Trying to find a lab which prints big colour enlargements......

rustyoldford · Jul 15, 2005

...in the UK, preferably in Scotland, and even better in Glasgow!

I print my own up to 16x12 in my Fujimoto printer, but have to send out bigger work to a pro' lab who just scans my neg' and then makes a crappy big di**tal print......

When they were changing over from optical prints to di**tal I even brought in one of each of the same image they printed for me in each process.
The optical one was clearly a million times better, but what have they stuck with?!

What kind of progress is that meant to be?!
:confused:

roteague · Jul 15, 2005

rustyoldford said:
...in the UK, preferably in Scotland, and even better in Glasgow!

I print my own up to 16x12 in my Fujimoto printer, but have to send out bigger work to a pro' lab who just scans my neg' and then makes a crappy big di**tal print......

When they were changing over from optical prints to di**tal I even brought in one of each of the same image they printed for me in each process.
The optical one was clearly a million times better, but what have they stuck with?!

What kind of progress is that meant to be?!
:confused:

I use West Coast Imaging, but they are in California (they do work for photographers all over the world). They can do Fuji Crystal Archive prints to 40x50 or Epson (not sure of the sizes). See: http://www.westcoastimaging.com/

Rick Olson · Jul 15, 2005

Yes ... agree with West Coast Imaging. They do fantastic work with color and black and white.

rustyoldford · Jul 15, 2005

OOOPS!!!
Sorry just noticed I've posted this in the B+W section!

Just had a look at the West Coast site, I get the impression that they scan the negs and then somehow expose the paper with LEDs?!

Does nobody just use a colour enlarger anymore?!

roteague · Jul 15, 2005

That is correct; they scan and print on a Chromira (which uses LED's). The prints are done on Fuji Crystal Archive which is a true photo paper (RA4).

Nick Zentena · Jul 15, 2005

How big? If it's 20x24 or less why not just pick up a big Jobo drum. It won't take more then two commerical prints to pay for the 3063 drum. If you're printing that big often you could pay for a Jobo processor and the drum pretty quickly.

David A. Goldfarb · Jul 15, 2005

rustyoldford said:
OOOPS!!!
Sorry just noticed I've posted this in the B+W section!

I moved the thread to the color section.

West Coast Imaging does fine work, even if it's digital.

There are a number of New York pro labs that continue to offer optical color printing. I usually use Modernage for work that I don't do myself (www.modernage.com). Duggal is another option (www.duggal.com) and for Ilfochromes try iChrome Editions (www.cloneachrome.com).

gr82bart · Jul 15, 2005

In London, I have used:
Dead Link Removed
http://www.metroimaging.co.uk/

Regards, Art.

boyooso · Jul 15, 2005

rustyoldford said:
Does nobody just use a colour enlarger anymore?!

I still do But alas, my lab is in Arizona, USA. www.cibachrome.com

One thing I can assure you is that there is someone in your country that is still dedicated to traditional photographic processes as we are. We have found that there is somewhat of a back lash against digital printing technologies and many photographers are swithcing back from digital or looking for a new lab because their lab stopped doing traditional prints.

Don't give up looking for a lab in UK! Good Luck.

Corey

mark · Jul 15, 2005

Sorry Rusty, but

Corey are you guys open on weekends? Seems to be the only time I make it to Flagstaff. You two come highly recomended. Very highly.

Claire Senft · Jul 16, 2005

Just a crazy thought. Why not get your feet wet in making larger prints by printing some ponoramics using your Fujimoto. 12 inches wide by any length.

rustyoldford · Jul 16, 2005

Yes I already do use the Fujimoto for 20x12 images, but a lot of my images aren't panoramics.
The Jobo drum idea is interesting but I somtimes have needed to have 50x50 inch prints done. My current darkroom is way to small to even project that size!

I really want to get away from any hint of digital processes, as that is the one of the key elements of my work, it seems a bit odd to go to all the trouble of making an optical image just to have a lab mess it up by scanning the neg at the end!

I'll check out those London labs, cheers!
(there must be some nearer me than that though I hope!)

Alan Johnson · Jul 16, 2005

For mail order up to 20x30 in prints,Google for westminster studios crawley and get a phone number.I have seen a fairlly recent advertisement from this company for"non digital real photographs".They seem to have more of a budget price service.

rustyoldford · Jul 16, 2005

"non digital real photographs"

That's what I like to hear!
No website, but got a phone number.... will try soon.

Still need to find somewhere that prints even bigger and ideally in Scotland or northern England.

Ian Leake · Jul 17, 2005

rustyoldford said:
Still need to find somewhere that prints even bigger and ideally in Scotland or northern England.

How about BPD Photech in Warrington. They advertise up to 40x30 and come highly recommended. There's an advert in the back of this month's Outdoor Photography (July) or they're on the web at http://www.bpdphotech.com/.

Ian.

rustyoldford · Jul 17, 2005

Definately the most promising yet Ian, cheers.
Prices not too much more than the current digital guff I'm paying for as well....

If only there was one in Scotland!

Trying to find a lab which prints big colour enlargements......

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