Kodak-branded chemicals - official news (they are returning)

mshchem

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I suspect that the liquid got cold enough that some of chemicals "fell out" of solution. I would consider warming the bottle in a bit of hot water and gently agitate to see if it would go back into solution.
I used to have to do this with Ilfochrome developer, almost always. There was even a note from Ilford recommending this.
 

abruzzi

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mshchem said:
I suspect that the liquid got cold enough that some of chemicals "fell out" of solution.
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Certainly possible, but I don't know what "cold enough" is. About the coldest it ever get here in my house is 68F/20C which would be Nov-Feb. The rest of the time its pretty warm/hot.
 
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Milpool

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Thanks for the note. When the 1l packs of D-76 (and Dektol) were discontinued I just switched to Ilford ID-11 (identical to D-76) and started scratch-mixing. But if Photo Systems is regularly going to make 1l D-76 I’ll probably start using that again. It would be really nice to have 1l XTOL but I don’t know if that’s in the cards.
cmacd123 said:
FWIW, Flic film has a 1 and 4 litre packs of their "classic MQ" stuff. although the 1 liter sells for CDN10 bucks in Canada and the 4 liter is 13.
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retina_restoration

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If you’re now mixing your own from component chemicals, then make Mytol (Xtol DIY recipe).
 
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Milpool

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I’ve mixed the original patent formula for XTOL before, which is probably either identical or trivially different than the packaged version, but it’s a bit of a pain. Also my DTPA supply won’t last forever and I’m not inclined to scratch-mix ascorbate developers without it.

In the end XTOL is only a tiny improvement over D-76 so I’m ok without it. I’ll occasionally buy a 5l package if I think I’ll go through it in a reasonable amount of time but it’s rare so I’ve basically gone back to D-76/ID-11, sometimes D-23.
retina_restoration said:
If you’re now mixing your own from component chemicals, then make Mytol (Xtol DIY recipe).
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pentaxuser

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So if Cinestill is the distributor, who is the new maker or makers of Kodak chemicals and is this all the former chemicals?

If the maker or makers are known then do we know if it or they is/are is big enough to meet the former demand?

Thanks

pentaxuser
 

koraks

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pentaxuser said:
who is the new maker or makers of Kodak chemicals and is this all the former chemicals?
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See post #1. Photosys. https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...-news-they-are-returning.202976/#post-2741288

pentaxuser said:
If the maker or makers are known then do we know if it or they is/are is big enough to meet the former demand?
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See Matt's comments earlier; Photosys was one of the manufacturing partners for Kodak chemistry when Kodak still 'made' their 'own' chemistry.

I know there's quite a few pages to this thread already, but given your questions, it may be useful to skim through it a bit.
 

pentaxuser

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Thanks it's just that the definite answer to what is a simple question often does not lie in a thread and there's an awful lot of posts to skim through to reach an uncertain answer but in this case it is answered in post 1 and appears to be correct


pentaxuser
 

koraks

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Yeah, there's a lot of information. I sometimes use the Search function and limit the scope to the present thread, but I'm not sure if it would have worked well in this case. Sometimes all you can do is skim through the pages; with a little practice it's possible to pick out the relevant bits by reading selectively.
 
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Milpool

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In short, Photo Systems Inc. is the manufacturer and distributor with the marketing/branding rights. I suppose there could be other country/region-specific “sub-distributors” acting as intermediaries between Photo Systems and local retailers but I don’t know anything about that.

As for whether or not demand will exceed supply/capability or vice versa, I guess only time will tell.
 

koraks

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Milpool said:
In short, Photo Systems Inc. is the manufacturer and distributor with the marketing/branding rights.
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No, Cinestill is the distributor. The question is which of the two entities holds the branding rights. It looks like Cinestill has negotiated exclusive distribution rights with Photosys. I assume Cinestill pay a license fee to Kodak for use of the Kodak brand.
 
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Milpool

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I see. That’s disappointing.

Anyhow, sorry for posting misinformation.
 

koraks

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Not necessarily; after all, Alaris has the exclusive distribution rights to Kodak camera film and we seem to be surviving despite that situation.

Keep in mind that Cinestill's role in bringing back Kodak chemistry has most likely been crucial, in the sense that it wouldn't have happened if they hadn't intervened. That they demand exclusivity in return is plain business sense.
 

retina_restoration

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At this point, no matter who is manufacturing "Kodak" chemistry, I'm not touching it. I bought so many packages of bad Kodak chemistry a few years back (Dektol, D-76 and Xtol, all had to be discarded) that I switched to DIY developers and will NOT buy Kodak stuff anymore. Hard pass.
 

logan2z

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retina_restoration said:
At this point, no matter who is manufacturing "Kodak" chemistry, I'm not touching it.
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I feel the same way. The only Kodak branded chemistry I have been using is HC-110, but they've messed around with that formula a bunch of times over the past few years and I'm never quite sure what I'm getting. I've switched to a clone and see no need to switch back.
 

MattKing

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Milpool said:
I see. That’s disappointing
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Not really.
A worldwide distribution system requires a lot of resources, and quite a bit of knowledge and expertise, not to mention local resources in a lot of jurisdictions. There is no reason to expect a company like Photosys to have those capabilities. Mostly, they seem to have been in the business of contract manufacturing for others.
Cinestill, on the other hand, has been mostly involved with distribution and marketing.
I don't know that Cinestill necessarily is the one who would have paid a licensing fee to Kodak. I expect the fee that Photosys pays includes those rights, whether they attend to the distribution and marketing, or have someone else do that for them.
 

pentaxuser

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Can I ask how you know this to be the case? All I can see from the link is what looks like a toxicity/safety leaflet that mentions the ingredients but doesn't say how much of each is there in the K110

I can't remember whether in Jan 2007 or was that May 2007 depending on whether this sheet was aimed at the U.S market Kentmere had been bought by Ilford. It seems that Kentmere K110 disappeared. Was that because Ilford felt that it has a more viable alternative in the form of Ilfotec HC and LC?

pentaxuser
 

Alan Johnson

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The source of sulfite in the old formulations of HC-110 and T-Max used to be Diethanolamine Sulfur Dioxide [has alternate chemical names].
In the new formulations the source of sulfite is Potassium Sulfite.
See this by looking up the msds for production at dates before and after the change in sulfite source.
Kentmere K-110 seems to have been the first published with Potassium Sulfite.
 
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