro 400 re-spooled ORWO N74+/N75, also sold as Lomo Berlin 400? I was under the impression that they were the same, or at least, Pancro 400 is derived from it.
 
polaromar said:
Isn't Pancro 400 re-spooled ORWO N74+/N75, also sold as Lomo Berlin 400? I was under the impression that they were the same, or at least, Pancro 400 is derived from it.
Click to expand...

That was the former Bergger BRF 400.
 
Just prior to the pandemic they had sold the best dupe film I've ever used. .Great results and virtually scratch proof. Whoever made it must have gone out Business
Here's some of the facts. They have the formulas from the now defunct guillemont photo company which was the longest standing photo materials company in the world prior to its demise
Zone VI paper was made by them.
So don't be fooled thinking they actually make anything
Im betting that the Chinese will be making more of the materials we appreciate
Cant recite the company but they posted here about having a coating machine and working on a cubic type film
It only makes sense in a revolving world of commerce that they are having a hard time sourcing materials to sell with tariffs etc.; and companies probably asking for cash upfront to make products
 
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