Kodak's Qualex Processing to Close March 2009

thedarkroomstudios · Dec 17, 2008

Kodak has announced the closure of its remaining wholesale processing under the Qualex name effective March 2009.

They are closing their Dallas, Allentown and Durham processing plants.

They will be keeping their Events Imaging division - does amusements parks and such.

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Speculation
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If you have any Kodak/Qualex processing mailers, you better use them quick!

Will this impact Kodak film, paper and chemical availability - since they will no longer need to supply themselves?

I've heard of guys putting Noritsu's and Agfa's in their basement... does anyone here have a garage big enough to handle one of these machines

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-Brad

domaz · Dec 17, 2008

Does that mean retail store processing will go as well (Kmart, Target etc..) or is that Dwaynes?

removed account4 · Dec 17, 2008

there is a qualex up here in mass, is that closing down as well ?

nickrapak · Dec 18, 2008

Does this apply to C-41 and slide mailers, or just C-41?

thedarkroomstudios · Dec 20, 2008

Of many links, this is a good one to use: Dead Link Removed It appears that all Qualex lab operations will be shut down, and only their dry-lab run events division will remain.

Sirius Glass · Dec 20, 2008

Since Qualex lost three rolls out of fifteen from a vacation I took, I fail to see why this is viewed as bad news by some. :confused: It is more like good riddance to bad rubbish. This is what can be expected to happen to a company that does not believe in quality control or customer relations.

Steve

CRhymer · Dec 21, 2008

This is potentially very bad news for me. In Canada, I believe that many, if not most, small drug stores used Qualex for everything, and some stores with 1 hour photo machines also used them for film they could or would not do themselves. My local drug store uses Qualex for C-41 and as a means to ship Kodachrome to Dwayne's, which makes Kodachrome quite affordable for me, even in a rather remote area. While I can and do process C-41 myself, it is nice to have the option of a send-out service. To ship (both ways) to Dwayne's will be quite pricey and probably end Kodachrome use for me somewhat sooner.

Does anyone know what North American C-41 volumes are like these days?

Cheers,
Clarence

cmacd123 · Dec 22, 2008

that is a bummer, Walmart has been sending my 110 film to the Hamilton lab for me and so me and my pentax may be stuck. along with the 50 rolls of 110 in my frezer.. Mailing even a 110 cartridge to the states is a 10 dollar stamp

fschifano · Dec 28, 2008

So, they'll send it somewhere else. Hey, Kodak doesn't make the chemistry themselves any more either, but you can still buy the exact same thing. That's been outsourced to Champion, if I recall the name correctly.

PhotoJim · Dec 28, 2008

cmacd123 said:
that is a bummer, Walmart has been sending my 110 film to the Hamilton lab for me and so me and my pentax may be stuck. along with the 50 rolls of 110 in my frezer.. Mailing even a 110 cartridge to the states is a 10 dollar stamp

My guess is about $3 to ship a single roll. The way around this is to shoot a few rolls, put them in ziploc bags as you shoot them, freeze them to preserve them, and ship them in bulk once or twice a year.

wogster · Dec 30, 2008

CRhymer said:
This is potentially very bad news for me. In Canada, I believe that many, if not most, small drug stores used Qualex for everything, and some stores with 1 hour photo machines also used them for film they could or would not do themselves. My local drug store uses Qualex for C-41 and as a means to ship Kodachrome to Dwayne's, which makes Kodachrome quite affordable for me, even in a rather remote area. While I can and do process C-41 myself, it is nice to have the option of a send-out service. To ship (both ways) to Dwayne's will be quite pricey and probably end Kodachrome use for me somewhat sooner.

Does anyone know what North American C-41 volumes are like these days?

Cheers,
Clarence

There are other labs, so I am sure that someone will be taking over those jobs, if not there are lots of labs in major cities, like Toronto, that still do film processing so you can always mail your film to one of those. As for Kodachrome, many people simply put the stuff in the freezer and then when they have a few rolls, send it all in one package.

james23p · Dec 31, 2008

If you have a Walmart close to you they will forward your Kr64 to Dwayne's just as Qualex did. Plus Walmart is very cost effective. I used Qualex/Kodak up until a week ago with the Kmart drop box but I am afraid they will not be reliable now. So off to Walmart and bingo they did just fine. The only difference is my slides no longer say Kodak and the box is black.

I do believe Fuji runs Walmarts send out stuff at least in the US and they send all their slide film to Dwayne's so I think the service will be just as good if not better than Kodak.

But I have to admit I am a bit sad that Kodak now has no hand in processing of the product that made them famous and rich.

Added it seems Walmart in Canada does not have this service. Maybe with the fall of Qualex they will hook up with Fuji like they did in the US.

Jim

Removed Account · Dec 31, 2008

james23p said:
But I have to admit I am a bit sad that Kodak now has no hand in processing of the product that made them famous and rich.

Jim

The Kodak camera??

james23p · Dec 31, 2008

Kodachrome or the advent of color film. I know they were pioneers of the camera and I know the history of sending in the camera loaded for film for processing but Kodachrome put them on the worldwide map. None of the cameras have a song or a national park named after them.

Plus it has been film that made the company rich not cameras. Well they are not a rich company now but they were a world leader not to long ago.

Jim

CRhymer · Dec 31, 2008

Hello Paul,

Yes, it can be done, but the cost of postage (both ways) is substantial. My point is that dropping off my film at the local drug store (which I drive by every day) is very convenient and inexpensive. My last roll of Kodachrome 36 cost under $12.00CDN for processing, shipping and GST included. It took 18 days door to door.

It may be different for Shopper's Drug Mart or other stores in larger centers, but I believe the small rural and remote drug stores may just not bother any more, since volume is shrinking. (I will ask the local owners what they are likely to do). They carry the Rexall house brands, so I believe that they are affiliated with that group, and perhaps it will just be a change of labs for C-41 and collector/forwarders for Kodachrome.

To send six rolls of Kodachrome to Dwayne's will cost me from $10.00 to $15.00 for Canada Post, and about $85.00 for processing and return shipping from Dwayne's (converted to Canadian dollars), plus the GST and $5.00 Canada Customs fee. That is about $18.00 a roll - not a fortune to be sure, but a bit of a pain.

Cheers,
Clarence

wogster said:
There are other labs, so I am sure that someone will be taking over those jobs, if not there are lots of labs in major cities, like Toronto, that still do film processing so you can always mail your film to one of those. As for Kodachrome, many people simply put the stuff in the freezer and then when they have a few rolls, send it all in one package.

wogster · Dec 31, 2008

CRhymer said:
Hello Paul,

Yes, it can be done, but the cost of postage (both ways) is substantial. My point is that dropping off my film at the local drug store (which I drive by every day) is very convenient and inexpensive. My last roll of Kodachrome 36 cost under $12.00CDN for processing, shipping and GST included. It took 18 days door to door.

It may be different for Shopper's Drug Mart or other stores in larger centers, but I believe the small rural and remote drug stores may just not bother any more, since volume is shrinking. (I will ask the local owners what they are likely to do). They carry the Rexall house brands, so I believe that they are affiliated with that group, and perhaps it will just be a change of labs for C-41 and collector/forwarders for Kodachrome.

To send six rolls of Kodachrome to Dwayne's will cost me from $10.00 to $15.00 for Canada Post, and about $85.00 for processing and return shipping from Dwayne's (converted to Canadian dollars), plus the GST and $5.00 Canada Customs fee. That is about $18.00 a roll - not a fortune to be sure, but a bit of a pain.

Cheers,
Clarence

If your drug store is part of a chain, Rexall, Pharmaplus, Shoppers Drug Mart, IDA, then it's likely that the company has known about this for a while, and will have made other arrangements. You should speak to the owner or manager at the store, and find out for sure. I would be surprised if ANY other lab will deal with forwarding K64 though, they simply wouldn't get enough for it to pay.

clayne · Jan 18, 2009

It sounds like standard cost cutting. I doubt this will result in any change on film/chemicals - if anything it should strengthen it.

CRhymer · Jan 19, 2009

wogster said:
If your drug store is part of a chain, Rexall, Pharmaplus, Shoppers Drug Mart, IDA, then it's likely that the company has known about this for a while, and will have made other arrangements. You should speak to the owner or manager at the store, and find out for sure. I would be surprised if ANY other lab will deal with forwarding K64 though, they simply wouldn't get enough for it to pay.

Hello,

I asked the store owner (Rexall affiliate) last week. He hasn't heard a thing.

Cheers,
Clarence

wogster · Jan 20, 2009

CRhymer said:
Hello,

I asked the store owner (Rexall affiliate) last week. He hasn't heard a thing.

Cheers,
Clarence

Have him ask corporate, they should know, although they may simply tell dealers in March to put up new signs being sent, and to forward film to a new address for processing, and not provide any more info.

TerryM · Jan 22, 2009

How interesting that there wasn't anything on Kodak's Website about the closure of Qualex. It's as if they're ashamed! I cannot get over how the Executives running Kodak under Antonio Perez are destroying that Company! A couple years ago they sold its Health Unit for peanuts. Now they close Qualex just as it is getting harder and harder to find "local" professional Labs for Film developing and optical printing. Qualex also develops Movie Films. It is much harder to find Labs to develop Movie Films than Photographic Films. By "local", I mean a Lab that you don't need to use the Post Office to access. Qualex is accessible all over the place including Wal-Mart. It's not cheap to mail Movie Films. It is beyond my ability to comprehend how the Kodak Executives think and reason. Closing Qualex will further hurt their Film sales. Take a look below regarding their Film vs. Digital profits.

Here's an interesting segment from Kodak's earnings report. Kodak made fully $77 Million Dollars in Profit from their Film Sales in July to September 2008, but only made $23 Million in Profit from their Digital Sales! Why do they not do more to faithfully serve their Film customers? I would like to know why! They treat us with contempt.

Kodak 3rd Quarter Earnings Report
Segment sales and earnings from continuing operations before interest, taxes, and other income and charges (segment earnings from operations), are as follows:

* Consumer Digital Imaging Group sales for the third quarter were $820 million, a 7% increase from the prior-year quarter. Earnings from operations for the segment were $23 million, compared with $18 million in the year-ago quarter. Third-quarter earnings were driven primarily by cost improvements in digital cameras and digital picture frames, and increased intellectual property licensing, partially offset by unfavorable price/mix in digital cameras and continued investment in consumer inkjet.
* Graphic Communications Group sales for the third quarter were $821 million, a 2% decrease from the year-ago quarter. Earnings from operations for the segment totaled $23 million, compared with earnings of $36 million in the year-ago quarter. This earnings decline was primarily driven by U.S. market softness for Prepress Solutions as well as unfavorable manufacturing costs related to higher year-over-year raw material costs for the quarter.
* Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group third-quarter revenue was $764 million, down from $928 million in the year-ago quarter, representing a decrease of 18%, attributable to decreased sales volume of Film Capture and Traditional Photofinishing. Earnings from operations for the segment were $77 million, compared with $113 million in the year-ago quarter. These results reflect the effects of lower industry sales volumes and higher year-over-year commodity costs for the quarter, partly offset by decreased SG&A costs and lower depreciation expense related to the companys change in useful life assumptions regarding traditional manufacturing assets.

TerryM · Jan 29, 2009

I contacted Ilford to recommend that they buy Qualex from Kodak. I hope they listen. This would give them a foothold in North America, and would enable them to ensure that professional printing of Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) Photographs is available throughout N. A. Going back three years, I couldn't find any professional lab in the Toronto area which made Ilfochrome prints, and if it's not in Toronto, it's probably not anywhere in Canada. If you were to search in America I'll bet you won't be able to find a Lab that prints Ilfochrome. By taking over Qualex and having it start printing Ilfochrome, Ilford will only increase their business. They can also use Qualex as a free delivery service to ship their products to their customers via their local Photo Store. These Qualex facilities would serve as storage depots in North America for Ilford's products. A few years ago I had recommended to Kodak to start using Qualex as a delivery service, but they didn't possess the wisdom to see the advantage of this.

I also recommended they buy out Kodak's former Lab in Lausanne, Switzerland to ensure Ilfochrome printing in Europe. I suggested they may also wish to purchase from Kodak the Ownership and Formulas for several niche Films they have discontinued: Panatomic-X, Verichrome Pan, Tech Pan, Ektar 25 and Super XX, and perhaps even Kodachrome. These niche Films were popular with photographers, and Kodak isn't interested in serving niche customers. As shown by this stupid decision to close the Qualex and the Lausanne Labs, the future of Film is not with Kodak. It's sad, but true.

CRhymer · Jan 29, 2009

Hello TerryM,

I think Elevator in Toronto does Ilfochrome.

Cheers,
Clarence

nickrapak · Jan 29, 2009

TerryM said:
I contacted Ilford to recommend that they buy Qualex from Kodak. I hope they listen. This would give them a foothold in North America, and would enable them to ensure that professional printing of Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) Photographs is available throughout N. A. Going back three years, I couldn't find any professional lab in the Toronto area which made Ilfochrome prints, and if it's not in Toronto, it's probably not anywhere in Canada. If you were to search in America I'll bet you won't be able to find a Lab that prints Ilfochrome. By taking over Qualex and having it start printing Ilfochrome, Ilford will only increase their business. They can also use Qualex as a free delivery service to ship their products to their customers via their local Photo Store. These Qualex facilities would serve as storage depots in North America for Ilford's products. A few years ago I had recommended to Kodak to start using Qualex as a delivery service, but they didn't possess the wisdom to see the advantage of this.

I also recommended they buy out Kodak's former Lab in Lausanne, Switzerland to ensure Ilfochrome printing in Europe. I suggested they may also wish to purchase from Kodak the Ownership and Formulas for several niche Films they have discontinued: Panatomic-X, Verichrome Pan, Tech Pan, Ektar 25 and Super XX, and perhaps even Kodachrome. These niche Films were popular with photographers, and Kodak isn't interested in serving niche customers. As shown by this stupid decision to close the Qualex and the Lausanne Labs, the future of Film is not with Kodak. It's sad, but true.

I'm not sure whether Ilford would be interested in buying out Qualex. Qualex's main premise is bulk processing, something that is not conducive to Ilford's purpose.

That being said, I do think it might be a good idea if Ilford bought out the Allentown, PA Qualex lab (the smallest one) and set up a smaller, professional level send-out service that photo stores could use. For example, the stores that do not have sufficient volume to develop E-6 and MF/LF film can use Ilford to develop their E-6 and MF/LF films instead. They could also work with Dwayne's to acquire a contract for K-14.

SamWeiss · Jan 30, 2009

TerryM and nickrapak - let us hope Harman does not take your advice! Encouraging a small company to spend their capital on a declining industry in specialized fields (E-6, K-14) that are going extinct is corporate suicide.

My public advice to Harman: do what it takes to save your skin. We don't want to see you go away!

JanaM · Jan 30, 2009

TerryM said:
....

I also recommended they buy out Kodak's former Lab in Lausanne, Switzerland to ensure Ilfochrome printing in Europe. I suggested they may also wish to purchase from Kodak the Ownership and Formulas for several niche Films they have discontinued: Panatomic-X, Verichrome Pan, Tech Pan, Ektar 25 and Super XX, and perhaps even Kodachrome. These niche Films were popular with photographers, and Kodak isn't interested in serving niche customers. As shown by this stupid decision to close the Qualex and the Lausanne Labs, the future of Film is not with Kodak. It's sad, but true.

Terry, I think this a bit unfair, because Kodak has invested a lot during the last years to stay healthy in film business.
They have introduced a lot new or improved films since Photokina 2006 (Portra 160 NC-2 and VC-2, Portra 400 NC-2 and VC-2, Portra 800-3, TMY-2, Portra 400 NC-3 and VC-3, Ektar 100).
They did much more in R&D than Fuji and Ilford.

Yes, they have cancelled their old "100 flavours for 100 countries" strategy. Not making dozens of (now) tiny niche products anymore.
But so they can stay in business and serve us well with improved "main" products.

And the niches are filled by other manufacturers, see for example Technical Pan.

Kodak's Qualex Processing to Close March 2009

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