Processing 120 Transparency Film at Wal-Mart

TareqPhoto said:

As B&W i do that at home, but for color i must use the lab as i don't have the color kit chemicals and i don't think i can get it at all, so should i give up the color film photography?

...now what i have to do to decrease the expense of color developing when i can't have the chemicals to do at home?!!!

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Are you prevented from having the color chemicals by regulatory restrictions, i.e. their possession is illegal? Or is is merely difficult to acquire them where you live?

Your profile says UAE, and that's a modern country with good infrastructure. Of course, the demand for color photo chemicals may so low that there's no place to get them. And international shipping might be prohibitively expensive.

If you can home brew chemicals I know there were some recipes for color work going around a few years ago. But I don't know if anyone has ever nailed down a cookbook set that can be used to get professional quality results.

BradS said:

You guys are lucky. Last time I presented a roll of 120 for processing to the clerk at the "photo counter" at Walmart, she just looked at me like I was from outer space or something. I'm exaggerating...but, only slightly. I've dropped the last few rolls of family snapshot (35mm) at walgreens but they do such a horrible job, I guess I'd rather not even bother. The clerk at walgreens at least knew what 120 film was but...they claimed that their machine wouldn't/couldn't do it (which I'm pretty sure is BS).

Wish there were someplace local to have my family snaps processed.

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It most likely was NOT BS. A different carrier is necessary for a processing machine to transport 120 film.

michaelbsc said:

Are you prevented from having the color chemicals by regulatory restrictions, i.e. their possession is illegal? Or is is merely difficult to acquire them where you live?

Your profile says UAE, and that's a modern country with good infrastructure. Of course, the demand for color photo chemicals may so low that there's no place to get them. And international shipping might be prohibitively expensive.

If you can home brew chemicals I know there were some recipes for color work going around a few years ago. But I don't know if anyone has ever nailed down a cookbook set that can be used to get professional quality results.

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Checking online i use only or mainly 2 stores for buying films and chemicals, both have the color kit as ORMD or that they are not shipped out of USA, and USPS don't ship chemicals to us, also Aramex who ship items from USA to us don't ship chemicals, i have to check many websites to see who has those color film chemicals [C41/E6] they can ship it to me, and who knows how much it will cost to ship to UAE, doesn't matter we are modern, it doesn't mean we have everything and anything, i still didn't see items i found in Europe or USA available here in my country, film is no such markets in my country, about less than 10% or even less than 5% using film maybe [they shoot 35mm mostly, 1 or 2 kind of films] i have to do a statistics, i have a friend who shoot film a lot and he will know the places in UAE if available, he told me i didn't film film here or there, maybe about very few film i could find which are expired or no longer available by manufacturers with very low quantity, so we all buy films or chemicals online which kills our budget same as digit.. stuff, when i was in USA for 4 weeks as vacation i could manage to go back home with a bag full of films, i could buy chemicals as well and carry it, so how can i support film if it will be that much difficult to get and expensive to ship more often?!!!

I use the local Rite-Aid for processing, they are a Fuji shop, and as others have said it goes to Dwain's if it is E-6. They do C-41 in house and they do a nice job of processing, scanning, and printing C-41.

Something I have found strange is that they only do some services that Dwain's offers like E-6 process and mount or do not mount 120 or 35mm. They will not do Super 8 and if you want scans of slides they don't do that either. I have been told that it has something to do with the contract that Fuji has with Dwain's, honestly it doesn't bother me, they do nice work and I like to project my slides anyway. I can do E-6 at home, but I hate mounting slides myself.

B&W I process at home, it's just easier and way faster, people are always amazed when I take their photo soon after they arrive at my home and hand them a print before they leave without ever leaving the house.

Jim Noel said:

It most likely was NOT BS. A different carrier is necessary for a processing machine to transport 120 film.

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No, it is kind of BS. They don't need the 120 transport because they don't develop the "send out stuff" in the store. My local store sends it to a Fuji lab that is set up for 120. I have tried to talk to the clerks in the store and it's usually a waste of time. Just write "SEND OUT, E-6 120 SLIDES, DO NOT CUT" something like that then drop it in the slot and walk a way. Hope that helps. It works and is a true bargain.

I am one of those ""SEND OUT, E-6 120 SLIDES, DO NOT CUT" guys that use Walmart for E-6 processing of 120 roll films and I have been quite happy. Lately though the turnaround time has become extremely long. I just called Fuji lab and they just entered a roll of Astia into their system that I had dropped off at Walmart 10 days ago. I don't mind waiting 2 weeks for the film to come back, but looks like the turnaround time has been in excess of 2-3 weeks lately. Has anyone else experienced this?

It could be that the lab is getting more films to process during the summer. Or it could also be more people are getting into films and Walmart processing thanks to forum posts like this. Not that I am complaining....

kmallick said:

It could be that the lab is getting more films to process during the summer. Or it could also be more people are getting into films and Walmart processing thanks to forum posts like this. Not that I am complaining....

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Or could it be that Walmart fired more workers and the ones that still have their jobs have to do the work of 3...?

Yes you taught her well

Rick A said:

I am blesed, my daughter does most of the film processing at our local Rite Aid. She is a perfectionist, I taught her well.

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All the wild kids are shooting digital and have nor respect for old folks that shoot film

UPDATE: I made a trip to the photo dept at our local WalMart tonight. This time, I spoke with a very well informed and knowledgeable fellow named Ed. He told me all about the Fuji Frontier at that site. He explained that although the machine was quite capable of processing film (and LOTs of it) as well as making prints, management had decided that it was not feasible to run the film developing portion. They were currently only running it as a printer and making CDs. All film is indeed sent out to Fuji for dev & print.

So, I am thrilled to have a relatively local place for drop off processing service again.

kmallick said:

I am one of those ""SEND OUT, E-6 120 SLIDES, DO NOT CUT" guys that use Walmart for E-6 processing of 120 roll films and I have been quite happy. Lately though the turnaround time has become extremely long. I just called Fuji lab and they just entered a roll of Astia into their system that I had dropped off at Walmart 10 days ago. I don't mind waiting 2 weeks for the film to come back, but looks like the turnaround time has been in excess of 2-3 weeks lately. Has anyone else experienced this?

It could be that the lab is getting more films to process during the summer. Or it could also be more people are getting into films and Walmart processing thanks to forum posts like this. Not that I am complaining....

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I am impressed again. I got a call today exactly 2 weeks after dropping my films off at Walmart. Fuji did an excellent job on my Portra 400 and Fuji Astia roll. I am a little confused about the prices they charge. It varies from roll to roll. The C41 prints are always the cheapest, <$2 per roll with prints. The processing charge for a E-6 120 roll falls anywhere between $7 and $10. I don't understand the rhyme and reason. Can someone shed some light on this? Does the cost depend on the type of roll? Velvia vs Astia vs Elitechrome?

The funny part was the call from the photo specialist at Walmart: "You have film ready for pick up. Not sure what they are, a few prints and a roll of cardboard.."