Kodak/Alaris is for sale..

[Mikep996]

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Per news reports the company is for sale which is probably only bad news for film production unless someone with very deep pockets and an interest in film photography buys it.  I noticed a few days ago that Kodak film was substantially more expensive at B&H than it was 6 months ago.   Ilford was more expensive as well.  I thought the the renewed interest in film would have the opposite effect...Maybe this REALLY is the end of film. 😢

[Emtsoh]

shame..

But: let's see if there is any difference between movies film straps vs. film photography. 

hard to believe Kodak photography film is forever gone..

Perhaps in 100 years from now. Not today.. hope not

Edited April 17, 2023 by Emtsoh

[Anbaric]

CineStill is Kodak movie film, and all those small colour film brands are really Kodak, Fuji or ORWO/Innovis, or old stock from a freezer or (until recently) oddities like Russian aero film. And now that Fuji is relying on Kodak for at least some of its stock and has 'paused' production of several of its own films, losing Kodak would make colour film essentially unavailable.

However, as I understand it, Kodak Alaris doesn't actually make any film, they just have distribution and brand rights. The film is still made by Eastman Kodak as it always has been, and they aren't for sale.

I don't think B&W is going anywhere - although there are more brands than manufacturers, several independent companies are still making it and there's no real shortage, at least where I live.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Anbaric

[250swb]

Indeed, no need to panic, Kodak Alaris do not make film. Just calm down.

[earleygallery]

Kodak Alaris was set up - in very broad terms - to service the pension fund in the UK (income to pay the pensions). If it is being sold then that is most probably a good sign, the pension fund presumably think that they will get a good enough price for it to meet their commitments.

As I say that's very broad and I know nothing of the financial details but it's likely a sign of the continued demand for film rather than a doom and gloom scenario.

[Chuck Albertson]

3 hours ago, Mikep996 said:

Per news reports the company is for sale which is probably only bad news for film production unless someone with very deep pockets and an interest in film photography buys it.  I noticed a few days ago that Kodak film was substantially more expensive at B&H than it was 6 months ago.   Ilford was more expensive as well.  I thought the the renewed interest in film would have the opposite effect...Maybe this REALLY is the end of film. 😢

What news reports?

[Mikep996]

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Interesting!  I didn't realize that Alaris was just a holding company, I thought they had purchased/taken over manufacturing of Kodak film so the fact that Alaris is for sale was scary!  But I did more research after reading post #4 and found that, as mentioned, Eastman Kodak is still the manufacturer of film.  So with that in mind, the sale of Alaris probably has little to do with film availability, itself.  Whew!  

"What news reports?"

Sky News is the one I saw.  https://news.sky.com/story/amp/pensions-lifeboat-seeks-kodak-moment-with-sale-plot-12852060

Edited April 17, 2023 by Mikep996

[logan2z]

13 minutes ago, Chuck Albertson said:

What news reports?

This is the only place I've seen it:

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/pensions-lifeboat-seeks-kodak-moment-with-sale-plot-12852060

[oldwino]

Perhaps this sale would allow Kodak to get out of its deal with Alaris with regard to distribution. 

[Chuck Albertson]

Eastman Kodak (the film manufacturer) seems to be doing well enough to buy a back cover ad on this month's issue of American Cinematographer, celebrating the 100th anniversary of 16mm cine film.

[Aryel]

On 4/18/2023 at 2:41 AM, Anbaric said:

ORWO

I can be wrong but I think ORWO is manufacturing their own films. 

[Anbaric]

On 4/20/2023 at 3:37 PM, Aryel said:

I can be wrong but I think ORWO is manufacturing their own films. 

I think that's more or less true. As far as I understand the convoluted history, the ORWO film is made by InovisCoat, which now has the same owners as ORWO/FilmoTec, which had earlier acquired the branding but not the production facilities of the former East German ORWO company. ORWO/FilmoTec was already using InovisCoat as a production contractor before they were brought under the same umbrella. InovisCoat was spun off from AGFA in the 2000s, while the original ORWO was also an AGFA successor company, dating back all the way to the partition of Germany after the war (when it had kept the AGFA factory in East Germany but not the brand). It's rather a shame they can't just call the film AGFA! It is apparently derived from AGFA (rather than original ORWO) movie emulsions. InovisCoat is the only European colour film manufacturer, with production independent of Kodak and Fuji (perhaps Ferrania will one day join them). InovisCoat also make Lomography Metropolis, which seems to be similar or perhaps identical to the ORWO-branded stuff.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Anbaric

[hepcat]

I find everyones' concerns about the end days of film interesting. Film isn't endangered in the least.  There's plenty.  Metal fiim canisters are in short supply, but that's a temporary issue.   What is NOT a temporary issue are processing machines in labs.  There is no one making minilabs or processing machinery new any more.  Unless someone re-enters that market, when what's out there dies... it's the end of the line.

Our local camera store has an AGFA unit that's now twenty years old.  He keeps it running by scavenging parts from retired AGFA machines from a company owned by four former AGFA techs.  They are now of retirement age and looking to get out of the business.  Our local store's owner has no idea what he's going to do if he can't get parts and service any longer.

The next issue is chemistry.  C-41 bleach-fix used to be about $30/tank in his AGFA machine.   It is now $135/tank which has contributed greatly to the increase in film processing expenses.  You once could get a roll of C-41 process film souped for a couple of dollars.  It's now between $10 and $12/roll.  

 

[williamj]

14 hours ago, hepcat said:

I find everyones' concerns about the end days of film interesting. Film isn't endangered in the least.  There's plenty.  Metal fiim canisters are in short supply, but that's a temporary issue.   What is NOT a temporary issue are processing machines in labs.  There is no one making minilabs or processing machinery new any more.  Unless someone re-enters that market, when what's out there dies... it's the end of the line.

Our local camera store has an AGFA unit that's now twenty years old.  He keeps it running by scavenging parts from retired AGFA machines from a company owned by four former AGFA techs.  They are now of retirement age and looking to get out of the business.  Our local store's owner has no idea what he's going to do if he can't get parts and service any longer.

The next issue is chemistry.  C-41 bleach-fix used to be about $30/tank in his AGFA machine.   It is now $135/tank which has contributed greatly to the increase in film processing expenses.  You once could get a roll of C-41 process film souped for a couple of dollars.  It's now between $10 and $12/roll.  

 

This in a nutshell is one of the reasons why I shoot black and white, because as long as they make the film I can do everything else at home. 

[Mikep996]

Yeah, I only shoot BW film/print in the darkroom so whether labs exist or not is of no consequence to me.  Of course, I agree that if there were no longer labs, many people would quit shooting film altogether and the demand for film would drop, thus reducing availability as film production was reduced/eliminated. 

[Fotoklaus]

But you also need chemistry and paper. 

Everything affects the other parts of film photography.