With the discontinuance of kodaks E-6 family and the reduction in Fuji's equivalents, As a pro lab owner I am very curious so to what labs further afield are planning in the coming year? How many labs are still running E-6 in your area and how fast are their turn around times? do they process via drum, roller transport, or dip and dunk?
Steve Frizza
The Lighthouse Lab
Hello Steve,
the situation here in Germany in general and in my area is the following:
1. Overall the situation concerning reversal film supply and E6 processing is excellent in Germany. It is the "paradise for slide film shooters".
The market can be distinguished in two parts:
a) High volume film and processing supply for amateurs:
All three big German drugstore chain companies (dm, Rossmann, Müller) are offering very attractive priced amateur slide film (AgfaPhoto CT Precisa 100; the current version made by Fujifilm; cut from Provia 100F batches).
Price for this film is in the 3,72 - 4,79 range (very cheap).
All of the drugstore chains are also offering E6 development, price is in the 1,95 - 2,55 range (extremely cheap).
The processing is done by the big high volume labs which do developing on an 'industrial like scale' using big roller transport machines.
These big labs are CeWe, Fuji Eurocolor, dpl and some others. CeWe and Fuji Eurocolor as market leaders are running several big high volume labs in Europe.
There are more than 3,500 drugstore shops belonging to the 'big three' in Germany. Therefore getting slide film and development is extremely easy.
In every small town there is at least one of these shops.
Also most of the normal photo shops offer E6 development (also done by the big labs for the photo shops) and slide film.
Furthermore in Germany more than 10 specialised film distributors (mailorder / internet business) offer all current slide films in all formats at very attractive prices.
There is lot of competition here (benefit for the customers; often very difficult for the distributors).
b) Professional E6 processing:
There are more than 40 professional labs here offering E6 processing (and five labs are also offering BW reversal processing; three with the original Scala process, two with an own process).
The number has been quite stable for the last years. Some of them are using dip and dunk machines, some smaller roller transport machines.
Lots of the labs are also offering slide film. At one of my local labs I can get all I want.
Most of them also offer mail order. After two days you already have your film back.
The German postal service (Deutsche Post) is even offering different special envelopes for film mail order.
The labs I have recently talked to all want to continue E6 processing. Two have told me they see an increasing numbers of films coming in for development.
Besides there are still five companies in Germany producing new slide projectors. One company is still advertising in a German photo print magazine.
And Diaspeed has introduced a very innovative new slide mount system without glass delivering excellent edge to edge sharpness ( no 'plopp' anymore).
Best regards,
Henning