Re: film not dead in 20 years....

[Bill Welch <Bill.Welch@pressroom.com>]

Donal Philby wrote:
> 
>
> Coming back from the PMA show in Las Vegas year before last I was
> sitting on plane next to an English rep for some of the processing
> machinery.  She said what this is all about (APS) is that the mini lab
> is dying,   The demand for 60 minute processing is not that strong and
> all the manufacturers needed to find a way to sell more equipment.  And
> the use of photography (which means amateur, of course) is apparently
> has little growth potential, except by manufacturing obsolescence.
> 
> There are some advantages, of course, but the bottom line is to sell
> costly machinery.
> 

Interesting perspective. Apparently the small and independent minilab 
owners have been a major opponent of the APS system, even though most 
carry the cameras on their shelves. The system requires a large 
investment in new processing equipment, and many of them apparently saw 
it as a move to put them out of business and allow the humongous 
companies to capture their market share and whatever growth the new 
system would produce.

Lack of overall growth, from an industry perspective, is indeed the 
problem.  Interestingly, many minilab people say the best thing happening 
for them is not high end, APS or point-and-shoots. It's the disposable 
camera. Their use is booming. Watch your local mall minilab 
operator sometime;  I'll bet you notice he or she handles a lot of them. 
 I guess many people just find even the point-and-shoots are too 
daunting or too much bother. 

Regards,

Bill Welch