(Would you / Do you) send your films out for processing?

Tamara · Feb 28, 2015

I use The Darkroom. I don't currently have anyplace in the house where a darkroom could be set up with any ease.

FWIW, the local Walgreens will happily send off your C41 for processing, but they don't return negatives, just a CD of scans. Thanks but no thanks, Walgreens; the negatives are kind of the point. If I didn't care about having the negatives, I'd just shoot d*****l.

Truzi · Feb 28, 2015

In the Greater Cleveland Area, Walgreens, Drug Marts, and Rite Aids have the minilabs, and return negatives. Unfortunately, quality control is sporadic.

Tamara · Feb 28, 2015

There does not appear to be a single minilab left in metro Indianapolis. And we're down to two dedicated camera stores, both Robert's, since Cord Camera closed its last Indiana store just up the road from me.

John Koehrer · Feb 28, 2015

Tamara said:
I use The Darkroom. I don't currently have anyplace in the house where a darkroom could be set up with any ease.

"Ease"? I take an easy task and MAKE it hard just for the challenge. With years of experience you too can do this.

Tamara · Mar 1, 2015

John Koehrer said:
"Ease"? I take an easy task and MAKE it hard just for the challenge. With years of experience you too can do this.

Heh. Part of my problem is that the basement of the house would be the most logical place, and yet three of the four basement walls have glass brick windows on them. If it were just my house, I'd take the corner nearest the sink down there, paint the glass bricks over on the inside, hang some curtains, and rock on... but it's not just my house.

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 1, 2015

I do all of my own B&W. I send out E-6 and don't shoot much C-41.

Since moving to Honolulu from New York last year the possibility of doing E-6 myself doesn't look very likely, though I've done color in the past (E-6, C-41, RA-4, and Ciba/Ilfochrome). Hazmat shipping for E-6 chemicals is expensive, and local E-6 processing is expensive with slow turnaround, so I send it out to The Icon in Los Angeles, which has been doing a good job so far with quick turnaround, and they have an easy setup for processing by mail (order online, get a prepaid shipping label, and return shipping is included in the price).

We can get powder C-41 kits here, so I may move in that direction for color when I've used up the last of the E-6 film in the freezer.

Silver key · Mar 1, 2015

Hi !
To be honest, i don't shoot nor develop color film (neither will i).
My understanding is that the process is "hard" (temperature control, chemical waste control, ...) and that only a very few die-hard crazy (read awesome) people will do it in their backyards.
Black & white is "easy", temperature control doesn't need to be so accurate, the wastes are relatively eco-friendly (or completly with Caffenol) and it costs 35 cents tops for 2 rolls !
"A boutique film processor" : yes and no.
I don't know how many people shoot analogue but here are the types :
- artists --> they mostly develop themselves
- hobbyists --> 50%+ will develop B&W maybe 10% color
- hipsters/lomographists --> occasional customers
- Grand ma --> well i don't know
Even if you can process any type of negative, will you be cheaper than a lab that buys chemicals in bulk, use huge tanks and underpay a photo student ? Probably not.
Ok now, all of that sounds pretty negative (!), and i'll give you that.
Your advantage is that you can supposedly produce better negatives -actually, i don't doubt it, last time i used my local lab my only reaction was "Ok, when i said B&W i meant black, grey and white" - and another source of income.
So why not canvassing the local photo shops, prove them you can handle their demands and hopefully redirect the customers to you ... Or advertise in a local paper as a part-time professional developing agent. Well you get the idea !

Disclamer : this is only my 2c as a puty human so, correct me if you think i'm wrong !

Sirius Glass · Mar 1, 2015

Silver key welcome to APUG

RPC · Mar 1, 2015

Silver key said:
To be honest, i don't shoot nor develop color film (neither will i).
My understanding is that the process is "hard" (temperature control, chemical waste control, ...) and that only a very few die-hard crazy (read awesome) people will do it in their backyards.

It looks as though you are new to this site, so I suggest you browse through the archives of the color forum and you will see threads and posts from numerous members here that do color processing that it is nearly as easy, in some cases easier than black and white. The archives contain a wealth of other information as well. I guarantee you will learn a lot! And feel free to post questions anytime. Welcome to APUG.

Silver key · Mar 1, 2015

Why, thanks for the warm welcome.
I am already thankful for the suport and informations i extorted from this community over the past 8 months and i hope i can give a little bit of that back, through my contributions and questions, now that i am a member.

You're right ! As i said i don't actually do color films so I actually went on and checked that out and from the 3 first post and got this :
"C-41 processing not as easy as thought"
"overdeloping = color balance off = magenta"
"temperature needs to be spot on"
And from a quick google search :
" Color has less latitude than black-and-white processing: processing times and temperatures must be spot on."

Please explain as i must be mistaken.

Moopheus · Mar 1, 2015

didjiman said:
If the latter two is a large percentage, would there be a market for a "boutique film processor" (e.g. myself ) that would process 35mm/120/220/4x5 in B&W/C41/E-6?

I'd think that would be a hard market to break into as a small operator--there are enough good labs left, you'd have to be able to give people a reason to trust you with their film, instead of Praus, the Darkroom, Blue Moon, Dwayne's, etc. that are all established, known entities. Not that it couldn't be done, but you'd have to be sure what your strength was, and be able to play to it.

RPC · Mar 1, 2015

Silver Key, too bad you happen to read all the wrong posts. Well, you will just have to take my word for it, I do it and don't find it difficult. But anyway it is a moot point since you don't shoot color.

Nodda Duma · Mar 1, 2015

I send my color stuff out to Blue Moon.

I used to have a Jobo CPP-2 to maintain temperature for processing color, but lost it in our moving van fire when we moved from CA to NH 4 years ago. I haven't yet set up again to do color stuff. When I do I'll probably set up a PID controller with a heating coil for fish tanks to control temperature.

Pioneer · Mar 1, 2015

Nodda Duma said:
I send my color stuff out to Blue Moon.

I used to have a Jobo CPP-2 to maintain temperature for processing color, but lost it in our moving van fire when we moved from CA to NH 4 years ago. I haven't yet set up again to do color stuff. When I do I'll probably set up a PID controller with a heating coil for fish tanks to control temperature.

Tried the fish tank idea but couldn't get it to work. Turns out that most fish actually don't like their water to be as warm as that needed for color development. It was tough to find a heater that actually warmed the water to a high enough temperature.

sagai · Mar 9, 2015

C41 is not that complicated.
I do it with a very elementary tools (kettle, body temperature meter, plastic bottle), fully manually and apart from patience to wait for the most appropriate timing to start the development we would not need too much.
I am speaking of for 35mm and for roll films though.

bvy · Mar 9, 2015

All the talk about fish tanks, slow cookers, and expensive Jobo machines probably does more to turn people off to C-41 than it does to giving anyone superior results. You can (and I do) do C-41 with a hot water bath. I use a small Playmate cooler filled with an inch or two of water at ~120F. The Paterson tank sits in the water between inversions. The developer goes in at 101F and comes out at 99F (I test it routinely). I print (enlarge) regularly and my filtrations are pretty consistent between films developed at different times. C-41 requires some thought and planning, but it's also more forgiving than all the scuttlebutt suggests.

sagai · Mar 9, 2015

bvy said:
All the talk about fish tanks, slow cookers, and expensive Jobo machines probably does more to turn people off to C-41 than it does to giving anyone superior results. You can (and I do) do C-41 with a hot water bath. I use a small Playmate cooler filled with an inch or two of water at ~120F. The Paterson tank sits in the water between inversions. The developer goes in at 101F and comes out at 99F (I test it routinely). I print (enlarge) regularly and my filtrations are pretty consistent between films developed at different times. C-41 requires some thought and planning, but it's also more forgiving than all the scuttlebutt suggests.

Precisely ! [emoji2]

RPC · Mar 9, 2015

bvy said:
All the talk about fish tanks, slow cookers, and expensive Jobo machines probably does more to turn people off to C-41 than it does to giving anyone superior results. You can (and I do) do C-41 with a hot water bath. I use a small Playmate cooler filled with an inch or two of water at ~120F. The Paterson tank sits in the water between inversions. The developer goes in at 101F and comes out at 99F (I test it routinely). I print (enlarge) regularly and my filtrations are pretty consistent between films developed at different times. C-41 requires some thought and planning, but it's also more forgiving than all the scuttlebutt suggests.

+1

Alan Klein · Mar 9, 2015

To respond to a few comments and questions:

1. I use LTI Lightside NYC to develop my 120 film. They return it cut and sleeved; flat for scanning at home. http://www.lti-lightside.com/
2. I turn my map around so the chemicals poured in NYC drain into Canada rather than New Jersey where I live.
3. I believe NYC ships its junk through New Jersey to Pennsylvania dumps. It doesn't actually dump in NJ. Interestingly I just moved to NJ from NYC and the air is so much cleaner. I really like fresh, unpolluted air that despite what one Los Angelan once stated that he refused to live any place where he couldn't see the air he breathed.

benjiboy · Mar 9, 2015

I send all my processing to Ag Photographic in Birmingham I used to process all my own B&W E6 and C41 but I became realized that it was no way economical to do so for my colour work because of the short shelf life of the chemistry once mixed I didn't have enough volume of throughput of colour work to use it before it went off and the amount of colour paper wasted on tests to get the colour balance right it was much cheaper to both in money and time to have it done commercially, and since those days our children have left home we have downsized our house from a five bedroom one to a two bedroom one and there is no room for a darkroom now.

RPC · Mar 9, 2015

Benjiboy, were you storing your mixed chemistry properly? Storing the mixed solutions in full, glass bottles sealed tightly will give a very long life to them, especially developers. I have had both C-41 and RA-4 chemistry last more than three years without degradation. I use canning jars because they are relatively inexpensive, come in different sizes and have tight seal. The idea of short shelf life has turned many off of home processing, but it is essentially a myth.

benjiboy · Mar 9, 2015

RPC said:
Benjiboy, were you storing your mixed chemistry properly? Storing the mixed solutions in full, glass bottles sealed tightly will give a very long life to them, especially developers. I have had both C-41 and RA-4 chemistry last more than three years without degradation. I use canning jars because they are relatively inexpensive, come in different sizes and have tight seal. The idea of short shelf life has turned many off of home processing, but it is essentially a myth.

Yes I was, but this was more than 25 years ago and my life has moved on since then and I don't want to be bothered to stay up half the night in my darkroom any more I just don't have the patience and would rather spend my time and energies shooting the films and let Matt. at Ag Photographic worry about the processing.

TheFlyingCamera · Mar 9, 2015

I USED to outsource my color processing to local labs. But with the collapsing market for such services and the rising prices/diminishing quality of service for such things, I've brought my color processing back in-house and do my C-41 at home now as well as my B/W. I have ALWAYS done my own b/w unless I was somewhere that I really didn't have a viable darkroom option (when I was living in San Francisco in an efficiency apartment in a high-rise building). It's not a question of is my local lab good (they are) but they're charging $8/roll for C-41 develop only and it takes a week for them to turn it around because they only run C-41 2 days a week, and I can't drop it off and pick it up at their main facility (other side of town, through some of the worst traffic in the nation).

Thinking of that situation (a large commercial lab in a major metropolitan area only running C-41 twice a week), you'd probably be in much worse shape as a boutique lab and you'd have to assume you could at best assure customers a one-week turnaround on a single roll. Your chemistry costs would also be very high as you'd have to price a single roll such that you made money if that was the only roll you were able to process with a 1-liter batch of chemistry before the chems went off. So you'd have to charge roughly $30/roll for single roll processing. You could drop that significantly if you got batches of 8, but you'd still be in the $6/roll range. It's not a very sustainable business model.

BradleyK · Mar 10, 2015

MattKing said:
I develop all my own black and white.

I have a local near 1 hour lab which I use for some 35mm C41.

I use one of two local pro labs for the rest of my colour film.

Almost the same here:

I usually develop my own black and white...unless I get carried away shooting and generate too much of a backlog of unprocessed film (In which case the film is processed by theLab).

I use a local one-hour lab for those rare instances when I shoot C-41.

I use theLab for my 120 format E6 and Dwayne's for my 35mm E6.

(Would you / Do you) send your films out for processing?

Tamara

Truzi

Tamara

John Koehrer

Tamara

David A. Goldfarb

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Silver key

Sirius Glass

RPC

Silver key

Moopheus

RPC

Nodda Duma

Pioneer

sagai

bvy

sagai

RPC

Alan Klein

benjiboy

RPC

benjiboy

TheFlyingCamera

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BradleyK

(Would you / Do you) send your films out for processing?

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