Labs that process long-ago processed B&W

PhilBurton · Dec 31, 2023

Long story short, I have 63 rolls of bulk-loaded Plus-X and Tri-X film shot during a cross-country trip in 1976. For all the usual "life happens" reasons, that film went into the freezer, in watertight Kodak plastic film canisters, instead of being processed. Now I want to process all that film, but my wife has convinced me to use a lab instead. Any recommendations?

I don't want to pay Film Rescue International to both develop and scan/Photoshop the negatives.

rcphoto · Dec 31, 2023

Tri-x and plus-x are both very resilient in my experience. I would just have it processed normally and scanned. I'm sure some of the forum that lives out west can recommend some labs.

If I was in your shoes, however, I would process myself. That way I could adjust my processing based on the results.

Disconnekt · Dec 31, 2023

Thedarkroom.com say they can develop old film, but I dont know if they take bulkloaded film. You can ask them on their site here: https://thedarkroom.com/contact/

Don_ih · Dec 31, 2023

You have 63 rolls. Pick one and develop it. If that works well, continue. There will be some fog, but nothing insurmountable. The Plus-X will come out way better than the Tri-X.

250swb · Jan 1, 2024

By developing it yourself you can modify the developer and times to suit each type of film after the first couple of tries, I doubt a lab would indulge that much care. The cost of a five film tank and reels is minimal compared with a lab.

MultiFormat Shooter · Jan 1, 2024

PhilBurton said:
Long story short, I have 63 rolls of bulk-loaded Plus-X and Tri-X film shot during a cross-country trip in 1976. For all the usual "life happens" reasons, that film went into the freezer, in watertight Kodak plastic film canisters, instead of being processed. Now I want to process all that film, but my wife has convinced me to use a lab instead. Any recommendations?

I don't want to pay Film Rescue International to both develop and scan/Photoshop the negatives.

Try Praus Productions. Edgar Praus is a great person to talk to, and (based on my experience) will help you get the best results. He offers a choice of several different B&W developers.

GregY · Jan 1, 2024

250swb said:
By developing it yourself you can modify the developer and times to suit each type of film after the first couple of tries, I doubt a lab would indulge that much care. The cost of a five film tank and reels is minimal compared with a lab.

Agreed!

Paul Howell · Jan 1, 2024

No matter what lab you find, they will charge for the additional cost of developing a test roll, then adjusting times. As noted by others I would do a snip test, just 10 frames or so, you will lose one frame. With one roll you can try a few developers to see what works. I would try HC 110, B or C. Maybe a low contrast developer to lower the fog, D23. Or other extreme stand development.

john_s · Jan 1, 2024

Putting exposed film back into the freezer can cause a problem, depending on humidity at the time of unloading from the camera. Whichever approach you take, a test roll or a few would be in order in case the rolls are damaged. Can you distinguish the Plus-X from the Tri-X?

ic-racer · Jan 2, 2024

Gosh, even by 1976 the only B&W processing available to me at the time was sending the film away to go through a Versamat ("Scratchamat"). So, ever since I have only done my own processing with reels.

Adrian Bacon · Jan 4, 2024

PhilBurton said:
Long story short, I have 63 rolls of bulk-loaded Plus-X and Tri-X film shot during a cross-country trip in 1976. For all the usual "life happens" reasons, that film went into the freezer, in watertight Kodak plastic film canisters, instead of being processed. Now I want to process all that film, but my wife has convinced me to use a lab instead. Any recommendations?

I don't want to pay Film Rescue International to both develop and scan/Photoshop the negatives.

If you want, I can run it for you. I get clients with this sort of thing all the time. That's enough rolls it's no biggie to do a couple test runs for each film type then run them accordingly. I'm in the north SF Bay Area. PM me and we can talk.

calico · Jan 4, 2024

MultiFormat Shooter said:
Try Praus Productions. Edgar Praus is a great person to talk to, and (based on my experience) will help you get the best results. He offers a choice of several different B&W developers.

Suggest you stay away from Praus Productions. I sent them several rolls of 120 b&w film last year that came back with deep, long scratches all over the negs.

Bill Burk · Jan 4, 2024

I would recommend @Adrian Bacon for his knowledge and the way he applies lab controls.

MultiFormat Shooter · Jan 5, 2024

calico said:
Suggest you stay away from Praus Productions. I sent them several rolls of 120 b&w film last year that came back with deep, long scratches all over the negs.

Interesting, I always had good luck with them, but it has been a while since I used them. Thanks for the heads-up.

Labs that process long-ago processed B&W

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