The end of Agfaphoto...is nigh.

srs5694 · Oct 25, 2005

pentaxuser said:
Very few non photographic shops seem to stock Agfa. Certainly none of the big supermarket chain in the U.K. do. That may be Agfa's problem.

I don't know about the UK, but in the US, a fair number of store house brands are really Agfa. The Walgreens drug store chain, for instance, uses Agfa as its house brand.

Dave Wooten · Oct 25, 2005

As mentioned earlier studio 35 which I think is agfa at Wallgreens, is being sold here in Vegas for 1.00 per roll....good for those family "snaps" etc....

tim atherton · Oct 25, 2005

accordiong to another list today (no source):

Well news out last night is that all 1400 agfa employees worldwide were
laid off yesterday and the company is now officially in liquidation.

imageWIS · Oct 31, 2005

srs5694 said:
I don't know about the UK, but in the US, a fair number of store house brands are really Agfa. The Walgreens drug store chain, for instance, uses Agfa as its house brand.

Well, then here is a perfect opportunity for at least one brand to survive: Ilford. Walgreens should use Ilford as their house brand. If many other drugstores start using Ilford as their house brand film manufacturers, this will help ensure that Ilford stays in business.

Jon.

jd callow · Oct 31, 2005

imageWIS said:
Well, then here is a perfect opportunity for at least one brand to survive: Ilford. Walgreens should use Ilford as their house brand. If many other drugstores start using Ilford as their house brand film manufacturers, this will help ensure that Ilford stays in business.

Jon.

Does Illford make colour film?

jandc · Oct 31, 2005

The winner in the supermarket/drugstore brand film trade as a result of Agfa's pullout is more likely to be someone like Ferrania.

imageWIS · Oct 31, 2005

mrcallow said:
Does Illford make colour film?

No. But, how hard is it to set up to make color film? After all they already have the machines to make B+W film.

Jon.

jandc · Oct 31, 2005

imageWIS said:
No. But, how hard is it to set up to make color film? After all they already have the machines to make B+W film.

Jon.

I can just see the conversation between Ilford and the financial backers they would need to do the R&D to make this happen. "We want X million pounds to produce color film so we can sell it in the cost cutting, low profit margin, supermarket/drugstore market."

imageWIS · Oct 31, 2005

jandc said:
I can just see the conversation between Ilford and the financial backers they would need to do the R&D to make this happen. "We want X million pounds to produce color film so we can sell it in the cost cutting, low profit margin, supermarket/drugstore market."

LOL. They can purchase Agfas colorfilm processing and manufacturing machines

Jon.

Earl Dunbar · Oct 31, 2005

imageWIS said:
LOL. They can purchase Agfas colorfilm processing and manufacturing machines

Jon.

By why? With colour film sales headed for decline, and b&w becoming a specialist market that Kodak will eventually abandon, Ilford is in a good spot. Colour would distract them from their core competency. They used to make colour neg film, but I'm not sure how many years ago.

Earl

Brac · Oct 31, 2005

Earl Dunbar said:
By why? With colour film sales headed for decline, and b&w becoming a specialist market that Kodak will eventually abandon, Ilford is in a good spot. Colour would distract them from their core competency. They used to make colour neg film, but I'm not sure how many years ago.

Earl

You're right in saying it would be a distraction. They no doubt have the technology because XP2 Super is a C41 process B&W film. However Ilford haven't manufactured their own colour film since they stopped producing it for the long defunct TrifCa lab 25/30 years ago. Later "Ilford" colour films were rebranded Konica, then Agfa and more recently for some markets there was an Ilford Colour 100 Plus which was actually made by 3M/Ferrania.

MattKing · Oct 31, 2005

Brac said:
You're right in saying it would be a distraction. They no doubt have the technology because XP2 Super is a C41 process B&W film. However Ilford haven't manufactured their own colour film since they stopped producing it for the long defunct TrifCa lab 25/30 years ago. Later "Ilford" colour films were rebranded Konica, then Agfa and more recently for some markets there was an Ilford Colour 100 Plus which was actually made by 3M/Ferrania.

Ilford might be able to benefit by sharing resources with someone interested in taking over the Agfa Colour business. I expect that a significant part of any film company's costs must be related to distribution and marketing. I can certainly see the day where colour film will also be a niche market. If Ilford and someone else could benefit from some economies of scale, then all the better.

Now of course my first preference would be to see Kodak set up its own, separate, healthy specialized film, paper and chemistry divisions for the hobbyist and professionals, and run them well, but that's another issue.

Curt · Oct 31, 2005

A come back for Dye Transfer? I hear that JandC has some nice sizes in Matrix film. I looked into this and found that I needed, a lot of lab time, Dyes, Dyes, Dyes, and chemicals and paper and mordant and the list goes on. I had a photography teacher was an accomplished Dye Transfer printer but he wouldn't teach anyone the craft.
If JandC would provide the dyes and chemistry... Well here's to dreaming. The Matrix film must be made to be sold to someone.
Curt

modafoto · Nov 1, 2005

A funny world...lately i have been listening to several people who tell me that I better forget about getting hold of more Rodinal (and one even told me that all over Europe Rodinal was impossible to get....except from his company that would happy ship me 100+ bottles for 25% over the price I pay in Denmark...)

But I went down to my local photo store and got their 6 bottles off the shelf with 10 more bottles coming home in a few days...

So in Denmark Rodinal is still accessable. Right now all shop who normally stocks Rodinal has quite an amount in stock...

But better safe than sorry...I have a rather large supply of Rodinal now...I will not worry for the next 5-10 years...how many bottles I have? You do the math
I may start to export when the stuff get rare

Morten

P C Headland · Nov 2, 2005

modafoto said:
But I went down to my local photo store and got their 6 bottles off the shelf with 10 more bottles coming home in a few days...

So in Denmark Rodinal is still accessable. Right now all shop who normally stocks Rodinal has quite an amount in stock...
Morten

It's still available in a couple of shops I frequent in Amsterdam. One of the others still has (last week at least) APX in 120 and 35mm.

rhphoto · Nov 2, 2005

Curt said:
I guess it's back to the old standby philosophy; conflict, accommodation, assimilation.

Resistance is Futile!

ajuk · Nov 6, 2005

I would have thought that Minilabs and paper sales would keep Agfa going.

Is it likely that another film company will gain the right to there proprietary technologies?

Bob Carnie · Nov 6, 2005

Hi There Folks

I have not read the posts in this thread, but I believe that there will be agfa product for awhile , I would imagine the master rolls of paper still needing to be slit and packaged would still be good and not wasted.
A year ago I was certain that Ilford was absolutely toast and now they are saying they will be the last B&W supplier standing.
I have heard lots of rumours as many have but don't be suprised if you can still buy Agfa Classic for years to come, It may not be named Agfa but I think it will be the same paper just Branded differently.

pentaxuser · Nov 6, 2005

Brac said:
You're right in saying it would be a distraction. They no doubt have the technology because XP2 Super is a C41 process B&W film. However Ilford haven't manufactured their own colour film since they stopped producing it for the long defunct TrifCa lab 25/30 years ago. Later "Ilford" colour films were rebranded Konica, then Agfa and more recently for some markets there was an Ilford Colour 100 Plus which was actually made by 3M/Ferrania.

The problem with an ever decreasing number of suppliers(imagine a future with say only Ilford for B&W and Fuji for colour) and analog becoming a niche market is the attitude inevitably taken by monopolistic companies to customers.

If the supplier sees ever decreasing sales which it believes are unaffected by price then it might as well treat the customer as a "distress purchaser" who has no choice if he/she wants to continue buying.

I am still smarting from my discovery that replacement sodium bulbs for a DUKA are selling for over £200 in the U.K. This has to be the classic distress purchase tactic. I really cannot believe that the product's manufacture justifies this price. Any R&D costs must have been covered years ago.It certainly isn't the latest high tech product.

Normally if one company makes outrageous profit then the laws of supply and demand say that this invites other companies to enter the marketplace. However if the demand isn't there then this doesn't work. The market is dying and the manufacturer aids its death by its tactics but at least maximises its profit in the meantime. Short termism rules OK is a good maxim universally susbscribed to.

Given the benefits of a DUKA for colour processing, it might pay the manufacturer to reduce price to stimulate demand but you'll never convince large companies to try this.

Once they have the mindset of the "numbers just don't add up" then not even the prospect of bankruptcy can alter things. They become like leemings. It takes a completely different mindset to change things. This is only possible when a new company arises phoenix like from the ashes.

I'll bet the people now running Ilford had ideas about saving Ilford but weren't listened to. They are listened to now because THEY ARE the new Ilford.So good luck to them as long as there is still some viable competition.

I have no faith in the capitalist beast's capacity for philanthropy.

Pentaxuser - still sore about DUKA lamp prices.

sergio caetano · Dec 5, 2005

Maco Photo Products has bought the inventory of MC papers and Rodinal from Agfa Photo. From January 2006 on, Maco will distribute these products. Perhaps some hope of production continuity in the future ? Does somebody can say something about Maco ? Which is its line of products ?

(www.worldofphoto.de)

Fotohuis · Dec 6, 2005

http://www.mahn.net/Frameset.htm

stormbytes · Dec 6, 2005

Kentmere

mikeg said:
Don't forget Kentmere, though not a major player they produce some excellent stuff, especially their fibre paper and Art range.

Mike

I just bought a trial pack of Kentmere semi-matte & Kentmere Art Classic. They're not cheap! But the samples I saw look breathtaking. I'm so sick of ilford paper. I managed to get some decent prints off the stuff, but never anything to brag about. I know it's probably more related to the fact that I never truly calibrated my process to ilford papers, but still.. something about ilford is as mucky and bland as Hp5. I know all this is highly subjective, but I'm really itching to try out Kentmere and hoping to be impressed.

firecracker · Dec 6, 2005

I think it's almost like the "oil-shock" fear in the 70's. But the real problem is how the distributors/importers want to control their domestic markets in the near future. Right now, Agfa products are still available, and there may be enough left until we will see the new alternatives.

I was pretty paranoid a few months ago, but now it doesn't matter.

ajuk · Dec 14, 2005

Is the emediate effect going to mean a rise in sales for Kodak, Fuji and Ilford?

Brac · Dec 14, 2005

The end of Agfaphoto...is nigh.

srs5694

Dave Wooten

tim atherton

imageWIS

jd callow

Moderator

jandc

imageWIS

jandc

imageWIS

Earl Dunbar

Brac

MattKing

Moderator

Curt

modafoto

P C Headland

rhphoto

ajuk

Bob Carnie

pentaxuser

sergio caetano

Fotohuis

stormbytes

firecracker

ajuk

Brac

The end of Agfaphoto...is nigh.

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