Local Pro Labs forgetting MF

[Uncle Bill]

I am contemplating going my own way with colour as I live in the 'burbs of Toronto in a nice town called Oakville, the only decent lab discontinued all film processing last year and went digital everything. For the most part in suburbia the concept of film photography is an alien one.

Not a big deal for me as I shoot black and white 95% of the time but at some point I want to process and print colour myself because, the next decent film lab that cares is in Toronto and I want to control the process a lot more.

Bill

 

[Travis Nunn]

Stop bitching , treat your analog labs with respect! you'll appreciate them when their gone!

Steven, I wasn't going to respond until you added this comment at the end. Yes, you're right, not all scratches occur at the lab, sometimes they are the fault of the camera, user, whatever. It has long been said around where I live that if you want your film processed right, go to Action Photo. After all, it's where all of the pros got their film processed. Well, they stopped processing film a year or two ago. If I had only had one or two problems, I wouldn't really worry about it too much, but me and many others have had so many problems time after time after time. The fact is they just suck. Plain and simple. That's why I pay considerably more to ship my slides out to get processed.

Maybe if some of these places would have a little more consideration for their customers we'd respect them a little more.

You could always move here to Richmond, we need a good pro lab!

 

[narsuitus]

Last summer, I was felt betrayed when the owner of my professional photo lab showed me the photos he took during his recent vacation to Peru. Normally, he shoots his vacation photos with a medium format film camera; but last year, he switched to a digital camera. Since his photo lab was geared toward film users, he was the last person I expected to go digital. While I was supporting his business, he was taking the first steps toward abandoning it.

 

[Stephen Frizza]

I perhaps he was also taking a holiday from analog?....

 

[2F/2F]

"What's an MFer like me to do?"

Ha ha. You are a self-described cheap MFer...maybe that's why they were giving you such trouble.

The only way to get 100% satisfaction would be to develop your own. You said you are a cheap MFer. Not cheap enough to develop your own though...which would save you a ton of money, and help keep the chemicals alive for the rest of us.

Also, I would say that if he does not routinely do medium and large format, then he is not a "pro" lab. Any "pro" lab is full service without hassle. If there is something they don't offer, they'll find someone who does and send it to them.

In short, do your own, or send your stuff to a real lab. Unfortunately, this is the only way to make 90% sure that things will be OK.

I can't help but wonder what you all mean when you say "pro" lab, after all of these posts here. To me, a pro lab is a lab that can cater to *any* professional lab needs of a photographer with high quality results and excellent customer service. If medium format is an oddity, or they don't have any actual enlargers to make prints by hand, they are not a pro lab, plain and simple. They may be in business, and may even make a profit, but they are not pros.

This is not meant to spark another endless "how is 'pro' defined debate". Perhaps I am just lucky to live within driving distance of A and I, so I am spoiled. No lab is without its problems or mistakes, but I still maintain that a pro lab is full service, offering anything a pro photographer (this includes commercial, fine art, and editorial) *might* need.

By this definition, and pure spatial necessity, the place would also have to be industrial sized, not located in a mini mall. A pro lab has a dip and dunk processor, a Kreonite, 8x10 enlargers, commercial inkjet printers, lightjet printers, drum scanners, a digital darkroom, a wet black and white lab, offers custom printing and proofing, custom digital editing, lightbox service, you name it, *and* the staff to operate it all, manage the customers, and mange the business end of things.

It comes down to this: If the lab cannot take something from straight out of your camera (*any* camera) and get it to a point where it can be delivered to a client and/or hung on a wall, they are not a "pro" lab.

Ironically enough, you yourself listed one of the most affordable ways to get work done at a pro lab: drop it off at Wal Mart. If it is something "weird", they will send it to Fuji. If you are worried, include special instructions.

Additionally, medium and large format customers are probably the only reason "true" pro labs still do film at all. There is no need for a Refrema, DeVere 8x10s, and a wet lab if people are just bringing in their 24-exposure WalMart brand vacation pix to get developing and low rez scans.

And I think we all have to admit that our beloved true pro labs would all go belly up if they did not do digital work primarily. Thus, we should not totally shun digital. In this way, it is keeping film alive to a degree.

 

[Stephen Frizza]

2F/2f I couldn't agreer with you more on the 'pro lab" and services issue. A pro lab should offer all! it doesn't sound like these folk are talking about true Pro lab.

 

[Michael W]

I agree with the previous definition of a pro lab.
In my opinion a pro lab should also be within walking distance of a good chocolate shop.

 

[benjiboy]

I don't know if it's still the case, but at one time a lot of pro.labs wouldn't handle amateur work because they had trouble with them accepting that exposure and other errors were theirs, I'm an amateur and I had to be interviewed by one of the directors of the lab, I've now used for more than twenty years now before they would accept mine.

 

[nworth]

I haven't had any trouble with labs accepting my work, but I'm sure there are places that will only deal with other businesses. If you have a business license, they will almost certainly deal with you. I don't, but I still have no problems. I usually drop off 5 to 20 rolls of 220, so they do not complain about small volumes either.

The problem of availability of service is getting worse, particularly in lightly populated areas like this. The nearest place that will process 120 color negative film is in Albuquerque, about 130 miles away. Fortunately, they have an office in Santa Fe (only 40 miles away) where I can drop off and pick up film and have only a slight delay. There is only one lab for E-6 in the area, also in Santa Fe. I haven't tried them yet. Prices for either C-41 or E-6 processing in MF are outrageous. I will probably be processing a lot of my own film.

 

[Regencyriggs]

as a mini-lab operator

I'll start off with a very abridged backstory here I guess...

My father opened up our shop about 30 years ago now, a mini-lab in this small Georgia town (Statesboro) and I've been working here since I was 13 basically (A bit over 10 years). In that time I've seen film usage drop more in the last two years than it ever has. We process b&w in house with an old wing-lynch processor since the developing on it has dropped so much, the chemicals stay fresh longer in it than our constant run machine (Which is now sitting uselessly in our darkroom). In all honesty it COST us money to continue to offer the service or processing black and white, and just about does for C-41, it certainly would if we relied on medium format, as most all we process lately is one-time use cameras. We have to charge 5 dollars to process 120/220, and around 8 to scan and put that on to a CD(Not very analog of us, but it's not like the machine prints optically anyway). That's just what we have to do to continue to offer processing, and I hate it. I'm honestly one of the few people that does any black and white anyway, but it works out pretty well so that I can use the chemestry and it not just sit idle for the next customer. I shoot mostly Plus-x and tri-x film, and will soon be getting my Hassleblad to do some 120. I know I'm not speaking from a "Pro-lab" perspective, but honestly I feel that most of us in the business feel badly about what we have to charge just to offer the services we do. It's not like the chemicals just stay good forever, and it's certainly not like it doesn't cost us an insane amount of money just to open the doors as a small business these days either. Both of my parents had to recently start driving school buses, leaving me here for most of the day to run the shop, so that they can have health-care for less than 1200 dollars a month.

I rambled quite a lot there, but I felt like getting it out I suppose...not sure just what it was - but I feel better!

-Will

 

[Jeff Searust]

I work for a company that does MF c-41 and e-6 processing, and I can say for one that we are seeing MUCH more of it today than 5 years ago. The 35mm seems to be declining.

I for one would point out to any local "pro" lab that they can either have your business or not. It is not your job to keep them in business, and any city with more than one "pro" lab will eventually have one that is willing to do 120, LF, b&w or whatever is reasonable to keep your business. the quantity of MF film that is getting "develop and scan" rather than "develop and print" is increasing and not only us, but other labs in my town have seen this.

 

[Regencyriggs]

I certainly wish our MF processing was increasing! Are you in the states, or Europe? We're in a small town - but it's a college town with a pretty decent photography program, so I'm always surprised we don't see more, but it might be that they're just not doing it through us - or doing it themselves.

As for the "develop and scan" we're the same way here as well. They like that they get color corrected files and index prints as well, since we basically do all we would do if we were going to print them, just....don't print them!

-Will