Wal-Mart's Send-Out Film Service

brofkand · Jan 20, 2009

I know they send film to Dwayne's.

The question is, how much does it cost? Is it much cheaper than just going to Dwayne's to begin with?

What I am trying to ascertain is, can I buy a few rolls of Kodachrome or some other slide film from Freestyle and drop it off at my local Wal-Mart, and in a week or two I'll get a call that my slides are in?

Does anyone know of a site where the costs are detailed?

Thanks!

davela · Jan 21, 2009

I pay about $5 a roll at Walmart. It is fast and they call me when it's done. (takes about a week - faster than is used to be). I've put about a dozen rolls through them and I've only had flawless results and much better service than the local "pro" camera shops like Sammy's Camera. Highly recommended. I user them for 120 film too ($1.44 a roll for C41 printed). Same fast and low cost results with 35mm and 120 E6. In fact it is said they will process all 8mm, super 8mm, and 16mm movie film even Kodachrome and I know for a fact they also do 110 film.

Contrary to what you might think, some of the employees at the Walmart photo departments actually know something about real analog photography. I guess this is where some art students or genuine enthusiasts end up working, which is good for users and it gives them some work in an area related to their training or disposition!

...maybe someday we'll all have to don the blue smock

declark · Jan 21, 2009

I've taken probably a dozen or more rolls of E-6 and a few K64 to my local Walmart. I use a black sharpie pen and cross out all the options on the envelope and write boldly "SEND OUT - SLIDES" or something like that at the bottom. So far the only problem I have had is that one of my rolls got returned to a different store, but they corrected that in a couple of days and no charge. The store I use hasn't much of a clue about slides and they usually think that the order was done wrong since there are no prints. I usually have to explain it's just fine, it's exactly what I ordered. For the longest time didn't have the right charge on E-6 120 and were only charging me $1.36/roll, which I tell them that it should be more like $4.88, (even $4.88 is a good deal and I'd hate to have them shut their E-6 service down for not making enough coin). Anyway, all the slides I've gotten back from them thru a Fuji lab or Dwaynes have been very clean with good colors, which is more than I could say for the local so called pro lab which usually provided lots of crud and scratches at no extra charge (actually a lot of extra charge). The other slick thing is being able to call an automated number to check status of my order using the envelope number, usually it's about 5-7 days.

Alex Bishop-Thorpe · Jan 21, 2009

Here in Australia if you want to shoot Kodachrome you need to buy it direct from America and then mail it to Dwayne's. That's postage here, postage there, then postage back here again. Plus the exchange rate isn't favorable by any means.
If you can shoot Kodachrome and drop just it in at Wal-Mart, please take advantage of it, it cant get much simpler (or cheaper) than that.

Fotogeorge · Jan 21, 2009

Walmart service Vs. Pro Lab

I have used Walmart's send out service. I have no complaints, except I rather not wait 7-14 days. I've had sloppy care of the negatives with 1hr photo service at Walmart. Maybe it's about the lack of care by poorly trained staff, or just because I didn't want prints. I would rather pay a bit more and drive 23 miles to a pro lab, than wait for processing. Sometimes, I can call ahead to schedule E-6 processing, while I wait. I appreciate the tender loving care of my film.
I want to help the pro lab stay in business. I'd be devistated, and stuck with a freezer of film, if they went out of business. Imagine: a cellar full of wine and you can't drink it anymore. I can't imagine left with only digital. I don't have a place to set up a wet lab.

TerryM · Jan 22, 2009

Fleath said:
Here in Australia if you want to shoot Kodachrome you need to buy it direct from America and then mail it to Dwayne's. That's postage here, postage there, then postage back here again. Plus the exchange rate isn't favorable by any means. ...

Alex, did you ever consider acting as a Kodachrome Retailer in Australia? You can take orders from people which could be purchased from Kodak about every 2 months. Kodak would mail the bulk purchase to you, and you would then mail it out to them in Australia. They would mail you their Films for developing, and about once a month or two you would send a bulk order to Dwayne's for processing which would be returned to you. The developed Films would then again be individually mailed in Australia. The "bulk" mail costs to America would be shared by everyone in the order. If it costed $20 and there were 20 people, everyone would only be paying $1 of the postage. The only complicated part is not mixing up anyone's order!

BetterSense · Jan 23, 2009

This is all news to me. I thought Walmart only did C41, 35mm, period. If you really have other options, what are they? What film sizes and processes can you get done with walmart send-away? Heck I've never shot slide film before, but I'd buy a couple rolls to try out if I could just get it done at walmart.

mongo6407 · Jan 23, 2009

b&w service?

Can the send away service handle 120 MF true b&w print processing (non c-41). I want to use them to process some efke (adox) MF b&w print film.

pauliej · Jan 23, 2009

Does anyone know for sure about wally-mart? Maybe they just have robots or a bunch of monkeys developing the stuff, and can only do what they have been programmed to do (sort of like the drones working in their stores). Digital, C-41, hey - it's all the same to them. Just a thought...

paulie

removed account4 · Jan 23, 2009

i have been using sam's club and walmart send out for close to 7 years now.
they have processed my 110, 8mm movie film, 120 chrome+c41
as well as chromogenic bw (both kodak and ilford)
as well as 35mm color, slides and some b/w that i didn't want to myself.
all the stores are different if they do it in-house. the stores i have used ( mostly sam's club )
send it out to fuji, and if it is 1/2 frame, c-41, movie film, 110 and 120 format films they send it all to dwaynes.
it is all - send out - since my store doesn't have a lab, and don't have any complaints. about fuji ( their albany ny plant )
or dwaynes. unlike paulie's comment, they are not drones or robots, and they actually have a clue, and they charge a fraction
of what the local pro-lab or local mini-lab might charge for the same service.
if this wasn't true, i wouldn't use them ...

i am not sure, but from what i remember, it is a discounted charge if you go through sam's or walmart rather than sending directly. i know this is true with everything from movie film to 120 film ...

why don't you call both dwaynes and walmart and compare prices ?

mongo6407 · Jan 23, 2009

How to label for send out service?

How do you recommend labeling the film drop off envelope to guarantee send out service for a set of b&w prints? I'd hate to have someone in the store expose the roll by accident.

jnanian said:
i have been using sam's club and walmart send out for close to 7 years now.
they have processed my 110, 8mm movie film, 120 chrome+c41
as well as chromogenic bw (both kodak and ilford)
as well as 35mm color, slides and some b/w that i didn't want to myself.
all the stores are different if they do it in-house. the stores i have used ( mostly sam's club )
send it out to fuji, and if it is 1/2 frame, c-41, movie film, 110 and 120 format films they send it all to dwaynes.
it is all - send out - since my store doesn't have a lab, and don't have any complaints. about fuji ( their albany ny plant )
or dwaynes. unlike paulie's comment, they are not drones or robots, and they actually have a clue, and they charge a fraction
of what the local pro-lab or local mini-lab might charge for the same service.
if this wasn't true, i wouldn't use them ...

i am not sure, but from what i remember, it is a discounted charge if you go through sam's or walmart rather than sending directly. i know this is true with everything from movie film to 120 film ...

why don't you call both dwaynes and walmart and compare prices ?

removed account4 · Jan 23, 2009

mongo6407 said:
How do you recommend labeling the film drop off envelope to guarantee send out service for a set of b&w prints? I'd hate to have someone in the store expose the roll by accident.

why don't you talk to the store and find out what they recommend you
do to assure the film goes out and doesn't stay there?
i am not positive, but i don't think the inhouse labs at walmart
are able to process b/w unless it is chromogenic b/w .. but it is best
to ask at whatever store you will be working with. ask to speak with the manager ( not the shift supervisor ) and ask them ...

good luck!

john

dracblau · Jan 23, 2009

davela said:
I pay about $5 a roll at Walmart. It is fast and they call me when it's done. (takes about a week - faster than is used to be). I've put about a dozen rolls through them and I've only had flawless results and much better service than the local "pro" camera shops like Sammy's Camera. Highly recommended. I user them for 120 film too ($1.44 a roll for C41 printed). Same fast and low cost results with 35mm and 120 E6. In fact it is said they will process all 8mm, super 8mm, and 16mm movie film even Kodachrome and I know for a fact they also do 110 film.

Contrary to what you might think, some of the employees at the Walmart photo departments actually know something about real analog photography. I guess this is where some art students or genuine enthusiasts end up working, which is good for users and it gives them some work in an area related to their training or disposition!

...maybe someday we'll all have to don the blue smock

Which Walmart do you use regularly? I work in Pasadena and would like to use a place that does decent work in developing.

Thanks,
Alex

TerryM · Jan 23, 2009

Wal-Mart used Qualex

Wal-Mart's send out service was going to Kodak's Qualex subsidiary -- which they're closing down at the end of March. Qualex did develop every type of Photographic and Movie Film, and made all sizes of Optical Photographs. The Executives at Kodak seem to want to ruin their company which can be concluded by this utterly stupid decision to close Qualex. I've contacted Ilford to suggest that they now buy Qualex from Kodak. I hope they listen.

B&Wpositive · Jan 23, 2009

TerryM said:
Wal-Mart's send out service was going to Kodak's Qualex subsidiary -- which they're closing down at the end of March. Qualex did develop every type of Photographic and Movie Film, and made all sizes of Optical Photographs. The Executives at Kodak seem to want to ruin their company which can be concluded by this utterly stupid decision to close Qualex. I've contacted Ilford to suggest that they now buy Qualex from Kodak. I hope they listen.

I could have sworn that Wal-Mart uses Fujicolor...

removed account4 · Jan 23, 2009

B&Wpositive said:
I could have sworn that Wal-Mart uses Fujicolor...

they do

jmxphoto · Jan 23, 2009

Does Wal-Mart's ummm... "content cesorship" extend to their send out service? I have about 5 rolls of 120/220 E-6 and I think one of them has some glamour possibly "implied nudity" on it. I usually send mine out to Titan down in Detroit, but they charge something like $5 in addition to shipping just to ship it.

davela · Jan 24, 2009

dracblau said:
Which Walmart do you use regularly? I work in Pasadena and would like to use a place that does decent work in developing.

Thanks,
Alex

Alex: The one in Duarte

davela · Jan 24, 2009

jmxphoto said:
Does Wal-Mart's ummm... "content cesorship" extend to their send out service? I have about 5 rolls of 120/220 E-6 and I think one of them has some glamour possibly "implied nudity" on it. I usually send mine out to Titan down in Detroit, but they charge something like $5 in addition to shipping just to ship it.

Don't know - I don't shoot racy stuff. I do know they provide a great service to the amateur photographic community - filling a real gap. No one else cares to serve us for anything close to their prices. My guess is it won't last forever too.

davela · Jan 24, 2009

TerryM said:
Wal-Mart's send out service was going to Kodak's Qualex subsidiary -- which they're closing down at the end of March. Qualex did develop every type of Photographic and Movie Film, and made all sizes of Optical Photographs. The Executives at Kodak seem to want to ruin their company which can be concluded by this utterly stupid decision to close Qualex. I've contacted Ilford to suggest that they now buy Qualex from Kodak. I hope they listen.

Kodak, like a lot of companies, appears to be run by managers that don't use their own products. That is the only way I can explain their disconnect with the real world. I can sell an old roll of Kodachrome 25 from my fridge on eBay for $35 a box, so why can't they figure out there's money in something like that? Small film makers will just about beat your damn door down for a cartridge of Super 8 film that is magnetic striped! Of course Kodak discontinued that too. Remember Kodachrome 200?? Ektar 25??, etc. etc.

Of course they'd rather focus on churning out throw-away point-and-shoot digital cameras and compete with dozens of other also-ran makers of these, instead of focusing on their own very unique and precious assets. They seem to think their "brand" is so precious that it is what counts now, not the product. This is the sort of nonsense apparently that is taught in high falutin business schools.

(end of rant!)

bob100684 · Jan 24, 2009

davela said:
I pay about $5 a roll at Walmart. It is fast and they call me when it's done. (takes about a week - faster than is used to be). I've put about a dozen rolls through them and I've only had flawless results and much better service than the local "pro" camera shops like Sammy's Camera. Highly recommended. I user them for 120 film too ($1.44 a roll for C41 printed). Same fast and low cost results with 35mm and 120 E6. In fact it is said they will process all 8mm, super 8mm, and 16mm movie film even Kodachrome and I know for a fact they also do 110 film.

Contrary to what you might think, some of the employees at the Walmart photo departments actually know something about real analog photography. I guess this is where some art students or genuine enthusiasts end up working, which is good for users and it gives them some work in an area related to their training or disposition!

...maybe someday we'll all have to don the blue smock

It all depends, what you are paying for at a pro lab theoretically is consistency. I started my lab jobs at a drug store, with an old optical mini lab.....we were still able to outprint frontiers and ran a business out of town which claimed to cater to pros/advanced amateurs.....why? We cared. It may have helped that my boss was the "district lab trainer", but the point is, if you wind up having a staff that CARES results will be better.

mongo6407 · Jan 24, 2009

120 MF C-41 prints size

What is the standard print size for walmart's send out service for medium format 120 color print film (C-41)? I am shooting using an old MF folder 6x6 Agfa Isolette so square prints would be preferred. Are the standard prints 4"x4" or 5"x5" or something altogether different?

BetterSense · Jan 24, 2009

This thread seems to indicate that you can easily and quite cheaply get square prints. It's a very informative thread overall, but does contain some impolite language.

http://forums.skateperception.com/index.php?showtopic=157892

TerryM · Jan 24, 2009

B&Wpositive said:
I could have sworn that Wal-Mart uses Fujicolor...

They switched over from Qualex. I'm not sure if they use Fuji in Canada though.

TerryM · Jan 24, 2009

davela said:
Kodak, like a lot of companies, appears to be run by managers that don't use their own products. That is the only way I can explain their disconnect with the real world. I can sell an old roll of Kodachrome 25 from my fridge on eBay for $35 a box, so why can't they figure out there's money in something like that? Small film makers will just about beat your damn door down for a cartridge of Super 8 film that is magnetic striped! Of course Kodak discontinued that too. Remember Kodachrome 200?? Ektar 25??, etc. etc.

Of course they'd rather focus on churning out throw-away point-and-shoot digital cameras and compete with dozens of other also-ran makers of these, instead of focusing on their own very unique and precious assets. They seem to think their "brand" is so precious that it is what counts now, not the product. This is the sort of nonsense apparently that is taught in high falutin business schools.

Hi Dave,
You've hit the nail on the head. I had posted this on the Qualex Thread, but here are some figures that will really leave you fuming. In the 3rd Quarter of last year, Kodak only made 2.8% Profit on their Digital sales, but made fully 11.2% Profit on their Film sales! This was fully $77 Million Dollars in Profit from their Film sales in July to September 2008, but only $23 Million in Profit from their Digital sales! Why do they not do more to faithfully serve their Film customers? I would like to know why! They treat us with contempt. The fact is that they DO make profit on their Films, but they don't think that they're making enough profits! Qualex is probably profitable too. Those Kodachrome Films they scrapped were profitable, but not enough for the current rotten bunch of Executives who run the Eastman Kodak Company . These Executives work on behalf of a few money-grubbing Mutual Funds who are the majority Shareholders. They went to the wrong school of business where "revenues" are more important than "profits". Total Digital Revenues for the 3rdQ were $820 million (up 7% over the previous year) compared to $764 Million for Film (which was down). These Executives seem to think that there will somehow be a more profitable future in selling junk electronic cameras and equipment rather than a skilled manufactured product like Film. Volume is what they call it, and this is also how they thought at GM. Well, as GM is finding out, volume is not more important than profits. I've reconciled myself to the likelihood that these rotten Executives will sell Kodak's Film business to Fuji or Ilford, and I think this will be a good thing since those two companies DO believe in Film and are much more committed to serving their customers. Under these Mutual Fund managers, Kodak has become like a Wall Street firm where 'money money money' is all that matters. It's very sad, but Companies like that always go belly up.

Wal-Mart's Send-Out Film Service

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