Ilford black and white printing and processing service

27/05/08

Highlighting the strength of its commitment to the long-term future of analogue photography, Ilford Photo have recently extended their process and print services at a time when many other companies are withdrawing from this important area.

Thanks to considerable investment into new lab facilities at its Mobberley site, the leading monochrome brand of Harman technology Limited are now able to offer an enhanced Black and White Process & Print service which includes not only the processing and printing of black and white films, but also the scanning of film negatives to CD and reprints and enlargements – meaning customers can choose prints at sizes from 4 x 6in, 5 x 7in and 6 x 9in, all the way up to 8 x 10in and 10 x 15in.

These extended capabilities cater for all Ilford films, including Ilford FP4 Plus, Ilford HP5 Plus, Ilford XP2 Super and Ilford SFX 200, as well as B&W films from other manufacturers, such as Kodak TRI-X, T-MAX, 400CN and Fuji Neopan. From June 2008, the service will also cater for medium format roll films.

In addition, and so that digital photographers can enjoy all the beauty of true silver gelatine black and white prints, the dedicated Ilford Photo Digital Print and Enlargement service has been launched. This offers traditional photographic prints produced from digital files such as jpegs and tiffs – and again, these prints can be anything in size from 4 x 6in to 10 x 15in.

Whichever service they use, customers automatically enjoy the reassurance of knowing their films and prints are being handled by experts from a company with a history in analogue photography stretching back over 100 years. They also enjoy significant benefits in terms of the image quality achieved. As only Ilford Photo black and white silver gelatine papers are used, prints deliver improved archival properties and a consistently neutral image tone – unlike black and white prints produced on colour paper which are subject to colour cast.

To take advantage of the services on offer, customers can buy special pre-paid envelopes either separately or with Ilford films or they can download order forms from the Ilford Photo website - www.ilfordphoto.com. This site also features details of local film/envelope stockists and the new processing options.

Speaking of the new and extended services, Howard Hopwood, Harman technology’s Marketing Director, said: “Although the art of black and white photography is normally envisaged as a traditional medium, Ilford Photo products and services continue to expand to accommodate technological advances. The extension of our process and print capabilities is an obvious example of this commitment to combining the best of old and new. It also ensures that both film and digital photographers across the UK will be able to reap the benefits of darkroom development - now and long into the future.”

For more information please visit the Ilford website. http://www.ilfordphoto.com/home.asp

Photo Quote: A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words. - Ansel Adams