120 Color Processing options

[srtiwari]

I am surprised that the largest percentage consists of people conveniently near a local lab. I intend to check with Walmart tomorrow- if no go, will try NCPS or Precision camera. I actually enjoy scanning etc. I just need the film processed.

 

[kuzano]

I have two questions for you....!!!!

I have two questions for you....!!!!

The Walmart's in my area (Canada) won't send out 120, or at least the minimum wage teenagers that work at the photo lab have no idea how to do it. I was kind of shocked that no one I've ever talked to at a Walmart photo lab has any idea about film development or how it works, they just know which buttons to push on the machine and little more than that. Actually... considering it's Walmart I guess I shouldn't be that shocked. On the plus side they never b*tch when I bring in E6 to be cross processed, as they have no idea what E6 is 🙂

1) Why are you talking to the employees. They are not paid enough to care and thus, do NOT!!

2) Why do they know you are sending 120 for processing. Once the envelope is in the SEND OUT ONLY envelope.. They do not open it... They send it.

I've heard this story over and over and it's not correct.

If they show you their processing fee sheet for send out, 120 and 220 is clearly on the sheet. I believe that's Walmart Wide.

I am deadly serious, fill out and seal your own Send Out envelopes. They get sent to Fuji labs directly and on to E6 labs.

There are photos of the envelope instructions on this site. I know because I posted them a few months ago. I have 3 Walmarts within driving distance and each one of them tells me a different story.... IF I TALK WITH THEM.... I DON'T. Two of them still process 35mm in house and one does no In House processing at all.

BUT.. when I take my Send Out envelopes, with written instructions, sealed and drop them in the Send Out hole, they come back in ten days, whether C41 or E6. The negs and transparencies are good, since the labs are professional.

Walmart pays the shipping because they run the photo bags with their own trucks,

Pricing is usually $1.88 to 4.88 without prints. They usually adjust pricing upon return in the store if you don't like the processing.

Believe me when I say this. Do Not expect any help (NONE) in the store, except to call you when the pics come back and collect your money. That's all they know, whether they do in store processing or no processing at all.

I've been using them at the various stores I have access to for about 3 years now... only 120... that's almost all I shoot. It's worked well and inexpensively for that long and I expect it to continue. They don't even know what I'm doing. Just that I'm a regular customer.

No scanning service.



I fill out the envelopes

 

[Disaster_Area]

Well, maybe I'll have to give it another go. I tried the route you describe (asking for a send out envelope) I they didn't even know what those were and couldn't give me one. But hey, it's worth another shot I guess, at ~$3 a roll I could actually afford to shoot my C41 120. I'll try again this weekend if I have a chance, but I'm not holding my breath 🙂

 

[Justin Smith]

The last time I used Wal-Mart, it took 3 weeks exactly. It is super cheap, but I going to try Precision Camera next time - plus, it will save me time scanning.

 

[batterytypehah!]

@Disaster_Area: You mean your Walmart doesn't have a drop-off box anymore? That's all you need, just the regular envelope that you would use for 35mm. Forget the standard selections and write what you need (e.g. SEND OUT ONLY - 120 format - C-41 negs only no prints) in the special instructions box.

And as kuzano says, we seem to be discussing this every few months. Do a search for Walmart (not with the forum search coz it blows, use Google advanced) and you should find sample envelopes that people have used successfully.

 

[ItsReallyDarren]

I mail my color film out to Samy's in Santa Barbara, I've been really pleased with their work. They use dip and dunk processing which I consider a bonus.

 

[Photo_Smith]

I process my own in a Tetenal Kit, works out at about £1.00 per roll.

No equipment just a developing tank, chemicals and a washing up bowl as a water jacket.

Here are some results:

Fuji 160 in a pre war Bessa

Kodak 160VC in a Rolleiflex

Kodak Ektar 100 in Rolleiflex

I use the method here:
http://photo-utopia.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/processing-your-first-colour-negative.html

Easier than B&W

 

[Jan Pedersen]

I do my own C41 and E-6 in a Jobo CPP-2
In the past two or three years i have used the Digibase kits from Freestyle but they do not have them anymore.
I am reversing back to the Tetenal chemistry that i used before.
Money wise i don't think it makes sense to do it at home but i like to have complete control and i get cleaner negatives than from the lab.

 

[edge100]

Just started doing C-41 at home. It's super easy.

I'd do E6, too, but I can't get the chemistry here in Canada for a reasonable price (i.e. such that it makes economic sense vs. my local pro lab).

 

[mwoenv]

I've developed about 40 rolls of C41 film in the last two years. After hearing the conventional wisdom that doing your own color is difficult or not worth it, thanks to a Flickr group (Do It Yourself Color), I learned it's a slightly different process but comparable in effort to black and white and the results have been great (35mm and 120).

I initially used the Unicolor powder kit, then the Rollei Digibase kit (with separate bleach and fix), and have gone back to Unicolor since Freestyle no longer carries Digibase. Adding 1/2 teasponn of PhotFlo concentrate to 1 liter of Unicolor blix prevents drying marks. Unicolor costs about $1.20 per roll (15 rolls per $18 1-liter kit).

Temperature control is easy using a small 6-pack cooler to bring the empty tank/reels/film to temperature (102F), one pot of warm water to bring the solutions to temperature, and another warmer pot of water to maintain the cooler and solution temperatures. Only the pre-wash and developer temperatures need to be 102F; blix and wash can be a little lower or higher and stabilizer is at room temperature.

 

[Johnmcd]

C-41 is dead simple with a Jobo. I would say even easier than B/W because agitation and temp is automatic. Compared to some of the money that is spent on cameras and lenses on this forum a Jobo CP2 is cheap as chips second hand.

Recent trip to Krakow. Tetenal chemicals.

Cheers - John

 

[robert blu]

For 120 films my local lab charge 12.50 EUR for roll to develop and print (15 x 15cm = 6 x 6 ). Only develop is 5.00 EUR x roll. I'm learning to scan myself with my epson v 600.
robert

 

[gho]

I used to do my own C41 just out of curiosity but found it a bit messy. So I started using a very fast and good local lab.

 

[donkee]

these days if I shoot e-6 it goes to the local walmart.

Color print film goes to Burrell Colour. I used to use them for my wedding prints and kid sports pics. They did a good job and were reasonable.

I may pickup a Jobo again one of these days and start doing my own e-6. I always enjoyed that. Only did c-41 and color printing for a short time. I much prefer B&W printing so I dropped color.

 

[BardParker]

I use NCPS and PCV mail in services and have been very happy with the quality of the scans.

[/url]
90750012.jpg by KentWebb, on Flickr[/IMG]

Kent

 

[RedLion]

Diy !

Diy !

I'm preparing to do my own color 120 film developing, as I already have the equipment as well as a scanner. Spending $1 per roll to do it myself is a no-brainer.

Joe

 

[mwoenv]

DIY is not difficult, especially if you have developed B&W yourself. I've been doing it for several years and have gotten great results.

It's inexpensive - chemical cost is $1.20 per roll using Unicolor, around the same using Digibase or Tetenal (all available at Freestyle ). You don't need an expensive processor like a Jobo to achieve the temperature requirements; pre-heating the tank in a water bath and maintaining the developer temperature for 3.5 minutes using the water bath is easy. You do need a color thermometer; a digital thermometer with a wire probe (and calibrated to the color thermometer) makes temperature monitoring and adjustment easy. If you wear lab goggles and nitrile gloves (inexpenive items) and just handle the chemicals carefully, it is safe to do.

Logistically, because the mixed chemicals do not last long, you have to save up so many rolls to process within a week or so.

I think though that you have to enjoy doing processing - if you really don't and it's just a hassle to run through in order to get your film developed I wouldn't do it myself.

 

[Sid836]

I give them to a local processing store. I would like to start doing C41 by my own though.

 

[goo0h]

Sounds like I need to give DIY C41 processing a try.

I used to dev and scan my own film (at the time mainly 35mm), but since moving I haven't had the time to set up a space to do that, let alone all the time for scanning. So I've been trying various labs. Lately I've been using and have been pretty happy with PhotoVision (http://www.photovisionprints.com). They upload the scans to dropbox, which I find to be really convenient and fast. I haven't noticed one bit of dust or artifact in any of their scans!

 

[Toni Nikkanen]

DIY C41 processing is no big deal. Color shifts are not a problem for C41 because you adjust color balance in printing / scanning anyways - unless you mess it up really well, because cross-over color shifts are not fully fixable.

Case in point, I tried some Fujihunt C41 chemistry working solution that was mixed over 2 years earlier (so at least almost 2 years too old) just for the heck of it, and it still turned out great.... so imagine if you do follow the instructions to the letter instead...