Two questions about Kodak

Doc W · Jul 21, 2023

Both questions are based on solid rumor () but I thought I should check anyway.

1) Is Kodak having trouble recently with the quality and consistency of it's products?

2) Has the formula for HC-110 changed?

Steven Lee · Jul 21, 2023

Answers:

Kodak is a brand, not a company. Many companies make or/and sell Kodak-branded things. One of them is Sino Promise, who manufactures some (but not all) Kodak-branded chemistry. According to some retailers I spoke to, Sino Promise stopped shipping products to them, and they did not have any additional information to share with me.
Yes.

Doc W · Jul 21, 2023

Thanks a lot, Steven.

Here is a follow up question for Bonus Points:

Has anyone done any comparative testing on the old and new HC-110? How are they diffrent?

MattKing · Jul 21, 2023

Which HC-110?
Because of all the relatively recent disruptions, there may be as four recent versions, plus two old ones.
And possibly no current production.

Alex Benjamin · Jul 21, 2023

Doc W said:
Has the formula for HC-110 changed?

Short answer, yes.

Long answer, here:

New HC-110 Formula

On the page for the "2019 Edition" of HC-110 at B&H, if you zoom in on the bottle it says "NEW FORMULA." This is confirmed by Alaris' website, where next to t-max dev and HC-110 it says "New Formula, Same Great Results:"...

www.photrio.com

abruzzi · Jul 21, 2023

Doc W said:
Has anyone done any comparative testing on the old and new HC-110? How are they diffrent?

the new stuff is less viscous.

mshchem · Jul 21, 2023

New HC 110 is totally different in physical appearance from the original. Hasn't been the old original in a long time. Still plenty of options, and the current formula as long as it lasts.

Bruce Butterfield · Jul 22, 2023

Anybody using Ilford HC or other HC-110 equivalents? I’ve used HC-110 since forever and given the chaos that is Kodak/Alaris/Sino Promise/etc. it seems prudent to start looking for alternatives. Roughly I want one-shot chemistry concentrate that has a reasonably long shelf life; ability to do stand development would be a plus. My fallback is Rodinal but that’s a pretty different experience.

Steven Lee · Jul 22, 2023

@Bruce Butterfield You will be quite pleased with Ilfotec HC.

alanrockwood · Jul 22, 2023

Does Ilford HC have a similar legendary shelf life to the old HC100?

miha · Jul 22, 2023

alanrockwood said:
Does Ilford HC have a similar legendary shelf life to the old HC100?

Yes. It keeps for years, but I'm not sure it will ever reach the Legend rank.

czygeorge · Jul 22, 2023

1.Yes sino promise has some problem with their own factory, they still make C-41 chemicals with orther film chemical factories'(like Lucky) help and sell in China,but just can't take care of worldwide i believe.
In fact, after you understand the approximate cost of film potions, you will find that film potions are a very low-profit item. It is difficult to maintain a global sales system like Fuji (chemicals), facing transportation and tariffs, etc. without a huge capital chain support(also they have some problem caused by themselves too

ags2mikon · Jul 22, 2023

I switched to Ilfotec HC 20+ years ago. It is every bit as good as Kodak HC-110 original from 20 years ago. My only complaint is that the bottles it comes in are JUNK! I have had 2 of them split and cause a mess. Just consider the bottles as a temporary shipping container and as soon as you get it pour it into glass bottles. I like to use 250ml bottles for that. I recently found a 250ml bottle I had re-packed 15 years ago that got moved where I couldn't see it. I tested it on a test roll and it is as good as when I first opened it. It is very expensive now, but so is film. Ilford is very serious about black and white photography and they really deserve our continued support.

retina_restoration · Jul 22, 2023

B&H now lists HC-110 as "discontinued".

BAC1967 · Jul 22, 2023

I recently purchased Film Photography Project HC-110. It’s nice because it’s available in a small 8oz bottle, so you don’t have to store it forever if you don’t use it a lot. I don’t use HC-110 very often so it’s hard to make a comparison to Kodak, but it worked as advertised. Used the same development times that are listed for Kodak HC-110.

FPP HC-110

Paul Howell · Jul 22, 2023

Has anyone used Legacy Pro L110?

MattKing · Jul 22, 2023

retina_restoration said:
B&H now lists HC-110 as "discontinued".

Which means they aren't carrying it any more. When they previously switched it to not being available to be shipped, it was only a matter of time.
HC-110's continued existence going forward is still up in the air.

pentaxuser · Jul 22, 2023

MattKing said:
Which means they aren't carrying it any more. When they previously switched it to not being available to be shipped, it was only a matter of time.
HC-110's continued existence going forward is still up in the air.

So the use of the word "discontinued" from B&H carries about as much basis of truth as would the word "dead" to describe you or me if either of us decided to leave Photrio

pentaxuser

MattKing · Jul 22, 2023

No, it means that B&H have discontinued carrying it.

pentaxuser · Jul 22, 2023

MattKing said:
No, it means that B&H have discontinued carrying it.

Just seems to me to be a word that can be interpreted in several ways in the recent context of Kodak chemicals as has happened in the past when on Photrio a member has "learned" from one of a retailer's staff that product X is no longer available or isn't being supplied

pentaxuser

AnselMortensen · Jul 22, 2023

It's so easy for the word meanings to be misconscrued....then folks tend to jump to convulsions.

With a tip of the hat to Norm Crosby.

MattKing · Jul 22, 2023

pentaxuser said:
Just seems to me to be a word that can be interpreted in several ways in the recent context of Kodak chemicals as has happened in the past when on Photrio a member has "learned" from one of a retailer's staff that product X is no longer available or isn't being supplied

pentaxuser

It can - but like with most retailers, "discontinued by manufacturer" means something different than "discontinued by "distributor" which in turn means something different than "discontinued by importer" all of which are, of course, of much wider import than "discontinued by us".

mshchem · Jul 22, 2023

czygeorge said:
1.Yes sino promise has some problem with their own factory, they still make C-41 chemicals with orther film chemical factories'(like Lucky) help and sell in China,but just can't take care of worldwide i believe.
In fact, after you understand the approximate cost of film potions, you will find that film potions are a very low-profit item. It is difficult to maintain a global sales system like Fuji (chemicals), facing transportation and tariffs, etc. without a huge capital chain support(also they have some problem caused by themselves too

Good to hear Sino Promise is still operating in China. The market keeps changing, small shops closing etc.

SodaAnt · Aug 14, 2023

Given the current situation with supply problems, etc, I decided to make my own developer, stop, and fixer rather than rely on an uncertain supply from Kodak and others.

I’ve standardized on D-23 for everything, and it’s easy to make, with only two ingredients: Metol and sodium sulfite. Stop bath is even easier: glacial acetic acid diluted with water. Fixer: thiosulfate and a few other common ingredients. You can buy all of these ingredients in bulk from Photographer’s Formulary and Artcraft Chemicals (in the U.S.)

Equipment needed is simple: a scale accurate to 0.01g and a few graduated cylinders. A magnetic stirrer ($29 on Amazon) makes it easy to dissolve powders.

John Wiegerink · Aug 14, 2023

SodaAnt said:
Given the current situation with supply problems, etc, I decided to make my own developer, stop, and fixer rather than rely on an uncertain supply from Kodak and others.

I’ve standardized on D-23 for everything, and it’s easy to make, with only two ingredients: Metol and sodium sulfite. Stop bath is even easier: glacial acetic acid diluted with water. Fixer: thiosulfate and a few other common ingredients. You can buy all of these ingredients in bulk from Photographer’s Formulary and Artcraft Chemicals (in the U.S.)

Equipment needed is simple: a scale accurate to 0.01g and a few graduated cylinders. A magnetic stirrer ($29 on Amazon) makes it easy to dissolve powders.

Hogwash on the equipment you say you need! Gadget Gainer would omit the scale and suggest a cheap set of measuring spoons for a simple developer like D23 or even D76 for that matter. Ha-ha, but true!

Two questions about Kodak

Doc W

Steven Lee

Doc W

MattKing

Moderator

Alex Benjamin

New HC-110 Formula

abruzzi

mshchem

Bruce Butterfield

Steven Lee

alanrockwood

miha

czygeorge

ags2mikon

retina_restoration

BAC1967

Paul Howell

MattKing

Moderator

pentaxuser

MattKing

Moderator

pentaxuser

AnselMortensen

MattKing

Moderator

mshchem

SodaAnt

John Wiegerink

Two questions about Kodak

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