Support our Sponsors, they keep FADU free:   AG Photographic   The Imaging Warehouse   Process Supplies   RH Designs   Second-hand Darkroom Supplies  

Notices

Go Back   Film and Darkroom User > Chemistry > Manufactured brews

  ***   Click here for the FADU 2015/2014 Yearbooks   ***

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 18th November 2014, 02:33 PM
Tom Kershaw Tom Kershaw is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 542
Default Pricing of Fotospeed chemistry

Looking at prices for chemistry recently I noticed Fotospeed fixer and paper developer is consistently more expensive or very similar in price to ILFORD products; I'm fairly sure a few years ago Fotospeed was a more competitively priced line?

Perhaps Fotospeed offer volume discounts to certain buyers?

Tom
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 18th November 2014, 05:32 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Daventry, Northants
Posts: 8,968
Default

That does seem to be the case now,Tom. Its RC paper was certainly cheaper than Ilford. There isn't a massive difference in price but it is always disconcerting when a cheaper company suddenly plays catch-up

It might just be that there are price rises in the pipeline all round and Fotospeed decided or needed to move first but others such as Ilford will follow but I hope not.

Mike
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 18th November 2014, 11:33 PM
Tom Kershaw Tom Kershaw is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 542
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike O'Pray View Post
That does seem to be the case now,Tom. Its RC paper was certainly cheaper than Ilford. There isn't a massive difference in price but it is always disconcerting when a cheaper company suddenly plays catch-up

It might just be that there are price rises in the pipeline all round and Fotospeed decided or needed to move first but others such as Ilford will follow but I hope not.

Mike
Pricing of fixer seems to be all over the place from £15 per 5L to £30 per 5L between the various brands.

Tom
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 18th November 2014, 11:53 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Daventry, Northants
Posts: 8,968
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Kershaw View Post
Pricing of fixer seems to be all over the place from £15 per 5L to £30 per 5L between the various brands.

Tom
True. I don't know how long fixer keeps unopened but if it lasts years in that condition then the trick would have been to have bought Champion fixer from Firstcall several years ago when suddenly its price made it a real bargain compared to Ilford, Agfa Tetenal etc

I think it is still cheaper than other brands but Firstcall has increased its price quite a bit since it first stocked Champion. It was Dave Miller, formerly of this parish, who made the point that in effect Champion produced other maker's fixer as well so buying Firstcall Champion fixer was a "no brainer".

I recall a former member here selling a lot of fixer for a while. I have no idea where he obtained it but certainly if it was Firstcall fixer that was bought in large quantities then he was probably able to sell it at a small profit even at its bargain price.

I am casting no aspersions on what that member did but merely using his fixer sales to illustrate what astute buying at the right price can do.

One thing is certain: Bargain prices never last

Mike
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 19th November 2014, 09:05 AM
B&W Neil's Avatar
B&W Neil B&W Neil is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: West Cornwall
Posts: 4,264
Default

When comparing fixer prices don't forget to also compare the dilution ratios as this can vary from brand to brand.

Neil.
__________________
"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance." Aristotle

Neil Souch
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 19th November 2014, 01:55 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Jersey Channel Islands
Posts: 5,433
Default

Champion is still the cheapest fixer on the market today, followed by Tetenal superfix, I have an opened 5 litre bottle of Champion fixer that I got from Silverprint two years ago, today it is £12 82 per 5 litre compared to around £29 for the ilford product, and is just as good, Champion is one of the biggest makers of photo chemistry, so to buy at that price is indeed a no brainer, the dilution rate is the same as the Ilford,so at that price I will use Champion, I also use their Stop bath, cheapest around at £3,66 a litre, and as good as anything else around
Richard
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 19th November 2014, 04:05 PM
MikeHeller MikeHeller is offline
Print Exchange Manager
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: North Wales
Posts: 1,280
Default

I have used fixer that must be 5+ years old with no apparent problem. The only time I had a problem was with some old fixer that went cloudy that didn't clear when diluted (precipitation of sulphur from oxidised hypo?). When I used it in my print toaster after a couple of D/R Sessions it kindly coated the slot walls black (silver?) and took a bit of cleaning! I don't remember if it succeeded in doing any fixing! I discarded it with great reluctance (I don't like waste).
Mike
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 23rd November 2014, 10:51 AM
Tom Kershaw Tom Kershaw is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 542
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Gould View Post
Champion is still the cheapest fixer on the market today, followed by Tetenal superfix, I have an opened 5 litre bottle of Champion fixer that I got from Silverprint two years ago, today it is £12 82 per 5 litre compared to around £29 for the ilford product, and is just as good, Champion is one of the biggest makers of photo chemistry, so to buy at that price is indeed a no brainer, the dilution rate is the same as the Ilford,so at that price I will use Champion, I also use their Stop bath, cheapest around at £3,66 a litre, and as good as anything else around
Richard
The ILFORD HYPAM I have in stock is 'Made in Germany' and is packaged in the same 5L containers as Tetenal Superfix Plus.

Tom
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 23rd November 2014, 11:24 AM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Jersey Channel Islands
Posts: 5,433
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Kershaw View Post
The ILFORD HYPAM I have in stock is 'Made in Germany' and is packaged in the same 5L containers as Tetenal Superfix Plus.

Tom
I believe that Tetenal make at least some of the Ilford chemistry, if not all of it, along with the Kodak chemistry, and a lot of others, they ae currently the biggest makers of photo chemistry in Europe, Champion is based in the USA and used to make all of Kodaks chemistry, but with Kodaks Chapter 11 they were owed a lot of money by Kodak and dropped them
Richard
Reply With Quote
Reply
Support our Sponsors, they keep FADU free:   AG Photographic   The Imaging Warehouse   Process Supplies   RH Designs   Second-hand Darkroom Supplies  

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Colour Chemistry temperature Reuben Top Tips 13 16th June 2016 05:08 AM
Gold Toning > Chemistry Question Roy_H Toning 5 2nd February 2011 04:34 PM
Jessops' absurd pricing on ILFORD films Tom Kershaw Photography in general 4 18th January 2011 09:00 PM
Glass Marbles & chemistry Steve_F Monochrome Film 8 26th September 2010 10:41 PM
Chemistry / chemicals alfie Darkroom 12 20th May 2009 07:12 PM


All times are GMT. The time now is 02:52 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.