Kodak's Demise

[v_roma]

Great list, Aristophanes. I usually go with Precision Camera because they're a sponsor, quality is good, and price seems fair. But I may try one of the others on your list for my next roll. FTP would be great if Precision could get that going.

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.

 

[Harlee]

Great imput folks. Our target stores utilized Kodak equiptment and I was told that Kodak pulled out their processing machines. I guess film developing wasn't that profitable for them, but I was told previously that film vs. digital was about 50/50 by one of the workers in their photo lab. I believe Ritz camera still does film as well. I'll check out CVS first as it's quite close to where I live, or I'll have to join Costco. But first I've got to figure out how to get my CD from Walgreens into a file - I'll try it on my Windows 7 computer.

 

[shadowfox]

I think the key is to get to know the operators at your lab.
Be it Walgreen, Costco, or Walmart.

Once you know who's working on which day / what shift, you can build a good customer relationship.

Example, I include a sheet of PrintFile film protector sheet for every roll developed, she cuts the roll, and put those in the sheet. That saves me from having to do it, and saves her from having to look for empty canisters to put the developed film in.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I don't understand the thread's title by reading the O.P.

 

[loquax ludens]

Me either, so I ignored the thread's title.

 

[Harlee]

I'm not sure what you don't understand, so let me attempt to clarify! As you probably know, Kodak has gone bankrupt, so therefore some of the C-41 processing labs utilizing Kodak equiptment will no longer develop film because Kodak has taken their processing equiptment from these labs. The situation here in the US is already precarious trying to locate film processing labs either close by or pricewise acceptable. This is sort of like driving another nail in the coffin for C-41 processing. I'm wondering if the situation in France is similar?

 

[TXForester]

My local Walmart stopped doing in-house and doesn't offer a develop only when sending them off. I hate having prints forced on me. Even I do a good job with the camera, the prints are either what the machine is programmed to do or what the operator decides is "right." So, I develop only at at CVS (about $2/roll) and scan at home.

 

[charjohncarter]

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

My Costco for prints is really good. Now color processing I'm not so sure. They use Fuji Crystal Archive paper in glossy or lustre. I scan my negatives either B&W or Color and send via their website for the finished print. I wanted a true B&W paper that was matte finish so I tried one of the online companies. The prints were on great paper but they ad libbed the contrast which was not consistently ad libbed and some were out of focus. I checked their results against Costco. So I'm back to color paper lustre at Costco for B&W.

Just a side note, my Costco says that not only are film processing down, all processing is down. I guess people don't make prints anymore.

 

[kdemas]

I used Long's until they were acquired by CVS...the quality dropped precipitously afterwards. I now use a local Walgreens for most C-41 but I was disappointed to learn recently that they narrowly avoided having their processing/printing machines pulled (it's only a 2 year old store as well!). The volume is waaaaaaay down and I suspect we'll all be doing mail order in the not too distant future.

On the bright side I agree with some previous posters, Costco does a pretty decent job. I might just try one of the "do-it-at-home" kits for fun.

 

[Ronald M]

Poor processing is the downfall of film and the federal government made Kodak farm out their processing, remember Qualex.

 

[chris00nj]

CVS, Walgreens, Duane Reede, Costco, Walmart... it mostly comes down to the tech - whether they have any competence.

I usually took mine to Ritz Camera as the techs at least used gloves when handling the film.

I usually did my own scanning, though with an Epson V500.

 

[alfredian]

Ritz has Fuji gear

Ritz has Fuji gear

As near as I can tell, Rita (USA firm) uses Fuji gear. Then again, the one down the street from me is 5-10 miles from corporate HQ. So far, the surviving film line-up is all Fuji. Negatives are projected onto real photographic paper, at least up to 9x12 inches. Above that it's all "copier" paper and negs are scanned.

As I recall one of the major "assets" left in the warehouses when Agfa Photo went down were their latest version of the photo-store "machines". Maybe they didn't miss the bus after all - at least one that didn't go over a cliff.

 

[I Love Film]

What do you mean "get the CD into a file"?

What are you trying to do? How did you do it before?

Great imput folks. Our target stores utilized Kodak equiptment and I was told that Kodak pulled out their processing machines. I guess film developing wasn't that profitable for them, but I was told previously that film vs. digital was about 50/50 by one of the workers in their photo lab. I believe Ritz camera still does film as well. I'll check out CVS first as it's quite close to where I live, or I'll have to join Costco. But first I've got to figure out how to get my CD from Walgreens into a file - I'll try it on my Windows 7 computer.

 

[splitimageview]

Indie Film Lab.

1. Best price
2. Best ftp
3. Resolution equal to NCPS and Precision highest res scans
4. They'll hold your rolls and ship them back every few months in bulk for lowest return ship costs.
5. Quality customer service

No one else comes close to this combination.

One other thing, if you aren't happy with a scan, they still have the negs to rescan, so you don't need to mail them back again. (Rescans haven't been necessary but I've seen it happen with other labs, where the return shipping cost can often outstrip the cost of the develop/scan.)

 

[seakayaker1]

I have been using 60 Minute Photo in Seattle for the time being. They will close sometime in late 2012 after when they tear down the building there in and the folks in the lab do not believe the owner will move to another location. There is also Panda Labs and Moon Photo for local labs along with Costco available once they close.

Then there is the mailing options . . . . .

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

I'm not sure what you don't understand, so let me attempt to clarify! As you probably know, Kodak has gone bankrupt....

Have they? There was a lot of news coverage, and discussion here on RFF of course, when they filed under Chapter 11. I must have missed it when they progressed (regressed?) to bankruptcy. So that's actually happened, now?

The K Mart closest to me discontinued their film processing services around two years ago, well before Kodaks "bankruptcy." Is there really a connection here to Kodaks financial problems?
Regards
Brett

 

[HHPhoto]

Local processing will all but disappear save for some major urban centres, so efficient, quality mail order places will be necessary.

Maybe in Canada where you are. But such a small country (about only 30 million people) is irrelevant for the global market.
The biggest photo market worldwide is Europe.
Here you can get film development (C-41, E6, even BW) and prints at 'every corner of the street', via the drugstore chains.
They send the film (and digital files) to the big mass labs like CeWe, Fuji Eurocolor, Allcop, dp.

There is not enough home development and printing in the world to keep emulsion lines going, so labs like these will become increasingly critical.

Well,
1. BW film is to 95% developed at home by the photographers themselves. It is surviving in this system without labs for decades now.
2. Printing on RA-4 paper is increasing. Billions (!!) of prints are made each year by CeWe Holding alone (the majority of digital files is printed on RA-4 via Lambda laser exposure systems).
CeWe Holding is a public company listed at the stock market. They publish their numbers quarterly, you should have a look at it.
Silver halide RA-4 paper ist a huge mass market (and profiting from digital capture).
3. I agree with you that high quality labs with mail order service who operate nationwide will become much more important in the future.

Cheers, Jan

 

[hipsterdufus]

Reading all of this is depressing. I think it may be time to sell my remaining C41 film stock...

 

[airnfoto]

Developing at home works.

 

[Dirk]

I use my local Costco, which does a decent job most of the time. I lived in fear last year, because their big, high volume machine was kaput and they didn't know if they'd continue developing film. Luckily, they replaced it with a smaller machine which seems to be working fine. They charge something like $4.68 for developing a roll and putting it on a DVD. Turnaround time is one hour.