Dwayne's prints from slides?

marylandphoto · Nov 9, 2010

I had a bunch of prints made from slides by Dwayne's Photo in KS. The slides themselves are quite sharp when magnified. However, when I got the prints back, almost every single one is annoyingly out of focus. I'm very disappointed by this...has anyone else had this problem with them? Or is it this just what I get having prints made from slides...?

domaz · Nov 9, 2010

Maybe they made an internegative and that is unsharp. More likely they just used the cheap scanners present on minilab machines to scan the slide and printed from that. I would seek an optical printer that uses Ilfochrome (hard to find!) or use a non-APUG approved (i.e. Scan/Inkjet) method to print sharp slides.

DanielStone · Nov 9, 2010

I've had slides scanned by dwaynes before. And yes, some were completely unsharp, others were like razors. IDK what happened. Different operator at the helm perhaps?

I just use a friends scanner now, so that isn't a problem anymore.

-Dan

holmburgers · Nov 9, 2010

I have little faith in Dwayne's finishing abilities. They process well, but scans from a roll of Kodachrome were atrocious in terms of contrast and digital artifacts. Not their strong suit I'm afraid

hpulley · Nov 9, 2010

Cibachrome (now Ilfochrome) is the only satisfactory way to print them. Digital scan/prints of course have all kinds of problems depending on how they scan and print them. Done by hand or machine, how well it is set up and focused... I've never been satisfied with digital scan/prints which is why I'm here ;-)

minesix66 · Nov 9, 2010

You might want to talk to this guy. He's been doing it for 30 yrs.

http://www.lab-ciba.com/

Ektagraphic · Nov 10, 2010

What size are the prints?

Casey Kidwell · Nov 10, 2010

OMG $70 for an 11x14! If they make good prints they are the most beautiful color prints available but ouch.

hpulley · Nov 10, 2010

Robbery, absolute robbery... when available a few years ago that would have been $20. Are the materials that much more expensive now?

TSSPro · Nov 10, 2010

Dont know much about Cibiachrom/Ilfochrome printing, but I do know that H&H still does interneg and douping, get a quote from them to have internegs made and have come c-prints made.

marylandphoto · Nov 10, 2010

These were just 4 x 6 prints I had made of slides from a trip I had taken. I'm not sure if it's even worth complaining to Dwayne's, as they're OK for simply browsing (and OK is a big stretch here). I will certainly keep H & H in mind.

anikin · Nov 10, 2010

Robbery, absolute robbery... when available a few years ago that would have been $20. Are the materials that much more expensive now?

Yep. Check out B&H. Ilfochrome paper and chemistry is about 10x of RA-4. And that's if you can find it in stock.

Ektagraphic · Nov 10, 2010

For good less expensive Ilfochrome printing, try Visual- Imaging. (www.visual-imaging.com)

removed account4 · Nov 10, 2010

i've never had print
s from slide from dwaynes
but lots of other stuff from them
and never a problem ... ( nearly 10 years )

BrianL · Nov 11, 2010

The first place to start is with Dwaynes. Personal opinion only but, dicing them on a web forum without giving them a chance to correct the problem is a bit unfair IMHO. I've never used the company but have spoken to them a few times related to Kodachrome development and Scala and the gents seemed amenable and were very helpful.

In my years of dealing with companies, most are concerned when there is an unhappy customer with a complaint that is correctable. It takes a lot of ad dollars to gain 1 loyal customer and no dollars to lose 100.

Dwayne's prints from slides?

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