Kodak's Demise

[Harlee]

For the past couple of years I've taken my film to the Target stores and simply had a CD made without any prints. This worked out quite well with a bit of tweeking on my computer. Yesterday I went in with an exposed roll only to be told that they [Target] no longer do film processing. With Kodak falling by the wayside they [Kodak] took all of their processing machines out of Target stores. I was curious to see if Walgreens still did film processing, which they do, and had a CD made of my exposed roll. I picked it up today and the price was three times what I paid at Target and the CD left a lot to be desired. Along with that, I'm having a duce of a time getting the pics into a file, at least on my XP computer. Tomorrow I'll try it on my Windows 7 computer.

Where do you folks out there get your color print film developed? I checked out Costco and they will develop and put the pics on a CD, but I'm not sure of their quality or the price. Along with that, Costco is a bit far from where I live. Anyone have some input on this problem?

 

[Bingley]

You won't want to hear this, but I use Costco. My local Costco (not close to where I live, but on the way to and from work) has done pretty good work on a consistent basis, and if I'm not satisfied they'll rescan or reprint shots for free. The same staff have worked there for the last 7-8 years, and they do enough volume of business that the photo processing chemicals are pretty fresh.

 

[Jobin]

I had about 8 rolls of color film developed at a local costco. Cost $1.50 a roll for develop only. Quality seems to be pretty good especially for the price. It only took an hour too.

EDIT: Ironically enough I probably use the same costco you use Bingley (off sunrise.) I usually scan myself.

 

[Range-rover]

I go to CVS, there's two in my area, the closest one has a old machine and they do a
bad job, a few blocks further there a super CVS with a new machine that does a really
great job on the prints and the guy is really good at making them darker or lighter
if need be.

range

 

[Tim Gray]

Target in my area stopped developing film locally 4 years ago. Same with Walmart. No Costcos in the area so I mail them out.

 

[Range-rover]

Yep, by me too! no Target or Walmart.

 

[loquax ludens]

The Costco nearest to me no longer processes film. They got rid of their film processor about six months ago. They won't even take the film and send it to another Costco that still processes film. I'd have to drive to another Costco about 15 miles away to have my film processed.

I took my last 36 exposure roll of Ektar 100 to Walgreens, and it was about $15 for processing and one set of prints. It was my first time to try Walgreens. They only do glossy prints. I didn't have it scanned because it was my first test roll in a "new" camera, so I don't have any idea what scanning costs.

I'll be processing C-41 in my Jobo and scanning or optically enlarging and printing as soon as I get my Fujimoto CP-31 put back together.

 

[Jay Decker]

Perfect Image Photo Labs was the quality processing lab in my area. They no longer process film. They now aggregate customer film and send it to a pro-photo lab a larger city (I live in a small to medium size metro area). The negatives returned from the pro-lab are consistently good quality, the turnaround is a week to two-weeks, and the prices are fair when you consider the cost of the shipping involved. I shoot 35mm, 120/220, and 8x10. C-41 processing costs around $6 per roll for 35mm and 120 roll film and $10 per 8x10 negative.

It doesn't take much math to figure out that you can save some money if you purchase $18 Jobo/Unicolor/Tetenal C-41 Press Kits that will process 12 rolls and 8x10's negatives, IF you do all the processing in one session. I recently processed my first batch of C-41 film in my Jobo CPP-2 processor. I made the mistake of adding Photoflo in the stabilizer and ended up with soap blobs on the polyester film base. The soap blobs were easily removed with film cleaner and the resulting negatives scanned well. Here are a few photos from my first attempt at C-41 processing (the film is cheap Fujicolor 200):

 

[loquax ludens]

Nice job on the processing and scanning Jay.

The last C-41 I did in my CPP-2 a couple months ago looked good, even though I used a very old Jobo C-41 Press Kit to process them. Alas, I bought an Epson Perfection V750-M Pro Photo Scanner just over a year ago, but I haven't unpacked it from the box yet. I need to do that.

 

[jsrockit]

Where do you folks out there get your color print film developed?

I never found any place that I liked... in NYC or elsewhere (mail, drug store, pro lab, etc.)... so I went all digital.

 

[Aristophanes]

Where do you folks out there get your color print film developed? I checked out Costco and they will develop and put the pics on a CD, but I'm not sure of their quality or the price. Along with that, Costco is a bit far from where I live. Anyone have some input on this problem?

I believe Dwayne's has the non-local Wal-Mart account now. They may have Costco, too.

All local processing has disappeared in my region. You are either mail order or must switch to digital or DIY. However mail order chemistry is another problem unto itself and time/space/experience for darkroom is a no-go.

I put together a cost/benefit analysis and came to the conclusion that bulk mail order processing and scanning is the most economical.

I have used, in a sort-of order of preference based on quality of output and service:

North Coast Photo--excellent service all around. Shipping costs were an issue. Quality not. Price was higher than others, but when processing a quality film like Portra, that's the point.

Precision Camera--a sponsor here with an RFF discount, quality on par with NCP. Some ordering issues.

The Darkroom--pricey shipping but the 3 rolls were well done both in processing and scanning. May try again because they have a new web upload service. They have the best interface for ordering.

Indie Film Labs--Good service and customization as well, though they struggled with one roll. Their FTP service is the standout. May try again because they are trying hard.

Dwayne's Photo--Very good quality for basic C-41. Probably a go-to place for E-6 due to their volume.

Old School Photo Lab/120 Processing--The did OK, but 2 rolls of the 7 I sent had dust and scratches on the scans, and it wasn't cheap to get high-res scans. I really wanted to like these guys, but they need to work on their system.

I have not done Richard's Photo Lab where the wedding guys do their biz. It's supposedly the best, but very expensive.

For photos that stand out and I want printed or edited, I will either:

1) Scan myself at a higher res on the Plustek for 135/Epson for 120.

2) Have professionally scanned and printed.

3) Have my neighbour the darkroom nut do an optical print (B&W only).

I also like getting prints for the photo album (old school) with my processing...most of the time. So far The Darkroom does the best job for the price here, especially for B&W. I want RA paper, BTW, not dry prints.

I support all these companies because these are the players who will keep film going as an alternative to digital. Local processing will all but disappear save for some major urban centres, so efficient, quality mail order places will be necessary. There is not enough home development and printing in the world to keep emulsion lines going, so labs like these will become increasingly critical.

 

[Steve M.]

I wonder why Kodak pulled those machines? From what I've read, their (Kodak's) film division was one of the profitable parts of their company.

I use Walgreens for C-41 stuff.

 

[davidtan]

My local Target still does color film processing, so I get it done there. It's just a dollar for processing only, and I scan the negatives myself.

 

[mani]

I never found any place that I liked... in NYC or elsewhere (mail, drug store, pro lab, etc.)... so I went all digital.

Helpful, constructive post. Thanks!

 

[farlymac]

I doubt that Kodak pulled the machines, more like Target dumped the business. We have four Walmarts in our area, and only one does photo processing (on Fuji machines). And pretty poorly at that. When I went to the new store to see if their photo department would do a better job, I found that they didn't do processing anymore, just made prints off of whatever you brought in (mostly digital media).

I was taking most of my stuff to a Photo USA that is the 'pro' lab in town, but sometimes they certainly don't act like it. They get those multipacks from Ilford with the Free Roll promotion, and charge you for all two or three rolls. If you bring in more than one roll of film, they try to get all the scans on one CD, then charge you for a CD on each roll. Sometimes my 120 stuff is sleeved, and sometimes it's not. Or they'll cram two rolls in one plastic box, or skip the box completely. Their prices are not out of line, but they are clear on the other end of the county from me.

So since I was doing a lot of just test rolls on individual cameras, I figured that I only needed a decent development and scan to see if the camera was working correctly, and started taking most of my film to CVS since they are a lot closer to me. They use Kodak machines, and if you get the Kodak CD instead of the store brand, the scans are better. My problem with them is they have this smart alec kid that works evenings and weekends who tends to wreck the machine, and my film, so I never know what I'm going to get back. Unless I go there only during the day, and only Mon thru Fri, so that the regular gal is the one who does the work. That's kind of discouraging when I shoot something on the weekend that I want to get posted right away.

So if you find a place that does quality work, stick with them, even if you have to ship it off out of town.

PF

 

[burancap]

As others have mentioned... a "good" CVS for satisfaction in less than one hour.

 

[paulfish4570]

we have a "good" walgreens.

 

[Gumby]

Are you sure that Kodak took the machines out of Target, or maybe it is Target who wants their floorspace to use for something more profitable and did not renew the photoprocessor's (not necessarily Kodak) contract?

 

[Gumby]

p.s. Costco processing is worth a bit of travel... it is consistently good and affordable.

 

[oftheherd]

My local CVS has generally done OK. They used to be terrific, when that had a couple very experienced and dedicated ladies working there. They still often get people who are interested in photography enough to try to do the right thing. The local Walmart I would probably not go to if they were the last in the area. I mentioned in another thread once my experience with slide processing. That was a nightmare!