Note From HARMAN technology Limited : Re Price Increases

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Dear All,

ILFORD Photo prices will indeed rise ex.factory from 1st February 2011. Firstly, let me assure you prices will NOT be rising across the board by 30.00% on film and paper.

We are absolutely determined to keep our product costs as low as possible, we have not had a worldwide price increase since September 2009, although some markets have had prices altered ad interim.

The cause of this increase is not only silver, but it is by far the biggest element, we have had significant rises in base costs, fine chemicals, taxation, employment costs, transport and energies. We have worked incredibly hard to try and offset these increases by cost savings and efficiencies in the factory and by necessity reducing staff numbers in 2009. HARMAN technology Limited had not planned ANY increase in prices AT ALL during 2011.

We always monitor silver prices on a daily basis, the huge incremental rise in the last four months was not expected, we had envisaged a gradual rise, as people invested in silver and other commodities due to currency uncertainties backed by growing industrial ( not photo ) demand.

Many suppliers raised prices in 2010 ( and probably will again ) we did not, we wished to see if silver would stabilise, we also hold significant stocks of coated parent rolls and we have been using up that stock in the last 12 weeks. All product now being finished and shipped is product coated with silver at the current elevated prices and these additional costs just cannot be absorbed by HARMAN technology Limited.

Prices do vary from market to market, this is a very, very complex equation of currency, import duties, local taxes, shipping costs, local delivery costs and distributor and reseller margins, currency fluctuations are by far the biggest introducer of anomolies in pricing around the world not the prices charged ex.factory.

New prices have been notified to resellers by distributors around the world for products leaving distributors after February 1st 2011.

Price does affect the volume of goods sold, that is an absolute fact, so we have a total determination to keep ILFORD Photo products at a fair price.

Since HARMAN technology Limited was established six years ago we have
always looked at different manufacturing options and technologies to grow our business, but fundamental to our business is the monochrome product range, the photo business will remain the largest part of our business for some appreciable time. In 2011 we have NO plans to delete ANY products whatsoever from our range and following excellent field trial feedback a brand new ILFORD Paper will be launched worldwide in Q2 2011.

We thank all our customers who buy and value our products.

Simon. ILFORD Photo, HARMAN technology LImited :
 

coigach

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Thanks for update Simon, much appreciated.

I will continue to buy Ilford products - I use Delta 100 mostly and a little HP5, all reverse processed by dr5. These films reverse brilliantly in dr5.

I think it is important to support manufacturers with a clear commitment to film and analogue photography - well done to Ilford for continuing to deliver top class products in tricky times.

Cheers,
Gavin
 

Rick A

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Thank you Simon, I will continue to support your company, and purchase as much as I can afford.

cheers
 

railwayman3

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That seems a frank, honest and open statement.

I see the present Ilford (Harman Technology) as a company which does its best to "work with" photographers and support products and business for the future, rather than just being out for the maximum short-term profits.
 

Bateleur

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Thanks for the open letter Simon! Although modest, I will remain a 100% Ilford film and paper user.
(And looking forward to the new paper too.)
 
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Thank you, Simon. We now have a current response from both Ilford (Harman) and Kodak. And those responses are polar. Seeing as Kodak's analog outcome seems eventual, if not probable, I think it wise for those willing to make the change to begin to invest in the company that has 'at it's heart' our best interests. I will being to use nothing but Ilford products as I need to replenish consumables. I hope others will follow suit in supporting Harman Tech.
 

chimneyfinder

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That is good news, though I would rather pay a little more for film than for paper right now if the rises could be skewed that way. For me, it is the price of paper that, in part, determines how much I shoot -and not the price of film - as I tend to have more image backlog than I can afford to print. £50 to £100 for a box or two of paper requires more 'shopping around' than buying 10 rolls of FP4+.
I am pleased to hear that traditional paper development is ongoing, with a new product in the offing. More busy posting around Q2 with undoubtedly questions like, "What's this new paper like ?" May I get in first and say, support a commited company and try it for youself ?
Mark Walker.
 

dnjl

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I value good communication as much as a good product. Thank you for the information.
 

faustotesta

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This is what i would call "ethical business" very well done Mr. Galley. Honesty and opennes always pay. I will keep buying Ilford stuff.
Never tried Galerie. I will in the next days.
 

mjs

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I appreciate your candor and honesty. That doesn't mean though that I won't be placing an order very soon to try to beat the price increases!

Mike
 

doughowk

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I appreciate the honesty of Ilford and will continue to purchase their products. Did place an order to stock up, though ;-) Will need ULF replenishment by this Summer, and will be setting aside some funds for that special order.
May you continue to prosper, and thereby able to supply the needs of film users.
 

brian steinberger

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Greatly appreciate your communication with your customer base Simon. That is what separates Ilford from all other manufacturers. I have and will continue to support Ilford. I'm excited about the new paper too!!
 

ccross

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Still being relatively new to the film world, I've never really paid attention to the business end of the industry. I appreciate the fact that there are representatives from Ilford (and Kodak) that participate in this forum to pass along their insights. Even with my limited exposure (sorry, bad pun) the sense I get is Ilford is committed to continuing their analog products, so I have no problem continuing to support them with my business.

Thanks,
Craig
 

hpulley

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Thanks for the explanation Simon. I'll try to support Ilford as I can but some of these prices may be too much. I'll have to see what the price of Delta 3200 goes up to as it was already quite expensive. Same for some of the good paper unfortunately. I guess I'll have to buy 250 page boxes for the quantity discount if that is still possible. Just the way things are but I sure didn't get a 15-30% raise this year so the same amount of money from me will mean less film and paper to use :-(
 

Marco B

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Simon,

I don't know if this remark above is a kind of response to my posts in the (there was a url link here which no longer exists) thread:



I just can't and won't believe that all the factors you name, result in a 2x higher price in the Netherlands versus the US, a country, as I wrote before, that is physically located 10x further from the UK than the Netherlands, unless someone down the distribution chain is making a very good profit on your products being sold in the Benelux area, and I sure hope it is Ilford itself, but fear otherwise.

Is there really no other way to have these products distributed in the Benelux / Germany area for a fair price?

I am sure you are loosing business through this, I for one have decided to switch to Adox for most of the printing if things don't change. I will probably still buy Harman manufactured Kentmere, distributed through different channel and still at a more reasonable price.

I appreciate you may not wish to comment publicly on these remarks, but I sure hope you review and consider this situation. I realize the Dutch market may already be a kind of "loss" to Harman, in the sense of its strong and early focus on the transition to digital, but there are still some shops out there stocking your stuff, and clients to be had.

Anyway, I do wish Harman all the best with all future and undoubtedly difficult decisions that have to be made in this volatile market...

Marco
 

hpulley

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Replying to myself here... actually in 120 the price wasn't too bad, just a little more than 400 speed but in 35mm, where I do most of my fast action shooting, it was already very high. If it goes up to or over $9/roll then I'll probably have to push HP5+/Tri-X or Delta/T-Max 400 instead.

I'll have to see what the price of Delta 3200 goes up to as it was already quite expensive.
 

Mahler_one

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Ditto to everything previously written. Reassuring to know that the Ilford-Harman group is still committed to providing products for analog photographers. Simon-can you provide any details as to the new paper coming down the road? Althought the demand is probably relatively small, would the company ever think about producing a dedicated "contact printing paper"?
 

stillsilver

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Thank you for the update Simon. I will continue purchasing products from a company that is committed to the manufacture of film, paper, and chemistry.
While a one third price increase will hurt, it is good to know that the product will be around for many years to come.

Mike
 

Tim Gray

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Thanks for the heads up Simon.

What Kodak response are people talking about? And who is the Kodak rep on the forum?
 

hpulley

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Thanks for the heads up Simon.

What Kodak response are people talking about? And who is the Kodak rep on the forum?

This will be the telling point. Kodak is a bit cheaper right now and if they don't follow suit they'll be a lot cheaper and that will be hard to ignore in film at least...
 

Chazzy

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Thanks for your candor and your presence on APUG, Simon. Looking to the future, I think Ilford's commitment to film should be supported by all who care about film photography.
 
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