How often do you use a lab?

BrendanCarlson · Jan 17, 2013

How often do you use a lab?
What is the ratio of what you process to what you have a lab process?

EASmithV · Jan 17, 2013

Once I discovered how easy it was to do your own color, and have superior results, as well as the given savings, I resolved to never use a lab again if I could help it. At least if I screw it up, it's my screw up.

Plus, it saves on cash... Significantly.

heterolysis · Jan 18, 2013

Started doing my own colour and never looked back....until this week. Had shot some 220 Portra at a wedding and trusted it to the lab because I thought my chemistry was pretty much spent. Came back with two holes in it and a wad of black goo in the middle of a frame. Needless to say, I am very upset. Apparently the roll jammed in the machine, but that does not excuse the debris on it.

Salem · Jan 18, 2013

I used to process bw and C41 at home and take the slides to a nearby lab. But after the price hike in processing slides I took the plunge and bought a E-6 tetenal kit. Now all processing are done in-house. What bothered me about the local lab, besides the cost of processing, was the actual trip to drop in and pick up plus the rising parking charges. I could send the films by mail but that's at least a week or two before getting them back.

digic · Jan 18, 2013

I only use a lab for C-41 (about 10% of my work) and E-6 (about 2% of my work), but that's about it.

Chris Nielsen · Jan 18, 2013

I use a lab for C41 and E6, probably once a month. The last two orders have both been lost on the courier, the first one took three weeks to arrive, and the latest order I just heard this afternoon has been located, and will be with me on the 21st. It was despatched on the 21st of December.

Love the lab, hate the couriers.

mooseontheloose · Jan 18, 2013

I'm lucky -- I live in a mid-sized city (for Japan anyway), and can get colour neg and reversal done within an hour (35mm and 120) and since I don't shoot a lot of colour -- probably about 10% of my total film output -- it makes more sense to use them.

I'm actually interested in processing my own colour film but would rather support the local film labs while they are still available and very affordable.

perkeleellinen · Jan 18, 2013

C41 development only, currently colour is about 90% of my work. I prefer to spend my limited free time printing, not developing.

benjiboy · Jan 18, 2013

I use a lab for all my work.

BrianShaw · Jan 18, 2013

benjiboy said:
I use a lab for all my work.

Ditto.

BradleyK · Jan 18, 2013

The Lab or ABC Colour for my E6, my "guest bathroom" for all my black and white processing and printing. The frequency of each, however, depends upon my "productivity."

ROL · Jan 18, 2013

BrendanCarlson said:
How often do you use a lab?

Rarely, only for E6, every few years.

BrendanCarlson said:
What is the ratio of what you process to what you have a lab process?

Close to 100% (except for E6, see above). I care about and enjoy the process from the taking to the making of the photograph. I believe it would be hypocritical to present the finished product as my own if I were not personally engaged at every practical level. And monochrome is so easy anyway. (To the haters: No, I do not make my own emulsions and film supports, but then neither do most professional labs – though the way film is going, that too may become a necessary part of the process).

Peltigera · Jan 18, 2013

I have a couple of cassettes of Agfa 35 mm colour film processed each month and one roll of Portia slide film. B&W I do myself.

Ektagraphic · Jan 18, 2013

I send C-41 out to Miller's Professional Imaging about once a month and I could not be more pleased with the quality, especially for the price. Black and White I always take care of

Clay2 · Jan 18, 2013

Sold house last year and darkroom gear is in storage, so 100% now until I build new wet darkroom. Only used a lab

for Kodachromes up to now.

/lay

Jeff Kubach · Jan 18, 2013

I use a lab for C-41 and do B&W myself.

Jeff

DWThomas · Jan 18, 2013

I use a local lab maybe twice a year for color processing, but I don't shoot much color film. Depending on mood and weather, I sometimes shoot C41 on Argus Day in my C3. Those I get processed with small prints and scans on CD so I can put them on the web without much work.

In general, I don't print a high percentage of my work, and B&W I do myself. Attempts to get chromogenic color prints from - uh -- other technology -- have so far not been very confidence inspiring either; probably I'm color management challenged (or need another lab).

removed account4 · Jan 18, 2013

never shoot color so i never use a lab,
i use a pro lab once in a while to do other things i can't speak about here though ..
i used to use a lab ( fuji and dwaynes through sam's club )
a few times a week e6/c41 and 8mm movie film, they were inexpensive.
i don't use fuji anymore, they keep the film to save on delivery costs i hear.
i still have some e6+c41 35mm - 8x10 sizes and i am debating whether to
process it myself ( don't like the idea of pouring the color chems down the drain )
or processing them in coffee ( beautiful smooth grained b/w ) or mailing them
out of state to be processed ( no one local processes anything bigger than 35mm in-state )

so short story is 0% now, but 1% that might change.

i probably will just process it all in coffee ... and use something electric for color
or make tri color prints ( negatives at least )

Pioneer · Jan 18, 2013

Once a month I send a batch of color and slide to NCP. I love their work and they are worth every penny I pay them. I use Blue Moon once in a while to do my large format.

Do all my own black and white and most of my own printing up to 11x14. Anything larger goes out.

ChristopherCoy · Jan 18, 2013

Jeff Kubach said:
I use a lab for C-41 and do B&W myself.

Jeff

X2.... Except I have yet to send out my c41 yet. I've got a years worth of color film sitting on a shelf.

MattKing · Jan 18, 2013

BradleyK said:
The Lab or ABC Colour for my E6, my "guest bathroom" for all my black and white processing and printing. The frequency of each, however, depends upon my "productivity."

ABC for me for my E6 and C41 120.

Although technically the E6 is actually done by CustomColour, since ABC didn't buy G King's E6 machine or move theirs when they changed locations.

I get my odd roll of 35mm C41 developed down the street at London Drugs.

ic-racer · Jan 18, 2013

BrendanCarlson said:
How often do you use a lab?
What is the ratio of what you process to what you have a lab process?

I use a lab for all my 8mm B&W reversal cine film.

one90guy · Jan 18, 2013

Only place for C-41 is Walmart, at least half of my rolls would have trash on them. So now only color is digital and all b/w 35 and 120 done at home.

Jim Rice · Jan 18, 2013

My little closet darkroom is beginning to take shape. I will start with RA-4 up to 8" with a re-geared RCP-20 and from there I plan to use a Unicolor drum and agitator for occasional larger prints using drift-by temperature control in the kitchen. After that a water bath C-41 set up. So at the moment it is 100% lab but weaning myself step-by-step.

StoneNYC · Jan 19, 2013

I process everything myself, I last brought some C-41 to a lab on an important Photoshoot I needed quickly, when I usually wait for stuff to pile up so I can run the chemistry to exhaustion.

~Stone

Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1, 5DmkII / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

How often do you use a lab?

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