Kodachrome lab in Switzerland closing...

[Amund]

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Kodak_closures_spell_job_losses_news_87785.html

 

[reellis67]

I particulary like the part where it stated that Kodak just said that it had no current plans to close the factory, just before closing it. Very professional...

- Randy

 

[Samuel B]

Makes you wonder how long they will keep selling Kodakchome.....

 

[Petzi]

They don't expect Europeans to send their film to the USA do they?

 

[Earl Dunbar]

My guess is that Kodak in Europe will take care of shipping to/from the USA. But obviously that's not going to be very practical, so it will further decrease the volume of Kodachrome used in Europe. I also guess that Kodachrome volume in Europe has been so low that there is no business case for keeping the Lausanne lab open.

All Kodak K14 will now be processed at Dwayne's in Kansas.

 

[copake_ham]

I don't know what is the nature of the corporate "relationship" that Dwayne's has with Kodak regarding doing all Kodachrome processing in the US. But I would expect that now an equivalent might open up in Europe?

Kodak has been "ridding" itself of Kodachrome for a long time (even before the "digital massacre"). So I don't see this as anything unusual. I certainly don't see it as part of a more general "retreat" from film - just the next step in a long-planned move away from a particular film/process.

 

[removed account4]

when i was shooting 8mm film some of it went to switzerland to be processed. i don't shoot 8mm anymore, but i wonder who is processing 8mm now?

in regards for kodak saying they weren't going to close down the factory and then closing it ... when they closed their brazilian paper plant i phoned kodak and spoke with 4 different people there before being sent to a rep in washington state. he swore to me that they were just consolidating operations and they had no plans in the short or long term to stop making black and white chemistry, paper or films.

a very short period of time passed and they announced they were stopping paper ... it is just what they seem to do. they have done it before, and they will continue to do it over and over and over again ...

 

[dmr]

On another board, one of the users phoned Kodak and they did confirm that Dwayne's would now be the official processing lab for both North America and Europe.

I have no complaints at all with Dwayne's since I started shooting Kodachrome again. They do a very good job, and if I send it out in the morning mail pick-up on Monday, I get it back that Saturday, and once it came on Friday.

 

[Earl Dunbar]

George: Dwayne's processes 8mm K14. The "relationship" is that Dwayne's is Kodak's official partner for Kodachrome processing. I don't know if there are any financial arrangements.

DMR: I called Kodak and verified what you have stated above. I didn't get the name of the man with whom I spoke, but he was in the Professional Imaging division, and was extremely pleasant and helpful. For all I know, he is a neighbour down the street.

 

[dmr]

DMR: I called Kodak and verified what you have stated above. I didn't get the name of the man with whom I spoke, but he was in the Professional Imaging division, and was extremely pleasant and helpful. For all I know, he is a neighbour down the street.

Then you must be Trius on the other system.

 

[copake_ham]

Then you must be Trius on the other system.

Hey, I figured out that one too from the "O Canada..." thread!

I'm absolutely no expert on film processing "relationships" but I believe that Kodachrome processing is both "non-standard" (i.e. proprietary) and perhaps involves some chemicals that require special handling vis a' vis the environment.

Don't get me wrong - I loved Kodachrome even before Paul Simon - but unfortunately it is obsolete (even w/o the digital situation).

I have a few rolls left - once I shoot them off this summer I will send the batch off to Dwaynes and then I will climb into my rocking chair this winter and snooze with fond memories of the young women I once knew and Kodachrome I once shot.....

Also, BTW, Trius (Earl) I'm still waiting for that Cheddar!

 

[Petzi]

I don't know what is the nature of the corporate "relationship" that Dwayne's has with Kodak regarding doing all Kodachrome processing in the US. But I would expect that now an equivalent might open up in Europe?

Yeah why not. Lausanne would be a good location for that business.

 

[dmr]

I'm absolutely no expert on film processing "relationships" but I believe that Kodachrome processing is both "non-standard" (i.e. proprietary) and perhaps involves some chemicals that require special handling vis a' vis the environment.

I'm not a chemist by any means, and my times in a wet darkroom can be counted on my hands with fingers left over, but it's my impression that the older K12 process did indeed use some very nasty substances (hey Photo Engineer, you listening in?) but the K14 is less of an environmental nightmare.

K14 is very proprietary, as in nobody else produces film for that process and nobody else produces the chemistry to process it. The process appears to be very well documented. I was curious about the process a while back and googled quite a bit of information on it.

Although you wouldn't call it a "mini lab", there was the K-Lab processor for Kodachrome. I'm sure there are quite a few of them sitting out there idle if anybody wants to start up a business.

Don't get me wrong - I loved Kodachrome even before Paul Simon - but unfortunately it is obsolete (even w/o the digital situation).

Even though I did shoot quite a bit of Kodachrome years ago, I was never really that fond of the song.

I have a few rolls left - once I shoot them off this summer I will send the batch off to Dwaynes and then I will climb into my rocking chair this winter and snooze with fond memories of the young women I once knew and Kodachrome I once shot.....

Yeah, and just be sure that when you're showing your best buddy all the young women you knew and shot with Kodachrome, you don't accidentally have one of his GF in the carousel tray! No, wait, that was Garfunkel. (1000 Trivia Points if you get that reference!)

 

[DBP]

Cecilia?

 

[JohnArs]

Kodak make so MUUUCHHH money with digital they have to look on every penny now and close everything wich gives not more money then there digitals!
They ruined the name Kodak with there cheap pixelhorses and have now to find and save every penny.
But I still need some XTOL and TMY as sheet film as long as the 400 Delta is not available in sheets!
Some years ago Kodak was a very good company!!!!

 

[Earl Dunbar]

DMR: Yup, you got it!

copake_ham: Well, I haven't been back to New Hamburg to track down the 7-year-old cheddar. You've likely had Balderson 5-year or 3-year, so I wouldn't bother getting you one of those.

Yesterday I had lunch at Hillebrand Estates Winery. I had just soup (gazpacho w/dungeness crab-apple salad and cucumber/Muscadet sorbet) and a cheese course. The cheeses were Pied-de-Vent, a cow's milk cheese from the Magdalen Islands and a blue from Nova Scotia called "Dragon's Breath", served with some pear sorbet and some chutney. The cows producing the milk for pied-de-vent feed on salt water grasses, so there was a mild but very nice salty tang to the cheese, better integrated than a cheese that has had salt added. The '04 off-dry riesling was a good companion to both. Some Trius Vidal icewine was a good dessert.

Other menu items here

Earl

 

[digiconvert]

I've just finished a roll of K64, do I send it off to Switzerland ? I promise never to express a preference for any film ever again !!!!

Thank You; Chris

 

[Petzi]

The press release says that they are planning to close the lab on 30 September, so yes, you would send the film to Switzerland.

 

[Raiseth]

Hello: Kodachrome is an 11 step process and it is fascinating. I had the opportunity to climb inside a K14 processor (they are huge). Anyone with access to a medical library may be able to find an article I wrote, Journal of Biological Photography, Oct 1995 edition. I did an article on the history of Kodachrome, K14 process etc. I still have some kodachrome mailers which I may use someday. There used to be five process plants and I have no idea how many are still left. Thanks.

 

[zinzin]

Reply from ch-kodachrome

Just a FYI - below a reply I just got from CH Kodachrome lab re the film processing in Europe


Dear Sir,

Thank you for the details.

OUr laboratory will be closed at the end of September.

All films received after the 25th September will be courriered to a US KODACHROME lab certified by Kodak. They will process the films and return them to Lausanne, from where we will send them back to our customers.

The only change you will notice is the processing time, which will betray around 8 working days once the films have arrived in Lausanne, instead 2-3 until now.

Also the choice of how you can have your film delivered is changed: card mounts or film in a roll (no plastic mounts, no films in strips).

I hope this information is relevant to you and if you have more questions, please don't hesitate to contact us again.

Best regards

Kodak S.A.
KODACHROME Customer Service

 

[digiconvert]

Just a FYI - below a reply I just got from CH Kodachrome lab re the film processing in Europe


Dear Sir,

Thank you for the details.

OUr laboratory will be closed at the end of September.

All films received after the 25th September will be courriered to a US KODACHROME lab certified by Kodak. They will process the films and return them to Lausanne, from where we will send them back to our customers.

The only change you will notice is the processing time, which will betray around 8 working days once the films have arrived in Lausanne, instead 2-3 until now.

Also the choice of how you can have your film delivered is changed: card mounts or film in a roll (no plastic mounts, no films in strips).

I hope this information is relevant to you and if you have more questions, please don't hesitate to contact us again.

Best regards

Kodak S.A.
KODACHROME Customer Service

That's good news, at least it means that any KC I buy in the UK will still have a valid mailer with it. Turnround time for what I do isn't usually a problem and I expect I can live with card mounts .

Thanks for the info.
Chris

 

[Steve Roberts]

That's good news, at least it means that any KC I buy in the UK will still have a valid mailer with it. Turnround time for what I do isn't usually a problem and I expect I can live with card mounts .

Personally I was glad to see the back of Kodak's card mounts in the early 1980s, long after everyone else had gone to plastic. Card mounts buckle rather too easily, don't have a crisp edge to the projected image and absorb whatever moisture is around (lots in Devon UK) thereby promoting the growth of mould.

As much as I like Kodachrome, all of the above plus the lengthy door-to-door service (sounds like over three weeks instead of the current two) will force me to reconsider my choice of transparency material. I am also a little concerned about the increased likelihood of important films being lost on such a convoluted journey.

Suddenly my second choice of transparency film (Fuji) begins to sound a lot more attractive, with its processing only two counties away and a turnaround time of usually five but often four days. Nonetheless, I shall try the "new" Kodachrome processing and see what happens.

Steve

 

[Dirb9]

Rocky Mountain Photo has had a K-Lab processor for sale (http://tinyurl.com/z99en) for a while, maybe someone should buy it....

 

[Steve Roberts]

For info, reply to my email to Kodak received today:

Kodak will continue to offer European customers processing for
KODACHROME 35mm slide film by shipping orders to Dwayne's Photo of
Parsons, Kansas. Dwayne's Photo has been a Kodak accredited processor of KODACHROME Film since 2004, providing customers in the United States and Canada with high quality KODACHROME Film processing.

Kodak will continue to assure that Dwayne's Photo meets the quality
standards established by Kodak for the processing of KODACHROME Film.

"Kodak appreciates the passion many consumers have for our products and
services. KODACHROME Film processing requirements are unique, and we are able to maintain tighter quality standards when we have sufficient
volumes.

Combining the processing at one location allows us to provide the
quality levels demanded by users of KODACHROME Film," said Brad
Kruchten, general manager, Film and Photo Services and vice president,
Kodak

The Renens lab currently employs fewer than twenty people. Kodak will
provide severance benefits to eligible affected employees and comply
with all labor agreements and applicable laws.

Kodak suspended photofinishing activity for other types of film at the
Renens laboratory in February 2005. Since that time, only KODACHROME
Films have been processed at the lab.

Kodak will continue to sell 35mm KODACHROME Film in Europe, as well as
other parts of the world.

One processing lab for (probably) the world's best-known film and that not even a Kodak lab! I think the writing's on the wall for Kodachrome.

Steve

 

[Bob F.]

Kodak will continue to offer European customers processing for
KODACHROME 35mm slide film by shipping orders to Dwayne's Photo of
Parsons, Kansas. Dwayne's Photo has been a Kodak accredited processor of KODACHROME Film since 2004, providing customers in the United States and Canada with high quality KODACHROME Film processing.

You'll just have to wait longer, and pay more.

Kodak will continue to assure that Dwayne's Photo meets the quality
standards established by Kodak for the processing of KODACHROME Film.

We don't trust them to do a good job without us looking over their shoulder all the time, but they were the lowest bidder.

Kodak appreciates the passion many consumers have for our products and services. KODACHROME Film processing requirements are unique, and we are able to maintain tighter quality standards when we have sufficient volumes

We know we have you over a barrel and can do whatever we want.

Combining the processing at one location allows us to provide the
quality levels demanded by users of KODACHROME Film," said Brad
Kruchten, general manager, Film and Photo Services and vice president,
Kodak

We save money and cause you problems, so hopefully you losers will give up using this outdated product.

The Renens lab currently employs fewer than twenty people. Kodak will provide severance benefits to eligible affected employees and comply
with all labor agreements and applicable laws

We will do the absolutely legal minimum we can get away with as far as compensation to the mugs we said we were not laying off a month ago are concerned.

Kodak suspended photofinishing activity for other types of film at the
Renens laboratory in February 2005. Since that time, only KODACHROME
Films have been processed at the lab.

Kodak will continue to sell 35mm KODACHROME Film in Europe, as well as
other parts of the world.

We promise you. No, really. We do. No reason to think we are lying is there?