Looking for a trustworthy professional E6 lab in the UK

[photoworks68]

Not sure if this is the right venue...

I was wondering if you guys in the UK would know a good professional E6 processing lab to send my slides films.

I don't mean the small mom and pop shop that do the occasional E6 processing or the so-called professional lab out there.

I am looking for the real deal : a consistent and trustworthy professional lab that I can trust to send my films to (mostly 35 mm but also 4x5 inch E6 film).

I have been recently let down my a so-called professional lab in scotland too many times so would appreciate if you guys know a good place in either Leeds, Manchester or maybe london.

Any information would be much helpful.

thanks in advance.

 

[I. Cooper]

"The Darkroom Uk Ltd" Cheltenham do a very good mail order service and the quality of their E6 processing is first rate. I've not used them to process anything else, but before I sorted my own B&W stuff their B&W hand prints were very good as well.


I did try to post a link to their website but for some unknown reason the forum now says I have never made any posts before and as such can't include links until I've made 5 posts!!!! I know I don't post often, but I've definately posted before!!!

All I can suggest is you do a google search for "Darkroom UK Ltd"

 

[Ian Cooper]

Ok, don't know what happen there - I seemed to be logged on under the user name "I. Cooper" with exactly the same password as my actual user ID. So far as I know I've only registered for the forum once!!

Try "The Darkroom Uk Ltd" this time the link should work!

 

[perkeleellinen]

I can recommend Peak Imaging in Sheffield. Never had a problem, fast turn-round, clean and consistent slides / negs.

http://www.peak-imaging.co.uk/

 

[Steve Roberts]

I also use The Darkroom - good results, very fast turnaround time and pre-paid mailing labels, so no faffing around at the Post Office!
Steve

 

[Selidor]

I too use Peak Imaging, who return each order with a new free-post cardboard box and order form, and never have had a problem.
Having said that, all labs are run by human beings, and as such prone to human error. How often mistakes are made, and their reaction to it should be a indicator of their quality.

 

[Edward_S]

I can recommend Peak Imaging for E6 processing too. Never had a problem.

 

[pityacka]

Give MetroColour Lab in Birmingham a try. I have used them for years for 35mm and med. format slides, and also negatives. A bit cheaper than Peak Imaging. I have found MetroColour Lab completely reliable.

 

[Wishy]

When I were getting labs to do colour I used peak imaging and the darkroom interchangeably, smaller batches work out cheaper at the darkroom, larger batches at peak.
Both have excellent standards, but peak normally takes a day longer than the darkroom to return (Their freepost service to get the film to them is 2nd class, where as the darkroom is 1st class)

That said, I've not looked back since I picked up a Jobo unit and started to do the job myself

 

[photoworks68]

thanks.

 

[bishy]

Peak Imaging are a very good lab for E6. Turnaround times are very good. The most important thing is the quailty of the processed slides,that is where i find Peak to differ from the labs i've used in the past. The quailty is of a very high standard. The slides are very clean to my eye,also saturation,and sharpness seems that little bit better than the other labs i've used. I have used Peak for maybe 50 rolls of process only slide film this year,and these are mainly single roll processing orders at a time. I have noticed each order has the same standard of processing quailty as the last batch. I guess the Refrema processing has an effect on the quailty,as i don't think the labs i used in the past used Dip and Dunk processing.

I have a roll of Velvia to process, so i will send the film to The Darkroom in Cheltenham,after hearing so many good reviews about the lab. They have been very helpfull and quick to answer a few question i had via email. Looking forward to seeing the service and processing quailty these guys are offering.

 

[rulnacco]

Peak is excellent. I've used them many times in the past, and have always been happy with their service. But nowadays, I send all my film to Genie Imaging in Wandsworth, South London.

http://www.genieimaging.co.uk

They have an ideal (to me) combination of quality, price (especially!) and turnaround time. Plus they are local to me, and that helps as I'll explain below.

They charge £1.99 per roll + VAT for processing unmounted slide film. I'm pretty sure they'll do mounting, for an extra charge. They usually have your film ready within a day or two, and they use dip & dunk processing.

Where they can be a bit more expensive is postage--they send your film back signed-for which costs nearly a fiver. However, as they're right by Wandsworth Common Station, I just drop the film off and pick it up when it's ready.

If you're on a budget, give them a try. They do an excellent job and are committed to helping keep film alive.

 

[Wishy]

Cross posted recommendation, so see comments here: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[bishy]

I was pleased to see the results from The Darkroom, matched the good feedback already on this thread.

 

[photoworks68]

I have just got back an order I made for processing and scan from a Professional lab in England.
While the processing of the film is top notch, when i look at the high resolution tiff scans that they did, I can see that the scans are blurry and there is some sort of artifact on all of them, this is not the grain of the film (some kind of "white" noise on the dark zones). Basically, the blacks are no black at all. As it is, those scans are unusable.
when i look at the slides, they are perfect and have to say that scans done with my flatbed film scanner are much better than what they delivered to me. I am confused and frustrated.
I am back to square one again. Would anyone recommend a good lab that delivers top notch scans from slide and films ?
I am going to try Loxley colour. Have any of you tried Mr Scan. Would scans done on an imacon scanner be top notch ? has anyone experienced first end imacom scanning service from A+M imaging lab in Edinburgh ?

 

[hoojammyflip]

I've seen Digitalab recommended on LandscapeGB for E6 processing. I think they do scanning too, but there were various other recommendations on the LandscapeGB for MF scanning, I think in a film comparison article. I've used Digitalab for developing colour negatives, and they were fine. Their prices look very competitive.

A lab I would offer caution about is one based in Burnley...my credit card details were fraudulently used in Colne (down the road from Burnley) the same day to buy GBP 20 of pet shop stuff...took me ages to convince my credit card company to reverse the charge.

 

[Brac]

You could try Transpacolor in Leicester who are a professional lab. They have been going years but I haven't used them recently so I don't know what their quality & scans would be like They were fine when I did use them. It's worth buying a copy of Amateur Photographer, as a lot of labs advertise in there.

 

[benjiboy]

I use Ag Photographic in Birmingham for all my E6 work, their work has always been perfect.

 

[ronnies]

I use A&M Imaging in Edinburgh but only for film processing. They don't do any scanning for me. Processing seems good to me.

Ronnie

 

[pentaxuser]

I wonder if photoworks68 did find a lab that met his requirements in the end. I assume so as he last posted on this in 2011 while still searching for a suitable lab but he is still about so I am curious as to whom he settled on

I imagine that choice may be more limited now than then

pentaxuser

 

[RLangham]

You know some E6 films (far from all).you can actually develop decently well at home with b/w developer and a color kit.

Develop to about the standard time with the B/W developer, rinse thoroughly, expose to incandescent or daylight LED light for about thirty seconds on each side, then redevelop as standard c-41 film, bleaching perhaps a bit longer (or so I've heard.) I tested it on C-41 film and it does produce a positive image with correct colors and contrast, so I imagine on a clear-backed E-6 film it might work great (or it might not. Ektachrome is not reputed to work well with C-41 chemicals).

 

[pentaxpete]

I can recommend John Salim Photography of Southend-on-Sea ESSEX England -- he does a very good job on E6 and NO VAT to add !
http://www.johnsalimphotographic.co.uk/e6.html

 

[Bikerider]

I can recommend Peak Imaging in Sheffield. Never had a problem, fast turn-round, clean and consistent slides / negs.

http://www.peak-imaging.co.uk/

I used to use them when slide film was King, but they still have a very good reputation.

 

[pentaxuser]

I can recommend John Salim Photography of Southend-on-Sea ESSEX England -- he does a very good job on E6 and NO VAT to add !
http://www.johnsalimphotographic.co.uk/e6.html

Pete I take it that you mean the VAT is already in the prices quoted and not that the company evades the payment of VAT bu not adding it to the price

pentaxuser

 

[tezzasmall]

Pete I take it that you mean the VAT is already in the prices quoted and not that the company evades the payment of VAT bu not adding it to the price

pentaxuser

Purely out of interest, I've just looked at the site and can find no mention of VAT being added later or included in the prices shown. In fact I can find no mention of it at all, which I find a little strange...

Personally I would accept that VAT is included in the prices listed, unless for some reason photographic processing is exempt from it?

Terry S