Perceptol lives! [And more news from Ilford representative!]

[david b]

Simon, it is really terrific that you can come to APUG and tell us what is going on. This is just another reason to support Ilford, it's products and people.

Welcome to the clan!

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Welcome to APUG, Simon. Glad to see someone representing Ilford on the Forum. David Carper was always very active and helpful on the online forums when he was the US Ilford representative, and it's good to see that that practice is continuing.

I've retitled this thread, so that others know that we're talking about more than Perceptol here.

 

[eric]

Thanks for the welcome to APUG, I have visited many times and APUG is well known by all at ILFORD Photo, HARMAN technology

Very, very cool! Welcome Simon.
Delta400 fan
Multigrade paper fan
fp4 fan
postcard fan

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

P.S.--I'd be really interested in Delta 400 in sheet sizes (shooting 4x5, 5x7, 8x10, and 11x14").

 

[jd callow]

Welcome Mr Galley,
It is wonderful to see you joining and I look forward to your posts.

By the by, I'd be interested in Postcard stock and SFX, but most of all I would just like Illford to stay and grow.

 

[colrehogan]

Simon,
You will find that a lot of the people who have responded to the ULF sheet film threads in the Cafe' Ilfopro forum PULPA are also here.

BTW, any chance of seeing the return of SFX (maybe in sheet form)?

 

[mikeg]

Hope I did not go on too long :

Dear Simon,

Definitely not!

Thank you for your very full account of developments at Ilford.

I'm surprised that you haven't had many requests for Postcard paper. I'm sure that's about to change! There was a thread on your website about it at:

http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/ILFOPRO/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6856

From a personal point of view I shall look forward to trying out your new warmtone developer. I thought there wasn't a market for one what with Fotospeed's version and Agfa Neutol but now that Agfa have gone ...

If you've been reading APUG for any length then you won't have failed to have picked up that certain people love Rodinal with an almost religious fervour, so there's definitely a market there I'm sure.

And just to let you know that many of us, myself included have decided to switch to Ilford as much as we can. However, I must admit that I still buy Kentmere fibre paper as it's almost as good as Multigrade FB plus it's 45% cheaper!

Thank you again

Best regards

Mike

 

[Paul Howell]

Simon,

In addition to a Delta 25, I am very interested in a very old fashion sheet film like Super XX, or even verichome pan, the Eastern European and Chiness films can be very nice, but I have run into just too many quality control issues. I am also looking for graded fiber based paper (grades 2 and 3).

Thank you for your intrest and support.

 

[jimgalli]

So very nice to hear from someone ANYONE at a corporate level that has their feet firmly planted in the real world. The kind folks at this forum helped me set up my married daughter's first darkroom and she's struggling along with her first box of...you guessed it...Ilford MG IV VCRC. A great place for anyone to begin their journey. Hope it will be around in some iteration for my grandson when he's ready. I see you spell our name slightly differently there Jim Galli

 

[alien]

Simon,

thanks for the good news about Ilford!!

Do you have any information about Ilfochrome, as I just had my first go at it, and REALLY like it a lot!?!

Ansgar

 

[Mick Fagan]

Simon, good to hear you verify some of the rumours. I myself would be hanging out for the Postcard as I used to use a couple of boxes a year.

I would think that a Delta 25 would be very interesting and possibly very useful to me.

Mick.

 

[abeku]

...our passion is monochrome and where we can, you will see new products to continue to offer choice to the creative photographer and printer

That's my type of a company in the monochrome world! ... and welcome to APUG, Simon.

 

[Mongo]

Delta 25...just the words make my mouth water!

 

[Simon R Galley]

Dear Ansgar,

ILFOCHROME is manufactured by ILFORD Imaging Switzerland, not the UK based ILFORD Photo, HARMAN technology Limited. But the good news is that ILFOCHROME is being manufactured and continues to be available, check the website and /or contact ILFORD Imaging Switzerland.

Regards

Simon.

 

[alien]

Simon,

thanks a lot for the info.

Although I mainly shoot in B&W, I just 'discovered' Ilfochrome for my slides...and boy! does it give great results!!

Hope to hear loads of good news from you guys in the future - if not, then it was definetely not my fault!

Ansgar

Dear Ansgar,

ILFOCHROME is manufactured by ILFORD Imaging Switzerland, not the UK based ILFORD Photo, HARMAN technology Limited. But the good news is that ILFOCHROME is being manufactured and continues to be available, check the website and /or contact ILFORD Imaging Switzerland.

Regards

Simon.

 

[Andy K]

Welcome Simon, it's so good to hear these things from the horse's mouth, so to speak!

You mentioned Agfa's current troubles, I use mostly Ilford materials, but I also use one crucial item from Agfa. Is there any likelihood of a Rodinal equivalent from Ilford anytime in the future? I know it's a bit of a cheek asking, but it is a very popular developer which will be sorely missed should it go out of production.
Also, does Ilford have any plans to enable small customers to order direct from the company? Many high street suppliers these days only stock on a demand basis (visit your local Jessops, for all the difference in stock you may as well be in PC World!), which makes finding the chemical/paper/film stock you want very hit and miss, not to mention slow when you have to wait for it to be ordered in.

Thanks in advance,

Andy.

 

[Simon R Galley]

Dear Mr Galli ( err )

Thanks for your positive reply: I can assure you conventional photo printing will be around for your grandson to enjoy with his grandfather, your note struck a chord
as that is how I started to print, at 7 years of age at my grandfathers side...

As to the spelling of your name...you have spelt it incorrectly ...many people do, I am frequently Mr.Gallery and on one occasion became Mr.Galilee

 

[Simon R Galley]

Dear Paul,

We do indeed make graded fibre base paper, its called ILFOBROM Galerie , I guess it will be special order at your supplier, but it is a very nice product if you trust me not to be biased. As an FYI all the APUG people seem very web savvy ( I am not ) but on the ILFORD website behind the revolving ikon is our PAL on PDF : Our PRODUCT AVAILABILITY LIST : It is in the process of being updated as we have brought back
products, some on 'whilst stocks last' have been given a reprieve and its a good first step to check. Regards Simon.

 

[Simon R Galley]

Dear Andy,
Thanks for your note, firstly we are obviously aware of the high regard RODINAL is held in, I just think we should wait to see the final outcome of the AGFA Photo situation is..
As to supply, we have many loyal resellers of our product in the UK and around the World many of whom have sold our products for decades, if you are having problems with an individual store, speak to the store manager or find a good stockist, or one of the mail order guys, very good for our more esoteric products.

We do review our route to market options obviously, but we are not equipped to supply direct. sorry Simon.

 

[Jim Chinn]

To echo the sentiments of Jim Galli I want to thank you Simon for providing a personal comapny presence here on APUG. This is the place to check the pulse of traditional photography. Many here are not just interested in their own craft but are working to ensure that analog photography is always a thriving, viable medium of expression.


I think you will find a tremendous interest in people wanting a supplier of ULF film sizes. Earlier in the year on the Ilfopro forum, Ilford requested input from ULF photographers about desired film formats and emulsions regarding the possibility of Ilford doing limited runs of ULF film.

Has anything been decided in this area? In the face of increasing consumer use of digital, there is plenty of evidence of a growing polularity of ULF among hobbyists, professionals and artists. I have used Ilford films and papers for many years and one thing I can always count on with Ilford is quality and consistency with every purhcase. I think I speak for many ULF sheet film users that continued production of FP4 and HP5 in ultra large formats would be enthusiastically welcomed by the LF and ULF communities, even if it means having to stock up once or twice a year due limited annual or semi-annual product runs.

Please convey my thanks to everyone at Ilford-Harman for making a go of continuing the business.

 

[Simon R Galley]

Final Note Of The Week From Simon @ILFORD Photo, HARMAN technology Limited a

Dear Jim ( and others )

I get the message about ULF and LF sheet film, the simple answer is we can do it, we have some info on the sizes needed, its getting our distributors to stock it, they are great guys, who care, but we do realise they have stock turns to think about, I will do some more work next week on this and report back, QUESTION : would FP4+ and HP5+ suffice ?

Postcards : I have instigated a review of MULTIGRADE PORTFOLIO postcards, GLOSS and PEARL we can still make them, volumes are small, but I have always thought it was a nice product, and under used, I will discuss with colleagues next week and who knows I may have something more to say by next friday :

SFX : We have already discussed internally at senior level making SFX once per annum, and perhaps some other low volume products, but with very low volume, waste would be high, raw material costs are higher and to be entirely honest it would cost more, we could possibly justify 35mm, but cannot be sure that we could justify 120, and we will not make sheet. The 'pencilled in' date is March 2006 to coat, possibly back on the shelves in May: When the schedule is confirmed I will let you know.

I have seen a few comments on how difficult it is to get our products in Latin America, This market was badly affected by the old companies receivership, but we have now hooked up distribution in all the major markets except Mexico, so if any APUG members know a good photo distributor in Mexico let me know. To check out the new Latin American distributors check out our Export Distributor section on the ILFORD website.

I am aware I state a lot of possible maybe's, I am afraid I have to as we have a lot to do, lots we want to achieve and it will take time, I do not wish to raise expectations and then dash them, be sure I will let all of you at APUG know the projects that will be activated and when we expect to launch.

Finally, I have enjoyed my first few days as a member of APUG, like all of us in 2005 time presses, so if I do not visit everyday, or reply to any specific things immediately do not judge me harshly...I will save them up and reply
to them all.

Kind Regards

Simon.

 

[Simon R Galley]

Dear Haris,

I read your note with interest, I am equally proud you chose ILFORD Photo products to buy, thank you for your sentiments, thank you for your business, and we will not take it for granted....ever.

Simon

 

[haris]

Dear Haris,

I read your note with interest, I am equally proud you chose ILFORD Photo products to buy, thank you for your sentiments, thank you for your business, and we will not take it for granted....ever.

Simon

Dear Simon,

Thank you. Well, in these times when analog photographers hear, day after day, things which are not in theire favour, having company who continue to support them, and even to have oportunity to speak directly with someone from inside of that company, and when that person take photographers seriously, that is great thing. I used Ilford products before, and now, after yours posts here Simon, I am firm in my belif that my choice of Ilford is good choice. Simon, and Ilford-Harman, thank you again.

 

[Andy K]

Simon, I would like to echo Haris's very well made point. Thankyou.

 

[Black Dog]

OK....my wish list would be-HP5 in ULF sizes, Delta 25 sounds great (esp in 120) and an AZO equivalent would be great. I've been an Ilford user since Duran Duran and Adam & the Ants topped the charts- I spend several hundred pounds a year (if not more) on materials and love B&W more than ever. WTG!