Velvia 100 Discontinued in the U.S.

[Sal Santamaura]

...Marketing entity Kodak Alaris relies entirely on Eastman Kodak for Ektachrome 100 design and manufacture.

Not entirely correct...It was Kodak Alaris who pushed for characteristics like better keeping properties, increased sharpness and whiter whites - all relevant to questions of marketing...

Those are requirements. They're characteristics Kodak Alaris desired. Eastman Kodak satisfied Alaris' requirements through its internal process of design and manufacture, carried out by engineers, scientists and production personnel.

 

[Ten301]

Furthermore the problem Fuji saw and discussed was not related to Velvia.

AgX, are you at liberty to reveal what issue Fuji USA and the EPA discussed in 2017?

 

[MattKing]

Those are requirements. They're characteristics Kodak Alaris desired. Eastman Kodak satisfied Alaris' requirements through its internal process of design and manufacture, carried out by engineers, scientists and production personnel.

Kodak Alaris people were in the design rooms and on the production design floor.
The marketing departments of the various Kodaks were full of engineers, as well as people trained mainly in marketing.
It was a very close, symbiotic relationship, and that continued after Kodak Alaris came into being.

 

[Sal Santamaura]

Kodak Alaris people were in the design rooms and on the production design floor.
The marketing departments of the various Kodaks were full of engineers, as well as people trained mainly in marketing.
It was a very close, symbiotic relationship, and that continued after Kodak Alaris came into being.

As someone who provided requirements to suppliers that they then satisfied by designing and manufacturing things, I too participated in design reviews and production readiness reviews. I'd never claim to have designed or manufactured those things.

 

[mohmad khatab]

This announcement is one of the biggest nonsense I ever read.

+1

 

[Henning Serger]

Positive news for the Velvia 100 users:
I've got official information from Fujifilm that really only the US market is affected due to the new EPA regulations.
In all other markets Velvia 100 distribution will be continued.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[AnselMortensen]

That makes sense...
The EPA has no jurisdiction in the rest of the world.

 

[MattKing]

That makes sense...
The EPA has no jurisdiction in the rest of the world.

While that may be true, if the USA is excluded, and the USA is a large portion of the market for the product, a lot of manufacturers will decide to exclude the product entirely.

 

[Ernst-Jan]

While that may be true, if the USA is excluded, and the USA is a large portion of the market for the product, a lot of manufacturers will decide to exclude the product entirely.

If the USA is the only market excluded, there are plenty of other markets. It is a big market, but not the only - although they might think that.
Pro 160NS is a Japan exclusive film, apparently that market is big enough already.
What sucks is that sheet-film users don't have an replacement since Velvia 50 is not in sheet as far as I know. (Or also Japan only?)

 

[Henning Serger]

While that may be true, if the USA is excluded, and the USA is a large portion of the market for the product, a lot of manufacturers will decide to exclude the product entirely.

But that isn't the case here, Matt. Velvia 100 has been a tiny niche product for Fujifilm on the US market. It has been by far the product with the lowest sales volume for them on that market.
And those real Velvia 100 lovers in the US will probably from now on just buy their Velvia 100 internationally, so that not the complete US demand will vanish.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[Henning Serger]

Pro 160NS is a Japan exclusive film, apparently that market is big enough already.
What sucks is that sheet-film users don't have an replacement since Velvia 50 is not in sheet as far as I know. (Or also Japan only?)

Besides PRO 160 NS in 120 there is also the excellent Fujicolor 100 in 135 as a (current) Japan only product.
And Velvia 50 is available in 4x5" in Japan as well. You can order it either directly there, or ask your favourite European film shop(s) to import it for you.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

It's possible Fuji wants to keep the Velvia 100 line going until it can reformulate the chemicals. So they'll sell it in other markets until then.

 

[MattKing]

But that isn't the case here, Matt. Velvia 100 has been a tiny niche product for Fujifilm on the US market. It has been by far the product with the lowest sales volume for them on that market.

It doesn't surprise me that this is the case Henning, but your observation highlights the motivating reason for the USA discontinuance - it isn't currently financially viable to reconfigure the product in order to meet a relatively small market need.
My observation wasn't really about Velvia 100 specifically, but rather was in response to a comment about US EPA jurisdiction not extending outside the USA. I live 13 blocks from the border with the USA, and can assure everyone that when something happens down there, it often had extra-jurisdictional effects!
To pick one important example, Harman's largest market for its Ilford products is the USA. If some of those products weren't allowed to be sold in the USA, there is a great likelihood that the rest of the world would lose some of them too.
And just think what would happen to Eastman Kodak if ECN processed films became illegal in the USA!

 

[Rudeofus]

It's possible Fuji wants to keep the Velvia 100 line going until it can reformulate the chemicals. So they'll sell it in other markets until then.

Just remember, how Acros was discontinued and then reappeared as Acros II. It's quite possible, that a new version of Velvia 100 is in the making, and the markets outside the USA are supplied with remaining stock.

 

[TheGreatGasMaskMan]

I think it’s more likely we’ll see a pro 400 II, not a new Velvia 100.