Digital BW, The Print

Hi Steve,

> I would never have guessed that B&W would start to fade from view this
quickly

You said it! I'm shocked at the pace of change, plus I would have expected the
B&W materials to be the *last* to go by the wall, because digital capture is
further away from replacing B&W film compared to colour. I would have thought
the majority of B&W shooters would be exactly the kind of niche/specialist
users who'd be more likely to keep buying film. In fact I wonder if the film
side of the business isn't relatively healthy, with the printing
paper/chemicals being the real casualty. It will be a shame if they prune away
more of the business than they really need to.


-----Original Message-----
From: Stephen Kobrin [mailto:kobrins@...]
Sent: 24 August 2004 13:25
To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Digital BW] Ilford


There is a similar article in the Times of London indicating that 
Ilford had been put into "administration" and indicating that they 
were focusing on digital products.  Assuming that there is a risk of 
Ilford getting out of the B&W film business raises a question: how 
long will film last in a freezer?  Given that Kodak has cancelled 
production of Portra B&W (and the limitations of its replacement), I 
would like to put in a stock of Super XP2, but limit quantities to 
that which I will actually use before it degrades.

I would hate to give up B&W film, but I suspect that shooting color 
print film and coverting in PS will be an alternative that is around 
for a while.  On the other hand, I would never have guessed that B&W 
would start to fade from view this quickly.  Lets hope that someone 
sees a niche market and continues to produce at least some of 
Ilford's range of B&W products.  

Steve

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