slide film mailers?

[JoeFriday]

I have a whole bunch of Kodak Ektrachrome film.. most waiting to be exposed, but some waiting to be processed.. there's a local lab that will do the processing for about $8.50 a roll, which I realize is the standard rate, but it's high enough to make me think twice about shooting slide film on a regular basis.. so I decided to shop for prepaid mailers.. hoping to find something under $5 a roll

Fuji mailers are affordable, but I question whether they'll develop Kodak film without giving me a hard time.. does anyone have any experience with that? or know of a source (other than A&I) for developing Kodak E6 film?

BTW, I found a source online (cambridgeworld.com) that lists Kodak mailers at $4.29 per 36-exposure roll.. instead of placing the order online, I called them to place an order on the phone, thinking it would speed up delivery.. they did the usual NYC 3-card monty trick on me and threw a quick 'bulk price' at me and quickly asked for my credit card.. I broke down the price to a 'per roll' amount and discovered they were trying to charge me $7.50 per roll.. I quoted the price on their website and the guy with the heavy mideast accent said "well this is our price today".. I simply hung up on him

 

[allthumbs]

Hi, Brett,

You should check out this recent thread, where E6 mailers are talked about:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14710&highlight=mailers

Another angle: my local lab charges a little less for cutting and printfiling than it does for mounting. Worth looking into if you'd rather scan than project, or if you'll only want to mount a select few. And strips of color positives on a light table just look cool!

I'm curious: why not A&I? I just picked up one of their mailers to try them out, on special at B&H for $6.79.

BTW Fuji mailers are $4.25 at B&H today, but I doubt they'd touch Kodak. At those prices I'm sure they lose money on each roll, but at those prices it might be worth it to call and ask.

 

[Fred]

Brett,
Just a thought.

I know it does not suite everyone but have you consideerd doing the processing yourself?
The hard bit is the temperature. I got a couple of thermostatic water heaters from Nova Darkroom in the UK that once calibrated are accurate to 0.25 degree. Using a sink full of water to maintain the temp the results are consistent. I don't know how easy it is to get the chemistry in the US but the cost per film with my last lot was about £2 per roll, currently 3.53996 USD. Not including mounting. You'd need to check the powere requirements for a US version as you guys use 110V.

 

[ch1]

I use both Fuji and Kodak mailers. I bought a small "bulk" order from B&H awhile ago and think it worked out to around $4.50 for Fuji and a bit less that $6.00 for Kodak.

I'm slowly switching over to Fujichrome altogether - but still have a bunch of Kodak in the freezer so still need some of their mailers. A&I is more expensive than either F or K at B&H so I don't see why I'd use them - unless folks here can convince me that they are superior.

I do not think Fuji would develop Kodak (and vice versa) if you sent a roll to them. They make it pretty clear on their mailers that they are to be used for Fujichrome only (including a "do not use for print film").

 

[JoeFriday]

from the postings I've seen on various websites, I believe Kodak and Fuji used to process any E6 film that was sent to them. But within the past year or so, they both started a strict "only our film" policy. Probably because they realized they were only making a profit on their film.

I'm also planning to switch over fully to Fuji slide film, but I've still got about 20 rolls of Ektachrome in the freezer. Maybe I'd consider a slide film trade, if anyone has some Fuji E6 film that they'd want to trade for some E100SW?

Allthumbs... the reason I said "other than A&I wasn't because I'm not interested in their processing.. but I knew a dozen people would recommend them immediately. I was just looking for more options. But most likely, I'll either have my slides developed locally at a higher cost, but faster turnaround, or I'll pick up some A&I mailers through B&H

 

[grizzz]

JoeFriday, you said not A&I. Did you have a problem with them or do you just already know about them? the reason I ask is I have some mailers for them that I have not used and was planning to. I hope they don't expire since I bought them about 2 years ago 😱

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Brett... consider Dwayne's Photo. Their prices are reasonable. Only their shipping is a bit high, but you don't need mailers and can send them your stuff with a credit card number. Now... they are worth it: four rolls developed and shipped via UPS back to you go for $25.

And they do Kodak, Fuji and Kodachrome! 🙂

 

[grizzz]

Ummmmm. I read you last post so you can disreagaurd mine sorry for the waste. :bang:

 

[raid]

I mail Fuji and Kodak slide film to Kodak and Fuji, regardless of the manufacturer of the film. So far, I have had no problems. Note that self loaded film is not anymore accepted by Fuji.

 

[JoeFriday]

Francisco, I just looked up Dwaynes.. I think I had checked out their website before, actually. They look like a decent service, but the price for 36-exposure rolls is actually $8.50 which is the same as having it done 'next day' by a local lab. Their price for 24-exposure rolls is much better at $6 each. But since all my film is the 36 frame variety, I'll probably do the local lab routine.

 

[RObert Budding]

A&I is good, but they are slow. I often wait close to 3 weeks to get my slides back.

Robert

 

[allthumbs]

Kodak Mailer Update

Kodak Mailer Update

Kodak Ektachrome Extra Color (EBX) slides mailed from SE PA on Dec. 9 to Kodak, Fair Lawn NJ. Processed slides rec'd Dec 19 from Hampton Park, MD. (?? More on this later.)

10-day turnaround--about twice as fast as my only mailaway roll so far of Fujifilm (in AZ if i recall).

Processing looks fine. Plastic "pakon" mounts printed with very large "Slide Processing by KODAK" lettering, over which is stamped frame number, mo/yr and possibly batch #.

I got the mailer cheap. Currently, at $8 per 24-roll, and $8 per stop push (B&H prices) I'm not buying more.

The finished slides were sent back in a Kodak box, in an unbranded generic photoprocessing envelope, with only an anonymous PO Box on the return address. The postage paid notice says "Photolabs". Could this mean Kodak is subcontracting their E6 processing?

 

[keithslater]

KEH has some real old mailers, I have used some for print film. You send them to District Photo? Kodak mailers never expire. Here is the link there is some slide mailers pretty cheap:

Keh.com

Search for mailers

 

[keithslater]

Note:
I have never sent slide mailers to district photo, you may want to call them and check. I no longer have their address. I do know they are in DC
Keith

 

[ch1]

The finished slides were sent back in a Kodak box, in an unbranded generic photoprocessing envelope, with only an anonymous PO Box on the return address. The postage paid notice says "Photolabs". Could this mean Kodak is subcontracting their E6 processing?

Around 20 years ago, Kodak "outsourced" its slides processing to a firm that produced slides with a "Kodalux" imprint on the holder. At the time I was surprised they still kept the old Fair Lawn, NJ address.

More recently, my slides once again have only "Kodak" nomenclature such that I believed that such production had been brought back "in house".

Perhaps not.

All I know is that current Kodak processing seems as good as before and if you hit B&H's website at the right time - they often have "sales" on bulk mailer orders.

 

[allthumbs]

Kodak may have bought out the lab, bringing the lab itself "in house."