Ilford execs bought the firm with the intention of being "last man standing." They make full line products so that whatever you need, you can buy from them. Kodak ruined their own market with typical American bean counter mentality. They divided the company into product niches, looked at each separately and decided if it was profitable. They never looked at how it contributed to the whole which may be hard to quantify and prove. So if you pull bricks out one by one, the wall eventually falls.
Color will go as it a pain to process, both developing and printing. I did it for decades.
The inkjet is nearly as bad with cleaning cycles , dried ink, expensive profiles, etc. I have elected to purchase my prints and allow a local profesional, higher quality labs do the prints. I can not devote space or money or upkeep to a laser printer. On their recommendation, I bought a Eizo monitor 27" Color Edge calibrated it, profiled my digital cameras, soft proofed the files with an action I developed that removes 90% of the work, and I order the economy prints which turn out perfectly because the lab is in control of their process and I am in control of mine. They are cleaner and sharper than what I could do with the the best equipment money can buy.
I kept the darkroom for monochrome work and I am learning to paint. It is a blast and something others appreciate where they "think" a color print is just something mechanical. Of course they think that way when the local food or drug store cranks out your color prints for you. They are correct to some degree.
