Gammatech out of business

[Sebastian_F]

There used to be a company (based in NM I think) called Gammatech that would make negatives out of digital images. I used their services a couple of times and was super happy with the results but sadly they went out of business last year. Does anyone know if there are any other companies that provide a similar service?
Thanks!

 

[koraks]

Welcome to Photrio @Sebastian_F !
What kind of negatives did they produce? Regular continuous tone negatives or halftone screened negatives?

 

[Sebastian_F]

Regular negatives. I would send him PNG files or JPG's made on a digital camera and he would print them onto TMAX 35mm film

 

[koraks]

Ah okay, so they probably operated something like a LVT recorder. Those are kind of rare, but over the past few years I've seen a few people post about them here on Photrio, so there's likely a handful of people who might still be capable of doing this.
The following are search results and they are not necessarily a good match with what you're looking for:
https://analogue-arts.com/dtf/ (no price listed for B&W 35mm)
https://www.griffineditions.com/lvt-digital-negatives/ (only 4x5 + 8x10" film)
https://www.panopticonimaging.com/#/digital-services-2022-update/ (they seem to fit the bill; scroll down on that page)
I know there used to be someone active in Germany as well, but I can't find the website right now and I've always had my doubts whether the offer was still actual as the website looked outdated - but that doesn't say much in itself of course.

Sorry of this is of little help. Either way, you might try including terms like "LVT" or "film recording" in your Google-fu.

 

[mshchem]

Welcome to Photrio, let us know if you find someone. I see the LVT machines on Ebay now and then. I think that Polaroid had a product?
Best Regards Mike

 

[ntenny]

I looked into this a while ago and found a place in LA that could do it, called BowHaus. They’re expensive and seem to be a specialist fine-prints place mostly; I didn’t end up following through with the LVT route, but they seemed very competent and engaged when I communicated with them.

-NT

Edit: Their services page says they will do “35mm sized”: https://www.bowhaus.com/services/
I don’t know if that means on a 35mm roll or tiny individual sheets or what.

 

[Sebastian_F]

Ah okay, so they probably operated something like a LVT recorder. Those are kind of rare, but over the past few years I've seen a few people post about them here on Photrio, so there's likely a handful of people who might still be capable of doing this.
The following are search results and they are not necessarily a good match with what you're looking for:
https://analogue-arts.com/dtf/ (no price listed for B&W 35mm)
https://www.griffineditions.com/lvt-digital-negatives/ (only 4x5 + 8x10" film)
https://www.panopticonimaging.com/#/digital-services-2022-update/ (they seem to fit the bill; scroll down on that page)
I know there used to be someone active in Germany as well, but I can't find the website right now and I've always had my doubts whether the offer was still actual as the website looked outdated - but that doesn't say much in itself of course.

Sorry of this is of little help. Either way, you might try including terms like "LVT" or "film recording" in your Google-fu.

Thanks a lot for all this info!

 

[Sebastian_F]

I looked into this a while ago and found a place in LA that could do it, called BowHaus. They’re expensive and seem to be a specialist fine-prints place mostly; I didn’t end up following through with the LVT route, but they seemed very competent and engaged when I communicated with them.

-NT

Edit: Their services page says they will do “35mm sized”: https://www.bowhaus.com/services/
I don’t know if that means on a 35mm roll or tiny individual sheets or what.

Great, I'll look into them!

 

[calebarchie]

Gammatech used a pair of Agfa Altos not an LVT service. Reflex lab does this now probably at a cheaper price point.

 

[Pieter12]

Bow Haus in Los Angeles and Cox Balck & White Lab in Ranch Codova, CA. Both do LVT negatives from digital files.

 

[Sebastian_F]

Bow Haus looks perfect, because I was looking to get 35mm negatives made. Thanks for the tip

 

[calebarchie]

Bow Haus looks perfect, because I was looking to get 35mm negatives made. Thanks for the tip

I'm not sure why everyone is suggesting LVT if the OP wants 35mm. While it it is possible it's quite painful to setup with anything other than sheet film, which will probably cost you more in the end.

 

[Sebastian_F]

I appreciate everyone's replies, but it's crazy how expensive this service is because Gammatech used to charge something like $6 per 35mm negative. The cheapest one from this thread is $30 per negative.

 

[calebarchie]

Because it is a different service to what Gammatech offered. Have a look at Silvergrain in EU or Reflexlab (slide only), both use CRT based recorders.

 

[Pieter12]

I'm not sure why everyone is suggesting LVT if the OP wants 35mm. While it it is possible it's quite painful to setup with anything other than sheet film, which will probably cost you more in the end.

I am also not sure why anyone would want a 35mm negative from a digital file. You can easily gang up 6 24x36mm images on a single 4x5" negative.

 

[Sebastian_F]

I am also not sure why anyone would want a 35mm negative from a digital file. You can easily gang up 6 24x36mm images on a single 4x5" negative.

Hmm I hadn't thought of that, I guess you're right. I want 35mm negatives because I print them in the darkroom alongside my normal 35mm work.

 

[Jessxi]

I’ve used DigitalSlides based in the UK in the past and have been very happy with them and the product!

 

[koraks]

I am also not sure why anyone would want a 35mm negative from a digital file. You can easily gang up 6 24x36mm images on a single 4x5" negative.

Hmm I hadn't thought of that, I guess you're right. I want 35mm negatives because I print them in the darkroom alongside my normal 35mm work.

Cut the 4x5 back into the 35mm-sized negatives so they fit a 35mm enlarger. Or just leave it intact and mask the part you don't need.

I'm not sure why everyone is suggesting LVT if the OP wants 35mm. While it it is possible it's quite painful to setup with anything other than sheet film, which will probably cost you more in the end.

For my part, mostly because that's the most well-known (at least to me) tech to go from digital to film, but I'll happily cede to your recommendation.

 

[Sebastian_F]

I’ve used DigitalSlides based in the UK in the past and have been very happy with them and the product!

Thanks so much for this tip. They seem perfect and affordable!

 

[Ardpatrick]

I’ve made LVT negs in London with these guys and their predecessors in Michael Dyer. Good people:

Kodak LVT

<p>Kodak LVT From digital files original negatives or transparencies we can produce film outputs to either 35mm, 5×4 or 10×8. This is perfect for digital photographers who need a film original for traditional darkroom printing, or you may have a damaged film original which we can digitally...

www.bayeux.co.uk

 

[MattKing]

These services were, in their heyday, useful for businesses that still relied on slide presentations for their marketing efforts. Many of the machines were set up for slide film.
They enabled photographers who needed to digitally edit their work on slides.
For a while, they were very controversial in the photo club scene - when clubs would hold slide competitions.
The people with more money than others could afford to have their slides scanned, to edit the results, and then have edited slides prepared using the machines.
The technology is still used in the motion picture industry, for the relatively small percentage of productions that also have projection prints made, after all the editing steps are performed on digital intermediates.
I have friends who bought a used machine of this type and used it for a few years to provide medium format negatives to pro labs with customer orders. The machine eventually malfunctioned, and repair was either uneconomic or impossible. They cannibalized for parts, and recycled the rest.
@Andrew O'Neill and @PhotoBob should ask them about it at our next meeting

 

[Sirius Glass]

There used to be a company (based in NM I think) called Gammatech that would make negatives out of digital images. I used their services a couple of times and was super happy with the results but sadly they went out of business last year. Does anyone know if there are any other companies that provide a similar service?
Thanks!

Welcome to Photrio!

 

[Sebastian_F]

Welcome to Photrio!

Thanks!