Might be the end of the line for Agfa Photo...

Michael Gudzinowicz wrote:

The patent's value may have been overstated in the past,
and novelty in a dead market rarely is rewarded. Mike.


That was six or more years ago. In the meantime Agfa
has been selling film for $2.09 a roll and going broke
with their Always the Low Price.

And Dr. Chapman seemed so optimistic. I've read a little
more of the chemistry involved, somewhere, and got the
impression that it might be something one could do at
home. The giants and the miles of film they produce
with A run may have a difficult time of it.

What the industry needs is a new start; a down-sized
start. A thread on APUG made that plain; one ton is a
minimum order for baryta treated ungelatined paper.
That from Bergger.

JandC told me I, that's ME, would have to finance a
special run if there were to be ANY single weight FB
paper in stock. From manufacturer to dealer the
industry is not really trying. Dan

In article .com,
wrote:

From manufacturer to dealer the
industry is not really trying.

Where is the demand that would prove to the manufacturer that a run
would be profitable?

As for the size of the run that has more to do with getting consistent
quality then anything else.

--
To reply no_ HPMarketing Corp.

The last time I looked Tech Pan was selling for $7 + a roll.
Kodak is likely all sold out. Agfa at $2.09 was selling a same
speed film. I for one would buy Tech Pan at $5 + a
roll but called a halt at $7 + a roll.

"PROOF"? George Eastman would roll over in his grave.

As for the size of A run, that is perhaps tons of paper
and many MILES of film; A grade of paper, A film.
The survivors of the industry will be those who
include some more labor per unit and have
or will down size. Also those who don't
give away their product will have a
better chance. Dan

In article . com,
wrote:

The last time I looked Tech Pan was selling for $7 + a roll.
Kodak is likely all sold out. Agfa at $2.09 was selling a same
speed film. I for one would buy Tech Pan at $5 + a
roll but called a halt at $7 + a roll.

What does that prove?

How many rolls of B&W film can a manufacturer sell today? And can they
sell it before it goes short date?
And who is going to stock it and sell it to the user?
How many users are there now? How many will there be next year? How many
in 5 years?

B&W film, paper and chemistry is not a growth business today.

"PROOF"? George Eastman would roll over in his grave."

Maybe this is why he killed himself?

--
To reply no_ HPMarketing Corp.

John wrote:
On 4 Nov 2005 15:02:40 -0800, wrote:

The Dr. thought we would be seeing something on the
shelfs about now. But, AFAIK, not a PEEP. Dan

Yep. Looks to be another product buried in the beauracracy of accounts
and managers.

The article you quote, even though it's a bit of a
reconstituted press release, ends with a couple of
disclaimers about how it could be difficult to make this
a working process (included below). So I don't think
one can blame some suit or the Digital Conspiracy
for suppressing this. This is the type of language
you read in an article when the process is quite far
from practicality.

If film was a growth market maybe companies could
solve these problems with years and millions of dollars
more research. But it isn't, so they may not.


One remaining question is how the technique will work in with
dyes that allow film to record red light, Hailstone said. Belloni said
further research will have to look at the question.
Researchers at Eastman Kodak Co. said they have been
experimenting with chemicals that do the same thing that formate does.
They said it may be hard to make commercial film with formate.

On 6 Nov 2005 15:34:33 -0800, wrote:


And Dr. Chapman seemed so optimistic. I've read a little
more of the chemistry involved, somewhere, and got the
impression that it might be something one could do at
home. The giants and the miles of film they produce
with A run may have a difficult time of it.

One thought had is that the increased sensitivty my significantly
reduce shel-life as fog will increase significantly with agiing.


===

Regards,

John Douglas - Formula, Documents & Manuals for the Silver Darkroom
Websites : http://www.darkroompro.com - http://www.puresilver.org

Bob Salomon wrote:

How many rolls of B&W film can a manufacturer sell today?
And can they sell it before it goes short date?
And who is going to stock it and sell it to the user?
How many users are there now? How many will there be next year?


If 1 out of 600,000 people each day shoots a roll of
B&W film, 10,000 + rolls/day would be consumed. That
may be close to present world demand. That number
times 365 equals 3,650,000 rolls/year.
They can sell it if they produce that amount which will
sell within the short date. That might be less than the
amount of mileage they now produce at one run.
The two that now do sell, B&H on the East Coast and
Freestyle on the West, will continue to sell. Perhaps
some others.
There are likely a million or more users world wide of
B&W film. Dan

In article .com,
wrote:

If

That clause doesn't work. How many isn't a supposition.

--
To reply no_ HPMarketing Corp.