While many in the industry are predicting the demise of traditional silver halide (‘AgX’) media, a press release from Howard Hopwood, Marketing Director of Ilford Photo, says traditional media will be around for some time to come.

 

May 18, 2007: While many in the industry are predicting the demise of traditional silver halide (‘AgX’) media, a press release from Howard Hopwood, Marketing Director of Ilford Photo, says traditional media will be around for some time to come.
However, he says, “it is obvious that the market mix of media has continued to change dramatically” and B&W photography and its associated products and services have carved out a defined market niche. “Most photographic film, paper and chemistry manufacturers have been involved in the black-and-white sector at one time or another”, the release states, “but many dropped out as the popular market declined, leaving Ilford Photo as the world’s leading manufacturer of this genre. The sale of all formats of film has been stable for the last 9 to 12 months, though the brand mix has been undergoing some noticeable shifts. Agfa Photo and Konica films are no longer available, and the statements made by Kodak are causing concern amongst users of black-and-white film.”
Buoyancy in the B&W market is being maintained largely by enthusiasts and photography students who process their own films and print in their own darkrooms as well as professional photographers who want to offer a differentiated product. “Tthere is still a good number of high quality professional labs offering excellent film processing and printing, including toning, etc, for those who do not operate darkrooms”, the release says.
The release concludes: “Given all of which, there is every reason to view the future of film with optimism, albeit on a different scale to that which it enjoyed just a few years back. Now that the industry has recognised that rather than competing for market share, digital and film have each settled into their separate, though often complementary, niches, they can be viewed as parallel markets. As far as anyone can anticipate future market trends, it seems that film in general will be with us for some time yet, with black-and-white maintaining its own dedicated following.”