News

The following release was received from Ilford. While a bit breathless, it
shows the enthusiasm and effort involved in keeping the company afloat. I did
edit somewhat for length. --gs



After some four months of highly geared activity following the announcements
in February this year that ILFORD had been saved from total annihilation, the
newly emerged organization is now able to draw breath and assess its current
situation.



It was due to the swift and timely action of six of ILFORD Imaging's management
team - at some considerable personal financial risk to themselves - that the
UK-based company which headed the international group avoided being split up,
asset stripped, or otherwise totally lost. Via a cleverly constructed operation,
the liquidators were able to sell off the considerable areas of land at the
company's plant in Mobberly, Cheshire, to an investment company on the basis
that the plant would remain, thereby enabling the rest of the business to fall
within the capabilities of the team.



What amounted to something of a coup in the face of determined interest expressed
by 21 potential suitors which pursued the company through its most vulnerable
stages saw the team able to provide a more attractive solution to the liquidator.
This included not only satisfying the demands of the liquidation, but also ensuring
the continuation of a business which, over its 125-year history, had established
itself as the leading monochrome specialist.



Having had the deal and the buyout accepted to much acclaim, the team then had
to get the company fully on track: manufacturing processes operating, stocks
up to appropriate levels, sales, marketing and distribution fully functioning,
staffing organized and relations with both the company's overseas distributors
and its worldwide customers being re-established on a progressive basis. "It
has been a pretty hectic four months," states chairman and managing director
Phil Harris, "but we now have the company on a strong basis and ready
to take on the world in our endeavors to revitalize the ILFORD name."




ILFORD Photo is the trading name of HARMAN technology Ltd, the company under
which the new enterprise trades, and is the brand which will be used for all
monochrome products - film, paper and photochemistry. The HARMAN brand (drawn
from the name of ILFORD's founder in 1879, Alfred Harman) will be applied to
other aspects of the company's business, such as thin-layer film and paper coating
for the medical sector, as it becomes further organized.



The distributors in USA, France, Benelux, Switzerland and Australia are no longer
subsidiaries of ILFORD UK, but since their former parent company's crash, they
have re-organized themselves, mostly as independent companies, and will continue
handling the supply of ILFORD Photo products to their respective markets, as
do the many other companies which make up the global network of suppliers. The
ILFORD digital products manufacturing base in Switzerland is still involved
in discussions concerning its future.



HARMAN technology/ILFORD Photo now stands totally independent of any corporate
ties to the erstwhile group, and is concentrating on what it knows best, and
to which it is totally committed - black-and-white photography.



"Black-and-white analogue photography is the platform to which we are
all dedicated," explains Howard Hopwood, HARMAN/ILFORD Photo's marketing
and business development director. "Quite frankly, the rebirth of ILFORD
as a brand concentrating on this genre could not have been better timed.



"The world imaging market has been jumping through all kinds of hoops
over the last few years as it has come to terms with digital processes, just
as much as it has with the progress of color photography. Having done that,
and turned full circle back to its roots, those who really care about expressive
photography, and about preserving images in all their beauty, still acknowledge
that black-and-white is the one true medium.



It is this dedication to black-and-white, shared by Harris and Hopwood with
their fellow HARMAN technology directors: Andy Taylor (Finance Director), Steven
Brierley (Sales Director UK, USA and Australia), Simon Galley (Sales Director
European and Export Markets), and Peter Elton (Operations Director), which provides
the catalyst for the company's determined and carefully formulated assault on
the global market.



Nearly 400 people are now employed at Mobberly, with technology and production
capability up to full capacity. Eighty-five per cent of output is being exported,
and global distribution channels are all open. The management is in place and
fully functioning, as are all sales departments and personnel.



In view of the uncertainty that has existed in the worldwide monochrome consumables
field recently, especially regarding availability of black-and-white paper,
ILFORD Photo's relaunch of its comprehensive range of top quality products,
which includes a variety of black-and-white paper types, and the company's assurances
of continued future manufacture, are especially timely for the many enthusiasts
and professional photographers concerned about future supplies.



"In spite of being so busy over these months," comments Harris,
"the process has been cathartic, and great fun. Having structured the
company into a fully operational organization, we now look forward to facing
the challenge in all our marketplaces. If the extremely positive reaction we
have received so far is anything by which to judge, we can expect to be in a
very solid position very quickly."



www.ilfordphoto.com

...

dr5 CHROME LAB, profiled in a recent Shutterbug issue, will make its permanent
home in Denver Colorado as of August 5, 2005. After many successful years as
an independent facility in both New York City and Los Angeles proprietor David
Wood has decided to make the mid-west the final location for his unique photo
lab. "We're relocating for our customers' sake, said Wood, inventor of
the dr5 black and white reversal process which produces transparencies from
over thirty black and white film types. "We want to continue providing
outstanding services without having to raise prices. The economy in Denver will
allow us to do that."

...

Is Fido ready for his close-up? Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leader
in advanced digital media and accessories, today announced the start of its
online Picture Perfect Pets amateur digital photography contest, in conjunction
with its sponsorship of the upcoming publication of "DOGS 24/7"
and "CATS 24/7," by Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen, follow-on
books to the hugely popular "America 24/7" book series. Entry details
for contestants are at www.lexar.com/pets.

...

Delkin Devices, Inc., has introduced inkjet printable versions of its popular
eFilm Archival Gold "300-Year" CD-R. The advent of good quality, inexpensive
consumer printers such as Epson's Stylus Photo R200, R300, R320 and others
drive more and more people to look for CD-Rs they can print their own designs
on. eFilm Inkjet Archival Gold CD-R's incorporate patented Phthalocyanine (thalo-sy-a-neen)
dye and a 24k gold reflective layer into every CD-R. The innovative materials
found in eFilm Inkjet Archival Gold CD-R's make them among the most reliable
storage media available. Results of an accelerated aging process used to test
the longevity of CD-R media show eFilm Inkjet Archival Gold CD-R's may safely
store images for more than 300 years.

...

High-resolution
digital cameras and a growing number of multimedia devices have catapulted flash
memory cards to much higher capacities and performance levels than ever before.
Transcend Information Inc. recommends its 80X Ultra-Performance high-speed Secure
Digital (SD) Cards (128MB to 1GB capacity.). Transcend's 80X SD Cards
are easy to carry and can be used in most modern-day personal electronics devices.
Extremely fast data transfer speeds of up to 12MB/sec, give the new 80X SD Card
70% faster performance levels. Transcend's digital card series is fully
compatible with digital cameras and other handheld devices. Transcend's
80X SD cards are now available from 128MB to 1GB capacities.

...

nik multimedia, Inc. has announced that nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 is now available
through the nik multimedia retail Web site (www.nikmultimedia.com)
and specialty camera stores. nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 is said to provide the easiest
way for photographers and digital artists to optimally sharpen their digital
images and achieve the best possible detail in their final prints. As a plug-in
to Adobe Photoshop and other image editing applications, nik Sharpener Pro 2.0
is the perfect addition to a photographer's digital workflow.

...