Mailing off film

[Dunn]

So, I'm thinking of mailing off some film I need developing. I usually take it to a lab, but the two labs I normally use haven't given me the best results and one of them has horrible customer service. I'm all about supporting the local place, but they kind of turned me off last time. (I won't get into that.) They are also about an hour away.
I've never mailed off film before so I don't really know where to look.
Can anyone suggest a really good place? Is it any cheaper using mail services? Has anyone every had any problems mailing off film?

 

[j j]

If you look at the left side of the front page of RFF page there is a RFF sponsor called Precision. I think they do a discount for RFF folks. People speak highly of them.

 

[sepiareverb]

Living in various rural areas since I left NY in 1991 means that I've mailed off film for a long long time. Never ran any of my own color film. Couldn't begin to guess how many rolls I've sent off (thousands) and I've not once had film lost in transit. Precision is excellent, and I've had great success with BlueMoon Camera & Machine as well. LTI was my main lab for most of my time shooting stock, their E6 work was impeccable. I've not shot color film in almost 4 years now I think so my info on individual labs is dated, but mailing has never been a problem.

 

[Mcary]

Is it any cheaper using mail services?

The cost difference between having film developed locally or sending it off basically comes down to how much the local labs charge a roll vs what the mail order lab charge per roll plus S&H.
So for someone shooting a roll or two a week using a local lab will usually be the cheaper option, while shooting say 5+ rolls a week may make mailing if off a cheaper option.
Of course if your local labs work doesn't meet your standards then it might be worth the higher cost of using a mail order service.

 

[Zonan]

Take a look at The Darkroom (CA)- lots of good reports online. Very reasonable.

Thom Hogan, on one of his websites, has started a "sticky" for user reports on this subject.:

http://www.filmbodies.com/articles/film-developing.html

 

[porktaco]

north coast photographic. love them.

 

[yossarian123]

I use and love North Coast as well.

And don't forget about Wal-Mart. They mail out all of their 35/120 film processing (to Dwayne's I think) and the price is crazy cheap, a couple of bucks for processing. Since they send it to a pro lab you're free to put any special processing instructions on the envelope.

 

[anjoca76]

The Darkroom is where I send all my color film these days. They do excellent work, are very reasonably priced, and their customer service is top notch.

 

[Robert Lai]

Give a couple of dedicated film guys some business

Give a couple of dedicated film guys some business

Mike Lussier of AgX Imaging deals exclusively with E-6. Yes, slides only! He will coil up the entire roll in a sleeve, cut and sleeve, or mount them in nice solid thick GEPE mounts for projection - your choice. Service is excellent and if you want anything special done to the film, just ask him!

For C-41 (negatives), and B&W, I've tried Edgar Praus Productions for the first time. I just received the box back, so I haven't had a chance to check the film yet. But, Mike recommended him, so I have faith. Turnaround was very fast with Praus.

 

[v_roma]

thedarkroom.com is also what I use these days. They offer the best balance between quality and price for me. When I want to splurge, I use indiefilmlab.com and get their color/density corrected scans.