Here: List of recommended E6 labs

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HHPhoto

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Hi,

here on rff regularly the question arise where to develop E6 film.
Mostly this question comes from US Americans or Canadians.

Therefore I think it is a good idea to make a list of recommended E6 labs which are doing mail order business.

And maybe our host Stephen Gandy can stick this thread / list above in this subforum.

So just like buying your films on mail order, just get your films developed the same, easy way.
Mail order: In most cases it is even cheaper than using the local lab. Because if you use the local lab you have costs for fuel (car), parking fees, bus tickets and so on, and going to your local lab always costs time.
Costs for mail ordering are often much less.

I have two local E6 labs here in my town.
Nevertheless I am using mostly Photostudio 13 which is some hundred kilometers away from me.
Using mail order is cheaper for me than going to my local labs here (and besides that the quality of PS 13 with dip and dunk processing, cascade fix and cascade watering is outstanding).

As I am living in the film shooters paradise, Germany (which has one of the best film infrastructures worldwide), it is very easy and cheap to get my E6 films processed. Dozens of professional labs are doing it here, and all drugstore chains are offering it.
Therefore with more than 3500 drugstore chain shops here in Germany we have more than 3500 places where we can give our films for development.
So, if you visit Germany and you want to have your E6 films developed for extremely low costs, you cant get this service everywhere. Just go to a Rossamm, dm or Müller drugstore chain shop.

I am mostly using one of the best German professional labs:
www.photostudio13.de
They are also doing international business worldwide, and they are doing BW reversal development!
They are using Refrema dip and dunk processors. And with E6 they use cascade (2-bath) fixing and cascade (4 bath) watering for best long term stability.

They offer BW reversal processing of the following films:
Agfa Scala 200X
Agfa Copex Rapid
Adox CMS 20 II
Adoc CHS 100 II
Fuji Neopan Acros
Fomapan R
Ilford Delta 100 (120 and sheet films)
Rollei Retro 80S
Rollei Superpan 200
Rollei Retro 400S
Rollei Infrared.

Even in the US with its weak lab infrastructure you have several excellent options.
My US friends recommend the following E6 mail order labs:

http://www.theslideprinter.com

http://www.agximaging.com/

http://thedarkroom.com/

http://www.dwaynesphoto.com/

http://www.northcoastphoto.com/

4photolab.com

http://vistaimaginggroup.com/

http://oldschoolphotolab.com/

http://bluemooncamera.com/services.php

www.dr5.com

Other very good E6 labs in North America? Tell us!

And you rff members from the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and all the other countries:
Join in and tell us the E6 labs you can recommend!

Thanks!

Cheers, Jan

P.S.: And don't forget there is also always the alternative to develop your E6 films at home with the Tetenal and Fuji Hunt development kits.
 
I guess I am spoiled, and need to face reality for when I finally leave Japan in a year or so. If you live in a large US city, is it that hard to have E6 processed? I have 3 places I can drop film off at all in the same neighborhood... 1 can do cross processing in about 3 days. Another can do about any color negative in 1 hour.
 
I tried 2 places so far for mail order development of e-6 and reversal B&W films.

Photo studio 13 in Germany (as mentioned by Jan on the first post). They are good and the film is clean and they ship fast too. One problem is that they don't accept credit card (only bank transfer and cash with the films).

Arka lab in Paris. Also good with good turn around times, they ship express which is good. They are more expensive than photo studio 13 but not by much.

I usually develop my e-6 at home but B&W reversal is really great and photo studio 13 has a lot of option that can be developed this way.
 
mob81 said:
I tried 2 places so far for mail order development of e-6 and reversal B&W films.

Photo studio 13 in Germany (as mentioned by Jan on the first post). They are good and the film is clean and they ship fast too. One problem is that they don't accept credit card (only bank transfer and cash with the films).

Arka lab in Paris. Also good with good turn around times, they ship express which is good. They are more expensive than photo studio 13 but not by much.

I usually develop my e-6 at home but B&W reversal is really great and photo studio 13 has a lot of option that can be developed this way.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Mohammed.
Your passion about photography is always inspiring:
Despite living in an area with a more problematic photo infrastructure you just go out and do what you love.

So here is the evidence:
Even if you live a bit more away from the "photo centres" you can satiesfy your needs.
Just send the reversal films for development to the leading labs, which are doing international business,
or order your chemicals for home development at online distributors who ship worldwide, like www.macodirect.de for example.

Cheers, Jan
 
VTHokiEE said:
I haven't personally used them for E-6, but Precision Camera (http://www.precision-camera.com/) in the US also does E6 and I've heard good things about them. They have a link for a scanning special for RFF members somewhere around here...
Click to expand...


I thought they discontinued slide film developing and instead mailed E6 out to a 3rd party.

Has anyone used them lately for 35mm/120 developing ?
 
Excellent idea to make such a list!

I can agree with the recommendation of Peak Imaging. Used them during my time in London, and has been very satiesfied.
Back on the continent I am using Photostudio 13 again: Top quality, very fast and very reasonable prices.
I've compared their development quality to my home development quality with Fuji Hunt 6-bath kit.
Result: I can not do it better at home.
And they are so fast (they develop several hundred E6 rolls each day, and send you your films back the same day they've got them) that I am mostly using them instead of developing it by myself.
And they are also doing BW reversal development.
BW slides are so lovely and a league of its own.
 
HHPhoto said:
Thanks, Mohammed.
Your passion about photography is always inspiring:
Despite living in an area with a more problematic photo infrastructure you just go out and do what you love.

So here is the evidence:
Even if you live a bit more away from the "photo centres" you can satiesfy your needs.
Just send the reversal films for development to the leading labs, which are doing international business,
or order your chemicals for home development at online distributors who ship worldwide, like www.macodirect.de for example.

Cheers, Jan
Click to expand...

Dear Jan,
Thank you for the kind words. I use Macodirect for my films as it's cheaper for me to buy from them than other US distributers (once the price is without VAT and Saudi doesn't charge taxes for personal use :D ) I stacked my Provia 400X from them (Thaks for suggestion to use this great film)

Provia 400X Stack-2 by Mohammed Basamh, on Flickr

and your help regarding picking a lab to develop my B&W Reversal is appreciated and this is very helpful thread.
 
mob81 said:
Dear Jan,
Thank you for the kind words. I use Macodirect for my films as it's cheaper for me to buy from them than other US distributers (once the price is without VAT and Saudi doesn't charge taxes for personal use :D ) I stacked my Provia 400X from them (Thaks for suggestion to use this great film)

Provia 400X Stack-2 by Mohammed Basamh, on Flickr

and your help regarding picking a lab to develop my B&W Reversal is appreciated and this is very helpful thread.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Provia 400X, what a wonderful film!! One of the best colour films ever made!
I've also bought lot's of it and filled my freeze.

Nice to hear that reversal film use is possible in Saudi Arabia thanks to the great European film distributors and film labs.
 
http://4photolab.com is Edgar Praus's lab in Rochester, New York. He does mail order processing and printing for photographers around the world. We've been friends for years and he does a full range of professional quality work, C41, B&W, and custom processes, RA4 and B&W RC/Fiber printing. He also tests/consults for Kodak.
 
In western Canada (where I live) almost all the commercial E-6 labs are gone.

Just a couple blocks up the hill from me is a massive yellow-painted hulk of a building that used to be Kodak's regional headquarters. I used to take many of my films there back in the 1980's and 1990's. Now part of it is a dodgy-looking grocery store, but the majority of it sits empty.

Driving by this decaying, sad-looking building is a constant reminder of Kodak's decline. But they still have a faded photo of Michael Landon in the window, from when he was the spokesman for Kodak's quality assurance. It's almost like he's saying "Come here, half-pint! Let me process that Ektachrome for you!"

Back on topic (for Canadians): "Don's Photo", which is a chain in Alberta / Saskatchewan / Manitoba will process E-6, but the turn-around is about 10 days. They send it to their E-6 lab in Winnipeg, I think.

I finally got tired of the hassle and waiting, and just ordered the Tetenal E-6 kit from Germany. Easy to use, excellent results. I do my own E-6 at home.
 
For eastern Canada there's Borealis Photo in Montréal. In fact, it is the only place in Québec that still do E6 processing. The service is excellent and the turnaround has always been fast (1-2 days).
 
Jan, good info as usual.

If one of the moderators would please make this a sticky.
That would be wonderful!
 
kiss-o-matic said:
I guess I am spoiled, and need to face reality for when I finally leave Japan in a year or so. If you live in a large US city, is it that hard to have E6 processed? I have 3 places I can drop film off at all in the same neighborhood... 1 can do cross processing in about 3 days. Another can do about any color negative in 1 hour.
Click to expand...

Yes, it is. There is not a single pro lab left in the entire state of Indiana, not even in Indianapolis, which is the 12th largest city in the United States. The city I live in, a city of 250,000 people, used to have three pro labs doing same day E-6 processing. The last one closed 7 years ago.
 
Another UK one for those of us north of the border is A&M Imaging in Edinburgh. They're local for me but may do mail order too. They do E6, C41 and black and white.

Ronnie
 
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