Kodak- no more B&W Photo Paper

[dang]

Kodak said today they'd end production of their Black & White photo paper due to a decline of 25% over the last year in it's sales. They'll be closing a plant in Brasil, all in a effort to reduce their work force.

Remembering my old days of processing, and printing using nothing but Tri-X, and Kodak chemicials and paper... I'm saddend with the news, even though I use digital these days because of the difficult task in finding 120 roll film, & papers around Atlanta.

There's a small article on Dpreview if you'd like more information.

[wau]

(message deleted)

[zuiko40]

It was a bit of a jolt at first, but then I realized something. Although I had started with Kodak polycontrast paper back in 1978, and remember using a dial which came with Kodak's darkroom handbook to caculate exposure time as I changed contrast filters, I came to switch to Ilford, especially when they developed a multicontrast system which simplified exposure adjustments. and from around 1980 through 2000, when I basically gave up black and white for colour, i very rarely used Kodak papers. Most of the other people I knew who were doing their own printing were using Ilford or Agfa for black and white.

I have nothing against Kodak products, use Kodak film, both black and white and colour, and preferred Kodak's colour papers over Fuji and Agfa; but the truth is Kodak's withdrawal from the black and white paper field is likely to be less problematical than the financial woes of Ilford and Agfa, or whoever is taking over those company's black and white operations.

In my last days of fibre-based printing, which is over 10 years ago, Agfa's multicontrast had become my favourite. And in RC it was Ilford.

I have a sentimental spot for the Kodak paper, because it was the first I used, and because I remember when you could walk over to a K-mart department store in a suburban shopping centre, and it would have a darkroom section where you could buy the paper.

[magnanimous_computron]

I don't know where you are trying to find 120 film but I seem to get it quite easily. Pro Paks are all over the place. Processing labs are another story. Many are starting not to do it any more but I refuse to let my MF equipment gather dust.

As for Kodak, it is sad but I do understand. I really get the impression that the industry it trying to kill film prematurely. From an expense standpoint, digital has taken hold. Especially in the low end market. Camera phone up to the cheap 5MP pocket cameras are taking hold and are great for snapshots and events where you may throw away half of your pictures.

Most of the serious enthusiast and pros that I know are not giving up film however, they have integrated digital in order to increase revenues.

I just wish people would quit trying to make it a digital vs film fight. Digital is just another way to be creative. There is something special about the way film reacts as compared to digital. Something else to learn an master.

Either way...Keep On Snapping!

MC

[zuiko40]

Some people, and some people who happen to be much better printers than me, do miss Kodak paper (actually I'm not sure if the plural is appopriate, since the article refers only to master printer, John Sexton:

http://luminous-landscape.com/columns/s ... 6-05.shtml

I actually do have some sympathy, because I understand the idea of finding a material one likes, and then using it exclusively and learning to master the subtleties and unique characteristics of it. It's not simply a case of switching and not missing a beat.