Wal-Mart's Send-Out Film Service

cmacd123 · Feb 9, 2009

davela said:
I can guarantee you that if Kodak simply put a sound stripe on their Super-8 film as they once did, small film makers would be beating their door down to buy it at high prices.

MY understanding is that they had a process to put on a sound stripe that used a solvent to paint on the binder, and then recover the solvent, and the equipment ran afoul of the EPA because the solvent recovery was not 100%.

It would have cost them a small fortune to redesign the process, and that would only be worth the investmnet if they could count on a large volume of sales, like the total volume of super 8 going to the striped verson.

The existing Super 8 line is probaly considered as a subsidy to Film Schools so that the kids comming up will understand that Film is different from Video, and so want to work on Film productions rather then Video productions.

The movie Kodachrome was apperently a different product than the slide film, and Kodak does have standards for quality that mean they can't hold stuff in the freezer for more than a few years. (in fact I suspect that they don't have frozen storage, just refigerated for the "coffins" that hold master rolls. (60 inches or so by 3000FT)

nuckabean · Feb 14, 2009

Just as an update, the day after I posted that, I called fuji and they figured out my account number for me and we discovered that the film was in store. I got it that afternoon and it looked great. The next question is, has anyone asked for scans from 120? If so, how much were they?

MG645 · Feb 15, 2009

Wal-Mart Process 120 Film!? Hallelujah!!!

I'm a digital shooter who has just begin to start shooting film. I found a local photo labe here in the Knoxville area that develops E-6/B&W film. The first time I went there I had them develop a roll of Ilford 3200. I asked them how much they charged for develop only. They said $7. I then asked if they developed 120 film. They said yes.

To make a long story short. I picked up a Mamiya 645E and dropped of my first roll of 120 film. When I came to pick up my develop only 120 film they said, "that will be $20" That's right $20! As you can imagine I almost had a heart attack. I told them that was outrageous, and for that price I would develop it myself. They gave me some ridiculous story about how the negatives were larger so it cost more.

I plan on doing my own B&W developing in the near future. But I also want to shoot color slide film...and their is no way I'm paying $20 per roll.

So here's my question:
Can all Wal-marts develop 35mm, 120, 126, and 127 film? I asked my local Sam's Club if they only develop 35mm film and they said yes. But I never asked if they shipped out other formats.

Sorry for the long post, but already one lab closed down in my area and, these film labs are not going to stay in business if they keep charging people $20 bucks, in my opinion.

Irrev.Rev. · Feb 15, 2009

Wal-Mart's ...

Just retrieved first processed roll of Velvia 120! Looks good, and less than $5.

John

spotulate · Feb 16, 2009

MG645, FYI this thread is in reference to the SEND OUT (i.e. "3 day drop box) service only, not the lab in the store. In store labs are only set up to accommodate 35mm and APS printing. Some stores also do 110 onsite, as well. Keep in mind that while the prices for the send out service are very reasonable the turnaround time for 120 and other 'odd formats' is "guaranteed two weeks from the send-out date." In my area it's usually a week but sometimes takes the full two weeks. Happy shooting!

mongo6407 · Feb 18, 2009

5" prints

Does anyone know what the price would be for b&w prints from 120 film for

5"x5" size? I paid $1.56 for 3" color prints and developing, but since the quality is so good, I'd rather have larger prints right away.

Also, can the send away service scan the negatives directly to disc instead of making prints? Any ideas on the charges for these services?

Does Fuji do the b&w developing for non-c41 film or does the film get sorted to another facility?

davela · Feb 23, 2009

cmacd123 said:
MY understanding is that they had a process to put on a sound stripe that used a solvent to paint on the binder, and then recover the solvent, and the equipment ran afoul of the EPA because the solvent recovery was not 100%.

It would have cost them a small fortune to redesign the process, and that would only be worth the investmnet if they could count on a large volume of sales, like the total volume of super 8 going to the striped verson.

The existing Super 8 line is probaly considered as a subsidy to Film Schools so that the kids comming up will understand that Film is different from Video, and so want to work on Film productions rather then Video productions.

The movie Kodachrome was apperently a different product than the slide film, and Kodak does have standards for quality that mean they can't hold stuff in the freezer for more than a few years. (in fact I suspect that they don't have frozen storage, just refigerated for the "coffins" that hold master rolls. (60 inches or so by 3000FT)

Yeah I've heard all of these stories too, and I'm skeptical. I still do not think they value their own technical prowess in film fully. Laying a mag stripe on a film is trivial compared to the industrial complexity of making even the most basic semiconductors (for instance). Fortunately there are overseas film producers that understand supply and demand better. They don't have Kodak's technology however.

B&Wpositive · May 20, 2009

Hi,

Can anyone who has used the Wal Mart to Dwayne's send out service recently tell me what the current prices are for 120 and 220 E6 and C-41 film?

I heard they went up.
Thanks.

c.w. · May 20, 2009

B&Wpositive said:
Hi,

Can anyone who has used the Wal Mart to Dwayne's send out service recently tell me what the current prices are for 120 and 220 E6 and C-41 film?

I heard they went up.
Thanks.

I just got back a roll of C-41 120 w/ prints - it was about $1.50, i'm not sure of the exact price. I checked the "5 inch prints" box thinking they meant 5x7, but i got back 5x3.5. Watch out for that.

kodachrome64 · May 20, 2009

c.w. said:
I just got back a roll of C-41 120 w/ prints - it was about $1.50, i'm not sure of the exact price. I checked the "5 inch prints" box thinking they meant 5x7, but i got back 5x3.5. Watch out for that.

$1.50 for dev and prints? Not bad. Fortunately my local Ritz will run my 120 through their Frontier (even though they can't make prints). But for the convenience I think I'll stick to that as long as it's available.

I send my Kodachrome and some 35mm E6 through Wal-Mart and they recently upped the price from $4.88 to $6.88. It's still worth it and much cheaper than direct to Dwayne's with shipping. How much is the 120 E6? How does it come back?

kodachrome64 · May 20, 2009

mongo6407 said:
Does anyone know what the price would be for b&w prints from 120 film for

5"x5" size? I paid $1.56 for 3" color prints and developing, but since the quality is so good, I'd rather have larger prints right away.

Also, can the send away service scan the negatives directly to disc instead of making prints? Any ideas on the charges for these services?

Does Fuji do the b&w developing for non-c41 film or does the film get sorted to another facility?

I tried to get a scan CD from my Kodachrome that I sent through Wal-Mart send-out service, and Dwayne's put their little slip in the box saying they couldn't do it. I'm guessing it's not a contracted service though I have not since tried to request it for E6 rolls, and I've only ever sent 35mm through Wal-Mart. I'd be more interested in a scan CD for 35mm, since I can do a halfway decent job of scanning my 6x7 slides with my flatbed due to their size.

BetterSense · May 20, 2009

I send my Kodachrome and some 35mm E6 through Wal-Mart and they recently upped the price from $4.88 to $6.88

I noticed this as well, quite a bummer!

patois · Jan 12, 2011

I added to photomfa.com Dead Link Removed out so that there is a central place to review it from.

engineerchris · Mar 8, 2011

Has anyone done 120/220 or E6 lately? I have searched for pricing and availability, but all the posts seem to be a couple years old.

134k · Mar 8, 2011

here in the bay area (california), e-6 was $4.88 and $2.88 for c-41(no prints). I just got my rolls back last week.

kmallick · Oct 24, 2011

I have been using Walmart for my C41 rolls of 120/220. Fuji lab used to pick up the films 3 times a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday at my local Walmart here in Denver suburb. Turnaround time used to be ~ 2 weeks or less. Lately, the turnaround time has gotten worse. I was dropping off a roll yesterday and the Walmart guy informed me that Fuji lab has cut down on the number of days they pick up or drop off the processed films. Now they are picking up 2 days a week: Wednesday and Friday. What a shame!

The actual days may vary from place to place. But can someone else verify if this is a local phenomenon or if Fuji lab is actually cutting down on Walmart pickup frequency?

nickrapak · Oct 24, 2011

kmallick said:
I have been using Walmart for my C41 rolls of 120/220. Fuji lab used to pick up the films 3 times a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday at my local Walmart here in Denver suburb. Turnaround time used to be ~ 2 weeks or less. Lately, the turnaround time has gotten worse. I was dropping off a roll yesterday and the Walmart guy informed me that Fuji lab has cut down on the number of days they pick up or drop off the processed films. Now they are picking up 2 days a week: Wednesday and Friday. What a shame!

The actual days may vary from place to place. But can someone else verify if this is a local phenomenon or if Fuji lab is actually cutting down on Walmart pickup frequency?

It's not just local. Fuji has completely revamped their film processing service, cutting their nationwide system of labs to a single lab in (IIRC) North Carolina. They have also discontinued several subcontracting services via Dwayne's, including all motion picture developing. The problem is that if 35mm C-41 goes to a one week turnaround, people will not be inclined to wait, especially seeing as how digital is instant.

craigclu · Oct 24, 2011

It's been awhile since I had done a roll of 35mm color and when dropping one off at Walmart yesterday, was told that the local store wasn't doing negatives any more and there was a one week turnaround for sending out. I was fortunate as my small town Walmart had a very engaged German woman who was meticulous in managing the photo department and the results were as good as I got through any lab, pro or not. You city folk have some options, (though dwindling, I'm sure) but I live in a small city <10,000 with few alternatives. I never cared much for the send-out results from Fuji so I'll need to start a search for alternatives.

kmallick · Oct 25, 2011

craigclu said:
It's been awhile since I had done a roll of 35mm color and when dropping one off at Walmart yesterday, was told that the local store wasn't doing negatives any more and there was a one week turnaround for sending out. I was fortunate as my small town Walmart had a very engaged German woman who was meticulous in managing the photo department and the results were as good as I got through any lab, pro or not. You city folk have some options, (though dwindling, I'm sure) but I live in a small city <10,000 with few alternatives. I never cared much for the send-out results from Fuji so I'll need to start a search for alternatives.

I understand your pain, small towns have less options these days. But believe me the big cities are not that better off.

While you are searching for options for your 35mm C41 processing, do consider mpix.com. I have no affiliation with them and I have started using their 35mm film processing recently. I highly recommend their service. You sign up for an account at their website, request their film mailers and send your 35mm film in. They process the negatives and notify you by email. You can only view the thumbnails after you unlock and pay for the processing ($0.19 x frames) and they mail you the negatives. You can order prints of the pictures you like. Turnaround time is excellent (~1 day) as long as the film gets to them quickly.

Katie · Oct 25, 2011

Agree. I also live in a VERY small town with no developing (color) options. I have a pro account with Millers (which is the pro side of Mpix) and their work is more than adequate for me. Fedex gets my negs to them next day with same day turnaround ... so I'll have scans/prints in two days! CAn't even seem to get that done myself at home so fast! I do hate scanning, though.

kmallick said:
I understand your pain, small towns have less options these days. But believe me the big cities are not that better off.

While you are searching for options for your 35mm C41 processing, do consider mpix.com. I have no affiliation with them and I have started using their 35mm film processing recently. I highly recommend their service. You sign up for an account at their website, request their film mailers and send your 35mm film in. They process the negatives and notify you by email. You can only view the thumbnails after you unlock and pay for the processing ($0.19 x frames) and they mail you the negatives. You can order prints of the pictures you like. Turnaround time is excellent (~1 day) as long as the film gets to them quickly.

BetterSense · Oct 25, 2011

Last time I dropped off some 120 C-41 on the weekend, I was pretty annoyed when I came back 7 days later and it still wasn't in. I had to come back the following weekend. It's hard to complain for $1.41 or whatever they charge, though.

wblynch · Oct 25, 2011

Shoot. When I was a kid it was typical that one would put their film into an envelope and drop it in a box at the drugstore and come back 5 to 7 days later to pick up the pictures. Often they wouldn't be there the first time you stopped in.

That was life and nobody made a big deal about it.

It was the introduction of Fotomat that brought us 3 or 4 day service and it wasn't until the late 1980's that the 1-hour minilab started showing up. I remember those 1 hour places were horrible at the beginning and one could choose 24 hour service for better results.

So, going back to drop-off and pick-up 7 days later is just returning to the pre-minilab days.

kmallick · Oct 25, 2011

I have no problem waiting for 7+ days for nice prints to come back. I like the delayed gratification part of the experience in shooting film. But since we are talking about Walmart services, I am getting a little jittery when turnaround time is exceeding 3 weeks. I just got off the phone with Fuji lab for a 120 roll I had dropped off 3 weeks ago and I was told its still in production. I inquired about another roll that I dropped 2 weeks ago and they have no record of it!

I know we should not be complaining about it too much given $2 we pay for the processing of 120 roll, but this much wait is killing me. And Fuji lab also confirmed that they have cut down the pick up/delivery service from Walmart to 2 days a week. This is all adding to the turnaround time. I think I will have to look into other options besides Walmart for 120/220 processing, worst come worst consider home souping C41.

wblynch · Oct 25, 2011

DIY is fun and fast.

kmallick · Oct 25, 2011

wblynch said:
DIY is fun and fast.

Bill, I agree! I already do home DIY for my E-6 on 120/220 and I enjoy the turnaround. I have stayed away from the C41 strictly because of the super attractive price I paid for the Walmart drop-off service.

Wal-Mart's Send-Out Film Service

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