C-41 processing… Another one bites the dust?

C-41 processing… Another one bites the dust?

Now I don’t really think that C-41 will go the way of K-14 processing just right now, … but I thought I would share this reality check that I was confronted with today.


While shopping today in a major chain supermarket here in New Jersey, I was greeted by a rather large sign right smack at the entrance which said in summary, … “as of this Saturday, October 11, 2008, the photo processing service booth will be closed down, as well as the photodisk kiosk. All remaining stock of photosupplies will be sold off… this is due to the rising use of digital cameras and the lesser demand for film and film processing…. Sorry for the inconvenience…”

95% of the time, I would have my film processed by a professional lab, but I admit, there were many times (that remaining 5%) I had some not so critical rolls that needed to be processed. Yep, I would take it to the counter, drop it off, do some shopping and after checkout and paying would go back to the film counter and pick up those rolls, usually in less than an hour.

Now of course I haven’t been living in a cave for the last decade, I realize that the digital mentality has grown larger and larger, and is now perhaps on steroids … but once again, digital kicks us when we’re down.

To quote that song from the not so distant past…. “The times, they are a changing…”

I am suprised that so many chain drug stores and supermarkets are still in the 1 hour buz. I expect that C41 will be limited to Prolabs and mail order. Unlike K14, C14 remains viable.

Two local Wally World shops recently discontinued film processing. The criteria, according to a FOAF, was less than 10 rolls average daily over some unspecified time.

I grew up in the "golden analogue days" (by the way these days were not as golden as many people say, a lot is much better nowadays, even in the digital boom).

In these "golden days" no supermarket sold film (or processing, no one hour labs at all), at least here in Germany. That happened much later. I had to go to a camera shop to buy film, or by mail order.
I have never expected to buy films in a supermarket. Film is a technical item. Technical items are generally sold in specialised shops. I can't buy any technical items for my other hobbies in a supermarket. That has never been a problem, it's been normal.

I think we have been spoilt since the nineteens with film supply by supermarkets. Now we are going back more to normality in consumption, to the situation in the seventeens and eighties. Film and processing is sold by specialised companies. And not by supermarkets or gas stations.

By the way: Even in the film boom time in the late nineteens I have never seen 120 film in the supermarkets. I have never heard a medium format photographer complaining about that.

Best regards,
Henning

I too was disheartened to see that a local Wal-Mart supercenter was discontinuing its C-41 processing. I never use it and probably never will, but it's not a good sign. Fortunately just about anyone can do C-41 and I doubt it will ever go the way of K-14. Even if it did, C-41 accounts for the least of what I do (B&W is first, followed by K-14, then E-6, then C-41). We can do it ourselves if we have to!

Most chain use leased equipment, as the leases expire I expect to see more chains exit their photo services. A couple of local stores no longer even have drop off services.

Henning Serger said:

I grew up in the "golden analogue days" (by the way these days were not as golden as many people say, a lot is much better nowadays, even in the digital boom).

In these "golden days" no supermarket sold film (or processing, no one hour labs at all), at least here in Germany.
...
I think we have been spoilt since the nineteens with film supply by supermarkets. Now we are going back more to normality in consumption, to the situation in the seventeens and eighties.

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I assume you mean nineties (1990s), seventies (1970s), and eighties (1980s); in English, "nineteen" is 19 and "seventeen" is 17. At first I thought you might have been talking about the 20th century (1900s, or "nineteen hundreds," give or take a year at each end).

Here in the US, film was sold in supermarkets and drug stores at least as early as the 1970s, when I bought my first rolls of film. I don't know about medium format film; until recently, I've been interested only in 35mm (or 110 film in the mid-1970s), so I haven't paid much attention to other formats. Of course, some specific brands and types haven't been available in supermarkets. In the 1970s, supermarkets here in the US carried Kodak film and often a store brand. To get Fuji, Agfa, or "professional" film you needed to go to a camera store. My memory is that Fuji film started to become widely available in supermarkets and the like in the early 1980s. Other brands never became widely available in supermarkets, except as store brands.

What has changed in the 1980s and 1990s is the availability of on-site (one-hour) processing. I seem to recall minilabs becoming popular in drug stores only in the 1980s, but even then they were significantly more expensive than send-out processing, so I seldom used minilabs. Although send-out or mail-order processing can still be less expensive today, the cost difference is much less significant. With people now used to reasonably-priced minilab processing and digital cameras, the closing of minilabs may become an impediment to some people who might want to switch back to film. That said, minilabs were so common a few years ago, and indeed still are so common, that closing significant numbers of minilabs won't be a serious problem for consumers in urban and suburban areas. There are two minilabs within walking distance of my home, for instance.

I doubt if people who'd seriously consider medium format or large format will be put off by either film or processing availability, so long as Internet/mail order options are available. Those formats are far enough from point-and-shoot convenience that a certain amount of dedication is required; not being able to buy film at a supermarket isn't a big deal if you've got to lug around a huge camera and cope with these formats' other limitations and costs.

srs5694 said:

I assume you mean nineties (1990s), seventies (1970s), and eighties (1980s); in English, "nineteen" is 19 and "seventeen" is 17. At first I thought you might have been talking about the 20th century (1900s, or "nineteen hundreds," give or take a year at each end).

Here in the US, film was sold in supermarkets and drug stores at least as early as the 1970s, when I bought my first rolls of film. ...

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Thank you for the correction. Sorry for my mistakes, I was not concentrated enough on writing.
And thanks for the information about the situation in the U.S. So it was indeed different to the situation in Germany.
Currently here in Germany availability of C-41 processing is not a problem at all. All drug store chains are offering it, and they have house brand CN films as well. Furthermore the german "Kaufhäuser" (Karstadt etc.) and some electronic markets are offering C-41 processing. The better camera shops are offering one hour processing. And then there are the professional labs in the bigger cities. Some of them are offering mail order processing as well.

Best regards,
Henning

I remember being confused by number names when I learned them as a child; in English they're so irregular between eleven and nineteen compared to twenty and above!

It sounds like availability of film and processing is similar in the US and Germany today. It's interesting that it was different a few decades ago. The selection has plummeted at drug stores and supermarkets here, but you can still get C-41 color print film, sometimes ISO 200 E-6 slide film, usually C-41 B&W film, and occasionally Tri-X in drug stores. ISO 100 and 36-exposure rolls are rare to find in such venues, though; they seem to sell ISO 200 and above in 24-exposure rolls.

srs5694 said:

It sounds like availability of film and processing is similar in the US and Germany today. It's interesting that it was different a few decades ago. The selection has plummeted at drug stores and supermarkets here, but you can still get C-41 color print film, sometimes ISO 200 E-6 slide film, usually C-41 B&W film, and occasionally Tri-X in drug stores. ISO 100 and 36-exposure rolls are rare to find in such venues, though; they seem to sell ISO 200 and above in 24-exposure rolls.

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Yes, it looks like there is a similarity today. All drug store chains, the "Kaufhäuser" and the mentioned electronic markets are offering E-6 processing as well, and C-41 BW film (Kodak BW 400 CN).
Most of them are offering slide film, some even have house brand slide film. In most cases ISO 100/21° slide film is offered, either Kodak Elitechrome 100 or Fuji Sensia 100 (often in value packs with five films).

The availability of film (all formats) in general via internet distributors and mail order is excellent in Germany. Much better than in the past. Very fast, excellent service, often with low mail order costs.
The prices are very attractive, often very cheap, and in general much cheaper than in "the golden age of film" if you consider inflation (which you had to do for a economical correct comparison).

Best regards,
Henning

way back when Kodak was just starting up, they made a point to get film and processing services into drugstores as that was a "technical venue" where there were likely to be found staff who could read the information provided by the maker and answer cutomer questions.

Eastman made sure that those dealers were supported with a "send out" processing service.

The Minilabs first came out as franshise stores here in canada such as "Japan Camera Center" and later turned up in departmnet and grocery stores. I am sure that the real profits these days are in getting folks to bring in their memory cards and shopping while the prints are made.

Closing of mini-labs is curious info..as all modern mini-labs make prints from digital files as well as 35mm film. The local Wal-Mart has even (in the last year) expanded the number of self-service kiosks, to three, with one being the Kodak instant print at the Kiosk (dye-sub?) and the other two tied to the Frontier machine behind the counter. Even with amateurs embracing digital, the desire for cheap RA-4 prints (which can look great) should still be great, as it is still the most economical way to go, as compared to home inkjet prints. I use the local Wal-Mart for making proof-prints from some of my professional work, because the Frontier machine prints the file number on the back, making image identification very easy later on. Now if the OP means that stores are discontinuing the C-41 processing (film processing) aspect of their photo services, that would seem more realistic, as you have to run a minimum quantity of film thru the machine to keep the chemicals in-control.

The thing that I understand that Wally World is discontinuing is the film processing itself, which is done by a unit off to the side of the main Frontier printer.

Somebody the other day on one system (here, maybe?) posted a link to a photo of a new Fuji "dry" minilab printer, so those will probably be replacing the wet ones Real Soon Now.

dmr said:

Somebody the other day on one system (here, maybe?) posted a link to a photo of a new Fuji "dry" minilab printer, so those will probably be replacing the wet ones Real Soon Now.

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That would be Fuji shooting themselves in the foot, wouldn't it? Their RA-4 mini-labs print great prints from digital files, and they get to sell lots and lots of chemicals and paper, which they make.

dust, shmust

Drugstores and such shops haven't had film or development facilities here since the late 90s.

That hasn't stopped film use one bit. The phenomena of drugstores doing film was an 80s thing in the first place.

Now, oh dear: where to find film development or even film?
Well, there is a convenience store just across the street which has a small but permanent supply of film. And a chemist up the road that will process for next day.

There are 4 speciality photography shops within walking distance from where I am, each has heaps of film.

Two of them have inhouse processing and the other two will send out both c41 and e6. The ones with inhouse processing can do e6 in the same day if I ask nicely, something I could never do even in the 80s.

And my supplier in epay can have any film I want - bar Kodachrome - on my door step in less than two days.

Dunno about youse, but I'm perfectly happy with this...

That is why Walgreens is doing such a good business in processing 35mm film. I work for them and that is a major advertising issue with us now. We do BOTH film (35mm only) and digital. Business is booming !!!

spb854 said:

That is why Walgreens is doing such a good business in processing 35mm film. I work for them and that is a major advertising issue with us now. We do BOTH film (35mm only) and digital. Business is booming !!!

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I must admit that I use Walgreens for about 90% of my film processing. I've learned to work around most of the limitations and they seem to do a reasonably good job most of the time.

A few years ago Walgreens upgraded the Fuji Frontier machines in a number of the shops around here, and last year they replaced some old crufty minilabs with some new Noritsu units, so I think all of the shops here can now do the DO and scan to CD.

The Walgreens here (Omaha area) don't seem to mind doing a DO/CD but both I and a friend and co-worker have both had trouble with this in Las Vegas. He was actually asked to leave one Walgreens shop after getting in an argument with the manager over this.

dmr said:

A few years ago Walgreens upgraded the Fuji Frontier machines in a number of the shops around here, and last year they replaced some old crufty minilabs with some new Noritsu units, so I think all of the shops here can now do the DO and scan to CD.

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I was suprised when I went to the local Shoppers drug mart, ( <http://www.shoppersdrugmart.ca/english/photo_centre/information/easypixcd.html> ) to find that there default processing on their Noritsu Minlab is "Develop and CD" Prints being available for an extra charge.

You know, since when has Wal-Mart actually ever cared about anything BUT profit?

Walgreens can get our C-41 business, as well as Fuji Labs who continues to help fight the digital tide.