Best place to send Kodak 400 Tri-X B&W for developing/printing?

I am going to develop my own film eventually but until then I would like some suggestions as to good places to

send B&W film to be developed and printed? or possibly just developed.

 

I am in California and obviously the closer the better.

 

Thanks!

A&I

 

http://www.aandi.com/

Any other suggestions are appreciated.

 

Thanks William.

BTW The film is 35mm

I don't see any 35mm developing on a and i, am I missing it?

Hmm

"Dylan Moss , Sep 06, 2008; 12:44 a.m.

 

I don't see any 35mm developing on a and i, am I missing it?"

 

Yes.

Look for "135"

Moonphoto- Seattle, Washington

 

http://www.moonphotolab.com/

Check here:

 

http://www.aandi.com/fp.html

 

135=35mm film

What are your priorities? Economy or quality? A&I may give good quality, but I think $16.75 for developing and prints (mailers from B&H) is a bit high if you are trying to shoot a lot of film and learn photography. Walmart does handle dev/prints from traditional b/w if you are willing to use their drop boxes, and the price is reasonable.

I would like to find a nice balance between economy and quality. If you know a place that has good prices and does a decent job I would love to go that route.

 

Thanks for all of your help guys.

Dylan,

 

Quality: California= A&I or Washington= Moonphoto. I know because I use them both. (And, that is not to say that

they're the only Labs of Quality in the USA.)

 

A&I uses Kodak's Xtol and Moonphoto uses Kodak's D-76 @ 1:1

 

Go on the web, look at their price sheets and make up your mind.

 

http://www.aandi.com/ or http://www.moonphotolab.com/

Hmm, well it seems like maybe since I am a complete beginner I should wait until I get a few rolls developed cheaper before I go for A and I or Moonphoto. (I am afraid that the pictures will come out bad)

 

Do you guys have any recommendations? It doesn't have to be super cheap just fairly affordable.

 

And it would be best if they develop Traditional B&W cause I already loaded a roll of Tri-X

"<I>I am going to develop my own film eventually...</I><P>

You might as well start now. You don't need a darkroom just a tank and reels, developer, fixer and stop bath. load the film into the tank in a dark closet or changing bag and the rest is done in daylight. Shoot as much or as little film as you want and in 1/2 hour you can be looking at the results.

"You might as well start now. You don't need a darkroom just a tank and reels, developer, fixer and stop bath. load the film into the tank in a dark closet or changing bag and the rest is done in daylight. Shoot as much or as little film as you want and in 1/2 hour you can be looking at the results."

 

Is this in reference to only tradition B&W films?

 

I didn't think it was this easy!

Do you know of any easy to follow guides James? Can you recommend any equipment?

 

Thanks

Here is a good page on how to do it:

 

 

http://www.photogs.com/bwworld/bwfilmdev.html

 

 

I would use a Paterson tank and plastic reels to start out.

 

developer = Kodak D-76

 

stop bath = Kodak indicator stop bath

 

Fixer = Kodak rapid fixer

 

Hypo clearing agent is optional but I would use it for faster washing/rinsing of negatives.

 

The developer and fixer come as powders in packets. You mix that with water to make one gallon of each.

 

The fixer is used straight from the gallon jug but the D-76 you would mix the gallon jug D-76, 1 to 1 with water.

 

I believe the development time for D-76 and Tri-X would be 10 minutes but there should be something on the film package to tell you.

 

The developer you throw out after using, the fixer you just pour back into the jug for reuse. Reuse the stop bath also until it starts to turn purple (that is the indicator.)

 

With a Paterson tank you use about 290ml for each film.

 

Anytime that I got a new flash or lens that I wanted to try out, I would just shoot off a few frames, develop it up and be looking at the results while everything was still fresh in my mind.

What about making prints? Can you do that on your own?

 

Sorry I am asking so many questions, I am eager to learn.

Will those developers and such work on other traditional black and white films or are they specific to Tri-X?

one of very few custom shops;

 

www.blackandwhitenegative.com

 

P.Hall

Yes, those developers and such will work on other traditional black and white films. The development time will vary with the ISO of the film.

 

"or possibly just developed." Was the last line in your original question. That is what I responded to. You can make your own prints but that would involve an enlarger (traditional darkroom) or a film scanner and printer (digital darkroom).

I saw a 5MP film scanner at Walmart for $99 yesterday. There also seem to be some high resolution, relatively cheap, options available. Just a quick bit of advice, by far the easiest 35mm reel to use is the kind where the sprockets of the film hook onto prongs on the reel:

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/61210-REG/Tundra_140PDR35_Professional_Stainless_Steel_35.html

 

Avoid plastic reels like the plague on photography that they are (though might be better then metal clip reels).

Light Waves in San Francisco. www.lightwavesimaging.com

I don't know where you live in CA, but I recommend The Darkroom

http://www.darkroomlab.com

 

I never developed b/w there since I always developed that myself, but I never had a problem with them developing my slides.