'Melinex 535' Update

Well, the news could be a lot worse, but still, it is frustrating.

It turns out, unfortunately, that DuPont has a 25,000 pound minimum order per customer. Fortunately, DuPont has been very generous with the samples they've given me and I will be delighted to share until we can find an order to piggyback on.

First, let me thank the great folks who've gotten us this far. A huge "Thank you!" to Dickie at DuPont, together with Joni at DuPont and Barry White at Transilwrap Company. Barry put an awful lot of time and energy into his support. And, to Carrie at Professional Plastics, who will be keeping her eyes open for more material. To all of you, again, my sincerest appreciation!

OK, getting the Melinex into other hands — I've given serious thought to how best to spread the wealth while making sure it's not wasted. Here's the simplest and best plan I've come up with:

Send me an image or two of your emulsion-making setup and a paragraph or two on what your photo goals are (the second part isn't a means test — I'm just interested.) Give me also your mailing address and I'll find out the shipping cost. As soon as I get postage money from you, I'll send 6 ft of 24-inch wide '535'. That's a lot of material to experiment with.

When you want more '535', it will be a bit more work (though still just postage cost.) I'd like a write-up with images of your first efforts, to publish on The Light Farm. After that, I'll send you twelve feet at a time, with the only requirement each time (besides postage) being that you update your Light Farm article — a few paragraphs and a couple of new images will do the trick.

I feel very confident that by the time we've used up our free Melinex, there will be an unrationed supply available to purchase. In the meantime, you can't beat (almost) free!