Labs that do real B&W machine prints?

[BradS]

I like to shoot B&W in 35mm and just have the whole roll machine processed and printed. There's a small, struggling and competent pro lab in a neighboring town. He has an old Agfa machine that was converted to do B&W. He's been running it..."periodically" for years...late;y, it seems, just for me. Anyway, the machine broke down (again) and it doesn't sound like he's gonna have it fixed this time. So, I am high and dry.

Does anybody know of a decent lab that will make real B&W machine prints from 35mm B&W film?

 

[Ektagraphic]

Try Swan Photo Lab.
http://www.swanphotolabs.com/swan08/

 

[Jon Shiu]

Freestyle has mailer for this.

Jon

 

[Ian Grant]

The Ilford B&W service in the UK is awesome it's so far ahead of anything I've seen before, and I used to do a limited D&P service for a few customers, most for nearly 30 years.

The Ilford service is equivalent to high quality hand prints from every negative, you need to see it to believe it.

Ian

 

[Aurum]

The Ilford B&W service in the UK is awesome it's so far ahead of anything I've seen before, and I used to do a limited D&P service for a few customers, most for nearly 30 years.

The Ilford service is equivalent to high quality hand prints from every negative, you need to see it to believe it.

Ian

Agreed on this, the cost isn't the same as a local C41 wipe it round the floor lab, but the results are worth it.

And if you shoot 120, they can cope with all the formats you are ever likely to encounter from 6x4.5 through to 6x9

 

[dr5chrome]

..very, very few. it is also an expensive proposition that most don't want to pay for.

dw

 

[BradS]

swan photo labs looks promising. Their pricing is in line with what I am paying locally. yeah, it is expensive...but, compared to me printing a whole roll of 36 exposures...it is a damned bargain!

Thanks all!

 

[Alexander Ghaffari]

These guys do a great job. They do custom color negative and b&w negative optical printing. They also can scan and then print color or b&w onto photographic paper (or one of several non-optical alternatives).

http://www.robinimaging.com/

 

[Ian Grant]

Agreed on this, the cost isn't the same as a local C41 wipe it round the floor lab, but the results are worth it.

And if you shoot 120, they can cope with all the formats you are ever likely to encounter from 6x4.5 through to 6x9

Not sure they can cope with my 6x17's

It needs someone like David Woods (dr5) to offer the same Ilford service to US & Canadian customers. I know Ilford were hoping to offer a service in North America but haven't heard anything for over a year.

Ian

 

[Denis R]

my local...

Christian Photo

have yet to use their service, but buy most items there

 

[AlexG]

If all else fails, Adorama has a *digital* minilab called the Frontier 370 "Silver Edition". It prints to real Ilford b&w paper and develops it in b&w chemicals. Not many of these fuji units are around, but the prints do look quite nice.

Use this ONLY as a last resort!

Good luck

 

[Jon Shiu]

Okay, here is the link to freestyle, sounds good, refrema dip and dunk, choice of kentmere glossy, or lustre and not bad price:
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/367-Freestyle-Black-&-White-Film-Processing-Mailer-

Jon

 

[gopropak]

H&H Colorlab does B&W developing then scan and print onto photographic paper. They use chemicals to develop the prints, No inks. Not a direct from negative print but a nice modern solution with some traditional twists.

 

[Ian Grant]

If all else fails, Adorama has a *digital* minilab called the Frontier 370 "Silver Edition". It prints to real Ilford b&w paper and develops it in b&w chemicals. Not many of these fuji units are around, but the prints do look quite nice.

Use this ONLY as a last resort!

Good luck

If Adorama has the system Ilford devised then potentially this is the way to go. Forget the nasty D word, the quality is superb definitely not a last resort.

Ian

 

[photoncatcher]

To bad he probably doesn't make enough to warrent the expense of repairing the machine. Parts for some of those old beasts can be hard to find. I worked with Agfa machines back in the day. Luckily, I can do my own B&W proccessing and printing, but recently I needed a 16x20 print from one of my MF negs fro a sale. I found a great lab about 20 minutes from my house that actually still does silver gelatin prints. They matched my 8x10 sample exactly.

 

[BradS]

Okay, here is the link to freestyle, sounds good, refrema dip and dunk, choice of kentmere glossy, or lustre and not bad price:
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/367-Freestyle-Black-&-White-Film-Processing-Mailer-

Jon

WOW! One more reason to LOVE Freestyle.

Thanks Jon.....I may even tell my Lab guy about this...maybe he could continue his service without repairing his machine

 

[BradS]

To bad he probably doesn't make enough to warrant the expense of repairing the machine. Parts for some of those old beasts can be hard to find. I worked with Agfa machines back in the day.

It really is a shame. He's been nursing this machine along for at least ten years that I know of. He says that every year parts get harder to find and more expensive. He used to have a B&W technician on full time but has not for a few years now. Apparently, that guy was able to keep the machine running as well as make beautiful prints with it. Now, he runs it himself but has to find a technician willing to work on it when it breaks down - which is, as you guessed, prohibitively expensive. Even now, he seems to make it pay for it self - when it runs.