C-41 labs closing too?

Keith said:
I think part of the problem for C41 is getting the machines serviced and/or repaired. My local guy has told me that when his C41 machine needs repair he won't be able to justify the expense for the few rolls he does a day.
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Our Costco told me they can't even get air filters for the drying cycle. So now I have to live with dust. And when it is dried into the emulsion it doesn't come out. Anyone know a lab that says you won't get dust? If not I'll develop my own.
 
We spend thousands of dollars on top notch film equipment and then send the film to the cheapest developer! It is best to find and develop a professional long term relationship with a professional lab. Yes, it costs a little more but the work is better.
 
c41 processing,

c41 processing,

Steve Bellayr said:
We spend thousands of dollars on top notch film equipment and then send the film to the cheapest developer! It is best to find and develop a professional long term relationship with a professional lab. Yes, it costs a little more but the work is better.
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this has been going on for years,

I think in Chicago the only Pro lab left is Gamma, processing e-6 and C41 film on site.
Wolf stores are all closing, grocery stores still have the equipment, usually process the film then scan at home,

there also is a couple stores with minilab equipment, Alpine in Des plaines, but there volume is down also
 
Thankfully, where I live, quite a few large chain stores like Walmart, London Drugs, etc. still process C-41 film. There are quite a number of smaller shops that cover C-41 processing as well. I don't think people who shoot C-41 film will have to worry for a long time, at least in Canada.

Sadly, I can find just two shops within a 100km driving radius of my home that still processes E-6 transparencies. ._. Also, only one photo chain that does black and white.
 
Good point about not knowing locations around for photo and film processing.

This really goes back to the remarks many older folks I have met who have seen me shooting film usually make:

"They still make film?"
"You can still buy film?"
"Do you have to process it yourself?"
"I haven't seen a camera with film in it in years. I thought they went extinct and all the film manufacturers are defunct."
"Didn't Kodak go bankrupt?"

As they say, Knowledge is Power. :)
 
Developing is moving mostly to mailorder. In the U.S. there are four main processing labs that people seem to use:

North Coast Photo (San Diego). I've had problems here with BW but the rest seems pretty good.

Richard Photo Lab. Somewhat pricey but a quality "pro" job.

Precision Camera. I've had good experiences all around with Precision. Excellent hi-res scanning.

Dwayne's Photo. Not much in the way of hi-res scanning here, but they do a lot of volume with low prices. Quality might be a little lower, but C41 is pretty forgiving. I'm trying them for BW, let's see what happens.
 
Steve Bellayr said:
We spend thousands of dollars on top notch film equipment and then send the film to the cheapest developer! It is best to find and develop a professional long term relationship with a professional lab. Yes, it costs a little more but the work is better.
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Just what I was thinking---you beat me to it :)
 
anjoca76 said:
Yes, there are not as many places these days to get C-41 processed, but I have not yet found it too hard here in Boston, either. There is at least one pro lab (Colortek), plus numerous other places, such as CVS, Walgreens, Hunt's, Ritz, to name a few. E6...now that's another story. E6 is getting tougher every day, but there are still numerous C41 options in my neck of the woods.
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I've never used them but I've heard good things about Color Services in Needham, they do E-6, C-41, B&W, and Pyro(whatever the hell that is).
 
gavinlg said:
Here in Melbourne we have quite a few dedicated labs running all day - I can get c41 developed and pick it up within a few hours at BONDS color lab in cremorne. Great consistency too.
There's also a place that's opened up near the Astor theatre that are a dedicated film lab, and theres now a guy that opened up his own home business developing film quite cheap.

But Melbourne is a particularly creative city - it's probably not like that in my old home town of Brisbane, for instance.
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Hey ... we're too busy banging up shopping malls and creating ugly new housing developments for that sort of stuff! :rolleyes:
 
bugmenot said:
Thankfully, where I live, quite a few large chain stores like Walmart, London Drugs, etc. still process C-41 film. There are quite a number of smaller shops that cover C-41 processing as well. I don't think people who shoot C-41 film will have to worry for a long time, at least in Canada.

Sadly, I can find just two shops within a 100km driving radius of my home that still processes E-6 transparencies. ._. Also, only one photo chain that does black and white.
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Wal-mart Canada is phasing out film processing. Same for London Drugs and Pharmasave. All of them have scale down and out plans.

I used to work for one of those chains and still keep the contacts. In less than 36 months none of them will process negs.
 
NLewis said:
Developing is moving mostly to mailorder. In the U.S. there are four main processing labs that people seem to use:

North Coast Photo (San Diego). I've had problems here with BW but the rest seems pretty good.

Richard Photo Lab. Somewhat pricey but a quality "pro" job.

Precision Camera. I've had good experiences all around with Precision. Excellent hi-res scanning.

Dwayne's Photo. Not much in the way of hi-res scanning here, but they do a lot of volume with low prices. Quality might be a little lower, but C41 is pretty forgiving. I'm trying them for BW, let's see what happens.
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I'd add in:

Indie Film Lab
The Darkroom
120processing.com

There are others.

What's notable about all these services is the primaries of scanning as a core feeaure, whereas the mini-labscanning was a kludge add-on. Printing was/is the main biz.
 
Aristophanes said:
Wal-mart Canada is phasing out film processing. Same for London Drugs and Pharmasave. All of them have scale down and out plans.

I used to work for one of those chains and still keep the contacts. In less than 36 months none of them will process negs.
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Well, that's depressing. London Drugs nearby my home has quite a sophisticated photo lab. It would be a shame to see it disappear.

Any options for in-home C-41 processing? ._.
 
+1 for Precision and Indie Film Lab. I typically use Precision and recently tried Indie Film Lab. Precision camera do a great job for a reasonable price. Indie Film Lab was excellent but you pay a premium. I'll be using Precision camera for most of my rolls, I think, and Indie Film Lab for the special ones :)
 
I'm starting to wonder if it's time to sell my expensive film equipment. Seems like it would still fetch a high price now, but if the labs all disappear, I imagine even the not so cheap rangefinders would drastically drop in price. What do you guys think?
 
The CVS closest to me has lost my business because they had folks that don't care how they handle the product, and were contantly wrecking the machines, and sometimes my film. You don't pay people minimum wage and expect them to give a hoot about their job.

But then the 'pro' lab about eight miles away doesn't do much better. They have someone there that will actually scuff up the negs for some reason. And they have lowered the scan resolution to about a quarter of what it used to be, just to reduce time spent on the machines. At least they are now stocking a decent choice of film, but I'm even thinking that buying by the brick is the way to go.

PF
 
jbot said:
I'm starting to wonder if it's time to sell my expensive film equipment. Seems like it would still fetch a high price now, but if the labs all disappear, I imagine even the not so cheap rangefinders would drastically drop in price. What do you guys think?
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Yeah, I was thinking about that last night. May be time to let some of my toys go, so someone else can have some fun with them before it's too late.

PF
 
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