Developing pro film.. a question

[haagen_dazs]

I have a question about developing professional grade colour film.

Is there a difference in the chemicals used to develop the silver halide in the pro grade film (eg NPseries, Portra, BW400CN) used by the 1hour stores (eg CVS, Walgreens , Costco etc) VS a professional lab?

Lets forget about the roller transport vs dip dunk method.

I am just inquiring if there it is a chemical disadvantage to doing it at the pro stores..
thanks

 

[Socke]

No, the chemicals are the same, even the emulsions are mostly the same. But if you spend a lot of money for consistent quality in the film, why save in development?

Take it to a pro lab, they might use a minilab like the 1hour in a chain store, but they know how to operate it and treat your film with more care.

 

[JoeFriday]

that's generally true.. however, if you check around, you might be able to find a 1-hour place in your area that does just as good of a job.. I'd estimate the the results are 10% due to the equipment, and 90% due to the employee running it

before I moved out of the area, I used to take all my C41 film to a local Target store when a certain employee was working.. she would process my negs immediately (assuming she wasn't swamped with other orders) and I'd have the film cut and sleeved within 15 minutes.. for a sum of $2.25 per roll.. and the results were always excellent

however, at my new location, the Target store film center is run by high school kids who would think nothing of cleaning the negs with a whisk broom.. needless to say, I tell everyone I know not to go to that place

but as far as the actual chemical processing results.. there isn't a significant difference from one place to another, as long as they change their chemicals on a regular basis

 

[varjag]

Yes, it's mostly about discipline in maintaining the machine properly and doing chemistry replenishments on time. Not every place is good at either though.