How long until governments shut down silver based film and paper due to pollution concerns?
 

At some point as digital image capture and non-silver based printing
continues to evolve I think it is reasonable to expect that various
governments will eventually regulate out of existence the use of silver
halide based photographic products. The production and processing of film
and paper is a chemical and water intensive process which inevitably leads
to some degree of real or imagined water pollution.

There is historical precedence in CFCs and mercury.

It seems only a matter of time until a bandwagon builds to first heavily
regulate and then nearly eliminate the medium and methods we have grown used
to.

As the general public on one hand and professional photographers on the
other continue the rapid migration towards digital capture and digital
output there will be an ever smaller interest group attempting to defend the
status quo.

I imagine that the first thing to be attacked might be the small scale home
and small business processor. The economic impact to the photo industry of
requiring special licenses facilities to be able to purchase controlled
substances is likely to come first.

I am not saying that this is likely to happen next week, but over the next
5, 10 or 20 years it seems highly probable.

Your thoughts ?

John

How long until governments shut down silver based film and paper due to pollution concerns?
 

On 3-Dec-2003, "John Horner" wrote:

At some point as digital image capture and non-silver based printing
continues to evolve I think it is reasonable to expect that various
governments will eventually regulate out of existence the use of silver
halide based photographic products. The production and processing of film
and paper is a chemical and water intensive process which inevitably leads
to some degree of real or imagined water pollution.

There is historical precedence in CFCs and mercury.

It seems only a matter of time until a bandwagon builds to first heavily
regulate and then nearly eliminate the medium and methods we have grown
used
to.

As the general public on one hand and professional photographers on the
other continue the rapid migration towards digital capture and digital
output there will be an ever smaller interest group attempting to defend
the
status quo.

I imagine that the first thing to be attacked might be the small scale
home
and small business processor. The economic impact to the photo industry
of
requiring special licenses facilities to be able to purchase controlled
substances is likely to come first.

I am not saying that this is likely to happen next week, but over the next
5, 10 or 20 years it seems highly probable.

Your thoughts ?

As the use of silver decreases there will be less and less pressure to pick
on photographers who continue to use it.



--
Tom Thackrey
www.creative-light.com
tom (at) creative (dash) light (dot) com
do NOT send email to (it's reserved for spammers)

How long until governments shut down silver based film and paper due to pollution concerns?
 

I imagine that the first thing to be attacked might be the small scale home
and small business processor.

Are you trying to start another run on silver-based photo products?

Do you remember the time, I think it was the late 1970's, when the Hunt
brothers in Texas cornered the silver market? The price of silver went out of
sight. Kodak announced it would honor its then current catalog prices for 2
more months. I did an analysis of my use of all silver-based products over a
3-year period, then promptly ordered the equivalent of a 3-year supply of
everything containing silver! As I recall, the price of a roll of B&W film
tripled, but eventually came down some.

Is it time to start keeping a 3-year supply on hand again?

Best regards, David Hodge, at the top of the Chesapeake Bay.

How long until governments shut down silver based film and paper due to pollution concerns?
 

John Horner wrote:
At some point as digital image capture and non-silver based printing
continues to evolve I think it is reasonable to expect that various
governments will eventually regulate out of existence the use of silver
halide based photographic products. The production and processing of film
and paper is a chemical and water intensive process which inevitably leads
to some degree of real or imagined water pollution.

There is historical precedence in CFCs and mercury.

It seems only a matter of time until a bandwagon builds to first heavily
regulate and then nearly eliminate the medium and methods we have grown used
to.


It's already happening to digital. You'll see it with batteries first. How
long will digital cameras be allowed to use batteries? Then of course every
digital camera is full of heavy metals they'll need to be treat like toxic
waste. Of course home printing of digital images is a serious enviromental
issue. We'll need to regulate home printers to the same standard that
commerical photo labs are. How long can digital continue to get away with
poisoning the enviroment? Don't know but can't be much longer.

Nick

How long until governments shut down silver based film and paper due to pollution concerns?
 

(1) Many artists' paint pigments are fairly toxic but have never been
banned.

(2) There is also pollution from digital technology, especially when
obsolete equipment (containing lead solder) is thrown away in landfills.
Lead is more toxic than silver, and old computers contain lots of it.

(3) As someone else pointed out, the rate of silver film usage is already
plummeting; no regulation is needed.

How long until governments shut down silver based film and paper due to pollution concerns?
 

Are you trying to start another run on silver-based photo products?

Do you remember the time, I think it was the late 1970's, when the Hunt
brothers in Texas cornered the silver market? The price of silver went
out of
sight. Kodak announced it would honor its then current catalog prices for
2
more months. I did an analysis of my use of all silver-based products
over a
3-year period, then promptly ordered the equivalent of a 3-year supply of
everything containing silver! As I recall, the price of a roll of B&W
film
tripled, but eventually came down some.


I was a photography student at the time and noticed the price increases very
much! Of course when silver came back down, the price of film and paper
hardly budged on the downside.

John

How long until governments shut down silver based film and paper due to pollution concerns?
 

"Michael A. Covington" wrote
in message ...
(1) Many artists' paint pigments are fairly toxic but have never been
banned.

(2) There is also pollution from digital technology, especially when
obsolete equipment (containing lead solder) is thrown away in landfills.
Lead is more toxic than silver, and old computers contain lots of it.

(3) As someone else pointed out, the rate of silver film usage is already
plummeting; no regulation is needed.



Just because regulation isn't needed does not mean that it will not happen
:(.

Johnj

How long until governments shut down silver based film and paper due to pollution concerns?
 

Are you trying to start another run on silver-based photo products?

Do you remember the time, I think it was the late 1970's, when the Hunt
brothers in Texas cornered the silver market? The price of silver went
out of
sight. Kodak announced it would honor its then current catalog prices for
2
more months. I did an analysis of my use of all silver-based products
over a
3-year period, then promptly ordered the equivalent of a 3-year supply of
everything containing silver! As I recall, the price of a roll of B&W
film
tripled, but eventually came down some.

Is it time to start keeping a 3-year supply on hand again?

Best regards, David Hodge, at the top of the Chesapeake Bay.

You logic escapes me. 40% of the world silver demand is for film (including
color film). Obviously, demand is dropping fast because of digital
photography. Experts are predicting that silver prices will drop in the long
term, or at best (for those in the silver business) remain stable.

How long until governments shut down silver based film and paper due to pollution concerns?
 

Just because regulation isn't needed does not mean that it will not happen
:(.

Johnj

There is already regulation in many places about disposal of fixer, relating
to the silver recovery before dumping in wastewater supplies. If the silver
is removed from fixer, other B&W chemicals are rather benign (except for
selenium toner).

How long until governments shut down silver based film and paper due to pollution concerns?
 

Do you remember the time, I think it was the late 1970's, when the Hunt
brothers in Texas cornered the silver market? The price of silver went
out of
sight.

As a result of that, we got TMAX films (less silver). If it makes you feel
any better, the Hunt brothers eventually went bust.