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Tariffs account for a chunk of that as well, that and the fact that Kodak actually dropped their prices on many B&W films by 20-30% in the past year.
Sorry, I haven't used a lot of Ilford film except in large format. I have been going off my older shopping lists but I do see that Ilford prices have jumped as well. I guess they are trying to pay for their newer projects.
What significant films did Kodak drop in price this past year? Sheet film has skyrocketed, especially in color, but also somewhat in B&W too. 120 roll films have gone up. I haven't seen a single example of a price drop, although it is possible that mass vendors on their own might have lowered the retail price of certain amateur color films I never shoot.
bfilm - that's just a token drop of the bucket, perhaps a temporary promotion or already past overstock situation. And it doesn't help the rest of us much.
Yes, it is a fairly selective cost reduction in regard to the range of Kodak films. But I think it has been a permanent (thus far) cost reduction, not a temporary promotion like some of their other discounts.
In the United States, 35mm Kodak Tri-X is less expensive than Ilford HP5 Plus.
I believe the small reduction in Tri-X price was a specific move in the USA intended to grab market share from HP5. They probably increased their profits.
It was a worldwide price reduction, but the discount was perhaps not a full 30% everywhere.
The Kodak Alaris or Kodak Professional copy read:
"We have implemented a catalogue price reduction on 135 format Kodak Professional Tri-X 400 black & white negative film. Our two 135-format offerings will see up to a 30% reduction in price, depending on the region."
"Our expectation is that this lower price will be passed on by the retailers to photographers worldwide as inventories turn."
At B&H today, 120 rolls of Kodak TMY are $8.80 each, whereas Ilford Delta 400 is $12.49 and 35mm prices are similar: Ilford films are considerably more expensive now.
I don't understand how you concluded that Ilford films are less expensive than Kodak in 2025. The reverse was true 3 years ago, but not today.
That's likely the effect of tariffs "consumer taxation".
In Canada Ilford 120 is $8.50 ($6.07 USD) less than Kodak TMax /roll.
This may be a price distortion due to the new tariffs in place.
In a related note, I read yesterday that the US coffers are now enriched to the tune of almost$1 Trillion(unable to verify this number anywhere, so it is suspect) due to said tariffs. When you see prices increases as above, they should be understood to be "consumer taxation by other means". Whether you support this or not is a matter of your understanding of politics and economics (and how close to the mod's sun you want to fly
I have to agree with you Drew. IMHO Kodak has about priced themselves out of the market and I just don't understand it. I don't think the Lomo crowd are buying their films. It is bad enough with 35mm but large and medium format films have gone through the roof! I have a little bit of 8x10 Tri-X left in the freezer but when I looked at replacing it a while back I almost choked. I broke down and bought HP5+ and FP4 instead, which I like, but now even their costs have climbed. And eBay prices are going nuts. The inexpensive film sales have gone away and what is left seems as if it were left sitting in the summer sun in the back window of the old Impala for a couple of months.
I am looking at replacing my medium format Portra films and that has soared out of my retiree price range. My last big purchases there was Ektar but no Portra. I have been trolling the clearance sales but even that is getting harder to find at reasonable prices.
I have actually been looking at digital options and, except for my Q7 which is still a favorite, my last digital purchase was a used Pentax *ist DS and my granddaughter walked away with that a couple of weeks ago. If you know someone who will want to sell a full frame Pentax K1 at a decent price I may be interested.
This new Kodacolor option may be a breath of fresh air. I do hope it is but I'll wait until I have tried it out before I make any big purchases. If it is any good I'll buy it but so far that is only 35mm and only color. My 3.5 Rollei is feeling a little unloved. If tariffs really are causing some of this film price crazyness, though I am not personally sure that is the cause, maybe Kodak is trying to bring some of their still film production and sales back into the US. I guess we will have to wait and see.
How do prices compare in Europe?
US prices are screwy from B&H among other things. Who knows what kind of deals are made with the biggest of them all?
Having seen the síze of the Harman set-up and the number of us( relatively few) on a large site like Photrio who make prints in the darkroom plus the limited number of mini-labs still using b&w darkroom printing paper, I cannot figure out where the darkroom paper customers are in terms of sufficient numbers to warrant the current production of darkroom paper
Clearly there must be enough demand for the likes of Harman but who are the customers who exist in large enough numbers to make it worth Harman's while ?
Thanks
pentaxuser
Having seen the síze of the Harman set-up and the number of us( relatively few) on a large site like Photrio who make prints in the darkroom plus the limited number of mini-labs still using b&w darkroom printing paper, I cannot figure out where the darkroom paper customers are in terms of sufficient numbers to warrant the current production of darkroom paper
Clearly there must be enough demand for the likes of Harman but who are the customers who exist in large enough numbers to make it worth Harman's while ?
Thanks
pentaxuser
What size paper? Today if it were 16X20, good paper would cost you at least $5000 for 500 sheets. There demand is certainly still there; but at what I point is someone like me going to be forced into contact printing? - or I could concentrate on RA4 color printing instead, which is still relatively affordable.
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