Sheer economics of reduced competition and lower volume. Still, bulk rolled Fomapan 100 is about $2.90 a roll as I calculate it ($51.99 in Ultra.EDU guise, from Freestyle). That's pretty cheap. Ultrafine Xtreme 100 is a few bucks cheaper.
Here in Europe you can order Fomapan 100 direct from Foma for €33.46 per 100 ft. That comes out to $2.16 per 36 exposure roll in bulk. I still call that cheap.
A
Karl
Cheapest 100ft. bulk (that is actually in stock) in US is $52 for Arista 100, 200, or 400 ISO from B&H plus $5 tax but with free shipping. So, with currency conversion not much different.
But wait, you have to add cartridges. You cannot just go to the local 1 hour lab to get used carts with the end of the film sticking out, there are no more 1 hour labs.
All B&H has is a plastic type and from customer comments you buy them, wait for them to arrive, then open the package and dump them into the trash.
So, what to do? Well Freestyle still has metal Afga style cartridges. A package of 25 is about $45 once you add shipping and tax.
So now you are into about $100 for your first 20 rolls, if you load by hand and don't waste any film. Or......$5 a roll.
(Factory loaded Arista 400, 36 exposure loads are $4.89 a roll from B&H, plus tax, you need to order at least 11 rolls to get free shipping.)
If you are careful and keep the felts clean, you can reload the same carts maybe 25 times. So yes, you can eventually come out ahead.
PS. I shoot half frame so bulk can be used to do short loads when you don't want 72 exposures. So there are still some advantages to bulk besides cost.
