C-41 labs closing too?

[dimension2]

Hi,

Relatively new to these forums, and only about 7 rolls into film photography. Haven't gotten around to processing the rolls myself, but shooting C-41 rolls for most part, was content sending them out to labs for processing/scanning. Started off with Snapfish for the early rolls until they terminated their film processing services this past May. Switched to Mpix and just learnt in the mail that they are terminating their film development services in Dec. 2012 too. A lot of stores, CVS/Walgreens/Walmart have either closed the labs or ship them out themselves. There are other options for now, of course, but only for so long?

Kodachrome's gone - is this the beginning of the end for C-41 too, or is it too early to panic? Or would home development be the only way to go ahead?

 

[Keith]

I think part of the problem for C41 is getting the machines serviced and/or repaired. My local guy has told me that when his C41 machine needs repair he won't be able to justify the expense for the few rolls he does a day.

 

[kshapero]

Getting down to only Pro labs.

 

[jwicaksana]

I think it is too early to panic, maybe the smaller ones are closing their doors, but many are still operating. With the release of new films and the development of toy cam genre, more and more people start shooting film, and I hope film will be here for a looong long long time.. 🙂

 

[bgb]

Same story around here as soon as the machines need repair or replacement they might just stop doing film as it's such a small part of their work. I got the impression that they would be happy for the machine to die so they could have the space for something else.
Home development or digital is the way it's looking for me but I'm not all that happy about it, I would love there to be a little place I could get film and talk to the human that processed my film .. but then I miss getting milk in a glass bottle and my groceries in a paper bag too.

 

[Vostok]

Where I live, it's getting quite difficult to get your film processed as well. And is getting even worse. Only some small neighbourhood labs still process, and unfortunately there's no much hope for them to continue doing it much longer. Pro Labs remain, of course. Processing there is expensive.

 

[bgb]

I think it's called progress ...

:bang:

 

[rxmd]

C-41 will probably not go away the way Kodachrome did - the process is well-documented, there are several manufacturers of processing kits and several manufacturers of film.

 

[varjag]

Several meaning two? Kodak is barely there, and Fuji is not dedicated to film either.

Most of the 3rd line C41 films on the market are either OEM of the big two or remaining master rolls of bankrupt companies (AGFA, Konica).

 

[rxmd]

Several meaning two? Kodak is barely there, and Fuji is not dedicated to film either.

Most of the 3rd line C41 films on the market are either OEM of the big two or remaining master rolls of bankrupt companies (AGFA, Konica).

There are a few others of varying size and importance (Lucky, Ferrania, Ilford), but even Agfa still makes C-41 film (Aviphot etc.). I see that this is 2012 and not 1982, but I'm under the impression that the situation with C-41 is really the least grim of all the film market.

 

[Nikon Bob]

I think we are down to the short strokes as far as cheap locally developed C41 is concerned. The amount of and variety of C41 film at consumer stores has been steadily decreasing for years and so has there need to develop and process it. It ultimately means you will have to send out to the very few remaining labs to get it done or do it at home. If that does not tickle your fancy then digital is the only other viable alternative. No need to panic, there are alternatives.

Bob

 

[JohnTF]

I think we are down to the short strokes as far as cheap locally developed C41 is concerned. The amount of and variety of C41 film at consumer stores has been steadily decreasing for years and so has there need to develop and process it. It ultimately means you will have to send out to the very few remaining labs to get it done or do it at home. If that does not tickle your fancy then digital is the only other viable alternative. No need to panic, there are alternatives.

Bob

Can I get a "holder" for SD cards for my Beseler 45M with Minolta color head?

I guess you can only hang on so long before you join the "mob", I just hope digital does really get "there".

I am wondering if the art schools will hang on to chemical processing as a medium that some may yet choose.

Regards, John

 

[gavinlg]

Here in Melbourne we have quite a few dedicated labs running all day - I can get c41 developed and pick it up within a few hours at BONDS color lab in cremorne. Great consistency too.
There's also a place that's opened up near the Astor theatre that are a dedicated film lab, and theres now a guy that opened up his own home business developing film quite cheap.

But Melbourne is a particularly creative city - it's probably not like that in my old home town of Brisbane, for instance.

 

[goamules]

My local Walgreens guy told me they are considering getting out of film processing. I asked, "just your store?" He said all of them. Have you ever thought of the numbers of people shooting film years ago? Every household had a camera, every vacationer took pictures, etc. That's all digital now. That built the infrastructure of a development shop on every corner.

I think there is still a small demand for color film, so there will be a few places to get it developed, at least for the next 10 years or so. But you will have to mail it to them.

 

[anjoca76]

Yes, there are not as many places these days to get C-41 processed, but I have not yet found it too hard here in Boston, either. There is at least one pro lab (Colortek), plus numerous other places, such as CVS, Walgreens, Hunt's, Ritz, to name a few. E6...now that's another story. E6 is getting tougher every day, but there are still numerous C41 options in my neck of the woods.

 

[kmallick]

Its a bummer to hear that Mpix is shutting down film processing. I have been using them lately a lot to get prints of family pics that I keep in an album. Its sad but we have to move one. Last weekend I developed 12 rolls of mixed 120/220 at home using the Unicolor kit. It was quite easy (much easier than home E-6 souping) and I am quite pleased with my first time results of C41 development at home. Therefore I am feeling less stressed about C41 labs closing down.

 

[Aristophanes]

Mail order labs are the future. They were, of course, the past when Kodak had you mail it all back in. History repeats itself.

If it ever gets down to home-processing only, the volume capacity of home developing will not meet the market economy-of-scale for making film at all.

Without lab volume processing, C41 and E6 are dead product lines. Both were developed on the basis of and facilitating lab development, both in-house and third party. Home developing, even for b/w, has always been a very small niche of the overall film market.

What you want in a lab is continuous processing and fresh chemicals, as well as dedicated staff who know their stuff. This increasingly includes scanning. There are some very good services out there, and because they do volume, they can keep prices in check.

If you want affordable, as in drugstore/grocery store mini-lab, that is disappearing. I'd say $10/roll process and scan is going to be your bottom end, with prints another $5 extra. That's on a 36 C41 roll. Shipping both ways on top of that.

 

[Nikon Bob]

Can I get a "holder" for SD cards for my Beseler 45M with Minolta color head?

I guess you can only hang on so long before you join the "mob", I just hope digital does really get "there".

I am wondering if the art schools will hang on to chemical processing as a medium that some may yet choose.

Regards, John

I understand completely where you are coming from and don't think film will ever go away completely. You will just have to work harder to find sources for it and it's processing at ever increasing cost. There should always be an alternative to going digital it just remains to be seen at what point it will be too difficult/costly to continue. That point varies with the individual.

Bob

 

[kmallick]

Mail order labs are the future.

I thought Snapfish and Mpix were both mail orders. Are we seeing the dead end future?

Do you mean we need to find and support dedicated mail order companies that do C41 processing?

 

[Paddy C]

I think I would be more concerned with the actual film and wether that will be around. There are enough people shooting colour neg (I think) that there will always be a scattering of pro/mail order labs. So if you are willing to pay for it it may be less convenient but still there.