The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled.
We use cookies to make your experience better.To comply with the new e-Privacy directive, we need to ask for your consent to set the cookies.Learn more.
HARMAN technology Limited, trading as ILFORD PHOTO, is a global market leader and the only manufacturer in the world to provide a full range of black & white film, darkroom paper, photochemistry and ancillary products.
For over 137 years, generations of customers have demanded the very best. And this is why they continue to choose ILFORD. Operating from our manufacturing headquarters in Cheshire, UK. Our products are shipped around the globe and into the discerning hands of beginners, enthusiasts, stud...
The 1800's
Alfred Harman
1879 founded by Alfred Harman making Dry Plates
1891 became the Britannia Works Company making 4 kinds of plates and 6 kinds of paper
1897 record profits
1897 sold by Alfred Harman who retired due to ill health
1898 became known as The Britannia Works (1898) Limited
1899 first Ilford Manual of Photography
1900 to 1940
1902 changed name to Ilford Limited
1912 Ilford started to produce roll films
1920 Selo Limited formed incorporating Ilford, Imperial, Gem and Amalgam...
This guide focuses on the photo chemicals you can use for processing film. We also have a guide to processing film as well as some handy tips on loading a developing spiral.
Choosing photo chemicals
We have a range of photo chemicals designed to give different results with our films and papers. The choice of stop bath and fixer is limited but we have several film developers you can use.
Film developers come in either liquid and powder concentrate form and have a range of attributes. Some developers giv...
Silver halide has been used in photographic film and paper for over 150 years and remains a vital ingredient found in all high-quality products. Silver halide crystals in gelatin form part of an emulsion which is used to coat the paper or film. On exposure to light (i.e. in a camera or darkroom), the crystals react turning into silver and forming the image.
Silver halide prints
There are many ways to produce black & white prints with options varying in quality. Traditional black & white silver ha...
Filters have long been a popular accessory for photographers and offer a number of different functions or effects. In both analogue and digital photography it is possible to recreate some of these in the darkroom or digital darkroom. However there has always been a benefit to getting it right in camera.
In black & white photography, colour filters in particular are useful as they can control how the colours in a scene are reproduced as greys. Normal black & white films are sensitive to all wavele...
General health and safety advice
This section provides advice to our customers on the safe handling, use and storage of our photochemical solutions, best practice for waste disposal and specific advice to women who are pregnant or breastfeeding a child.
If you are looking for information on the chemical safety of HARMAN photochemistry solutions, please refer to the Safety Data Sheets (known as SDS or MSDS)
24 HOUR OHES emergency line for advice on chemical incidents
Safe working practices
It is essen...
A lifelong hobby
One of my lifelong hobbies is photography. I have been taking photographs since I was about 10 years old when I was given an old Kodak folding pocket camera that had belonged to an uncle, Bertrand Perrett, who was a professional photographer and painter in England. I learned to develop and print black-and-white film at school when I was a teenager back in the 1970s.
The Slower Pace
When digital photography came along I moved to that medium, but recently I’ve come back to film aga...
My name is Charles, I do film concert photography since September 2014. I chose analog over digital because I like to do things with my hands instead of using a computer. I mostly use HP5+ film (pushed to 1600 ISO) which I find very powerful in difficult light conditions, it’s a good compromise between precision, grain, and dynamic range.
Concert photography is easy and difficult at the same time. It’s easy to take a picture of a charismatic singer on stage, but is this enough to have a great photo...
How I work
I believe in self-learning, and I’m always up for something new to explore.
I adhere to a strict code of conduct and don’t believe in photoshop, or do much if any post processing. It has to be an exceptional day for me to crop an image.
I use Ilford’s Delta 400 for most of my work and use XP2 Super when I need my results fast.
Changing times
I was born in 1988, which meant that I got a first class ticket to experience the world converting from analogue to digital during m...
Choosing Photo Chemicals
We have a range of photo chemicals for printing/processing all of our resin coated and fibre base papers in trays/dishes as well as in processing machines.
If you are new to printing the choice could appear excessive yet each liquid or powder paper developer has its purpose or strengths. For an overview of the whole range and what they do we have pulled together an introductory overview. If you are a beginner* and wondering where to get started then read on.
*While thi...