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Another color lab, Calypso quits

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ssloansjca

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Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Messages
120
Location
San Jose, CA
Format
35mm
Calypso Imaging, Inc., of Santa Cruz CA, formerly Calypso Color Lab of Sunnyvale, CA used to be my main color lab offering excellent processing and service. Now they are going out of business. It's owner, Joe Levine, said, "The vast majority of our competitors are long gone from the market place, driven out by technological improvements and the ease of entry into inkjet printing, the rapid demise of film, constant downward pricing, and the general lack of discretionary income." They offered great E6 processing.
 
This seems to be a trend. I guess we're going to have to do our own E-6 processing. We could do C-41 too, but I'm not interested in color printing. Just too complicated.
 
OW!

I am just getting back into color and that is where I sent stuff last year. Even have a box ready to go to them. Looks like I will be sending to the folks in Utah. Just can't remember their names right now. In Salt lake City. They come highly recommended.
 
I use to be with one of Calypso's competitors. Custom Color of Palo Atlo, Calif. What Joe says is true. Hear him well, I say.
I have one lab here in Portland, Oregon now that still does dip and dunk E-6 and C-41. That is Citizen's Photo. If they go then I will have to look around for some place as many of you will. But Citizen's also stopped their RA4 printing. They have gone to inkjet. Which brings me a whole new problem.
I have honored APUG 100% analog rule in the gallery section. I have not shared any new work I have made for sometime. I know that I could share work on APUG sister website Hybridphoto but the traffic there is limited compared to APUG gallery or do a scan neg only. I kind of wish that the rules be open to color photographers since we are feeling the blunt of digital output far more then our B&W practitioners.
For those of you looking for a dip and dunk processors in the Pacific Northwest region. Look to Citizens' the crew there is nice and the process is clean. If you wish I will offer my service to deliver your film in person and send the film back as well. You'll have to pay for shipping the processing of course.
Thanks
R
 
That's unfortunate. They were by all accounts and work that I've seen from them, a good lab.

In New York Duggal is still running a brisk E-6 line. They don't particularly advertise mail order service, but they do handle it. www.duggal.com
 
I used to send all my E-6 to Capitol Color Lab in Washington DC. Their website was e6filmprocessing.com if I recall correctly. Superb people, great results. Then one day I went to their website and there was a message that read something like: "Well, it's time for me to go. Maybe I'll come back when this digital infatuation blows over. Thanks to everyone." and they were gone. It always hurts to see a store you use go under, whether mail order or local.
 
Calypso in Santa Clara was great for me since they were just down the street from my work. But when they went over the hill to Santa Cruz I switched to Foto Express in San Jose. Their equipment isn't as advanced but they've been great on my E6. They don't have the big investment in digital printing equipment that Calypso was carrying. For mail order, there's still Dwayne's or A&I.
 
Another vote for fotoexpress. Henry the owner is a great guy. I give them all my analog work except 35 mm E6 (I send to A&I) and B&W (I do myself.) I hope to shoot some film this weekend!

~Steve Sloan
San Jose, CA
 
We are still experimenting with E6 so we are not confident enough to offer it as a service to the public. Give us a couple of months. Ilfochrome however is always offered. We are just outside of Ottawa Canada.
 
This closure doesn't surprise me at all. Any lab today that offers processing @ or below cost pretty much can expect to be closed sooner than later. Labs that are serious about film processing cant stay open if labs like this one continue to give it away, just to bring other kinds of work in.

dw
 
This closure doesn't surprise me at all. Any lab today that offers processing @ or below cost pretty much can expect to be closed sooner than later. Labs that are serious about film processing cant stay open if labs like this one continue to give it away, just to bring other kinds of work in.

dw

Pleeeeease stay open dr5, I am up to my nose in Kodachrome this year, but when I am done, you can bet you will be getting quite a bit of B&W reversal from me on that canyon project.
 
This closure doesn't surprise me at all. Any lab today that offers processing @ or below cost pretty much can expect to be closed sooner than later. Labs that are serious about film processing cant stay open if labs like this one continue to give it away, just to bring other kinds of work in.

dw

Really! Was this needed?
 
Minneapolis Lab that does E6 and C41 & 120

I use http://universalcolor.com/ for my E-6 & C41 35/120 and all my digital printing. I think they do all the E6 in Minneapolis these days, I know the only big camera chain here in Minneapolis uses them.
 
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I use Dale Labs for my 120 and 35mm E-6. Great work, great customer service and good prices. The offer mailers so it doesn't cost you to get the film down to them. They have very clean processing. www.Dalelabs.com I wonder how many states no longer have E-6 Labs. There are none in Maine or Rhode Island that I know of.
 
I use Dale labs. I shipped my stuff out monday. Here it is friday and they have it done & shipping it back. They handle it all for me color,slides & lately with my busy schedule my b/w to. I coach basketball so you know where my free time is at right now. Shooting pictures is all i can do right now. I am very strict with myself on B/W. They ship it back the way i exspect it.
 
Dang. Calypso was really good. I used them when I lived there. I thought that the sheer volume of photography in the area, what with the UC and artistic community, would keep them going.
 
I really like Samy's processing but their mounting has baan a problem for me. I used to use them, but had to remount several images from them. This is an issue for me as I really prefer paper mounts. Yes, Samy has that; but when I remount them I have to use plastic. That's why I went back to A&I. Great processing AND mounting.

~Steve
 
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