Another one bites the dust. Suggestions for mail order processing

<p>The local Costco store was the last outpost to do film around here. They stopped two weeks ago. I knew it was just a matter of time but now what? There is Walmart but I don't feel like driving there. They are probably sending them out anyway. I know this topic has been rehashed before but what are some low cost mail order places? Do they still have prepaid envelopes?</p>

<p>Dwayne's does this. I think you can buy the mailers from them, or from B&H. Last I knew, A&I also offered mailers, but that was a premium service and cost a lot more, so if you were using Costco, I'm suspecting A&I is not your answer.</p>

 

<p>Forget Walmart, unless you want scans without your negatives, which are destroyed at the central lab after scanning. The send the scans back to the local store electronically, and burn a CD-R there. (I presume the prints are locally printed on inkjet or dye sub as well.) Saves them the return shipping cost for the processed film.<br>

Cheap isn't sustainable for C-41 processing anymore. Not enough volume.<br>

Ken Rockwell recommends North Coast Photo Services. I haven't tried them, but the film shots he puts up that were processed there look fine.<br>

I'm lucky to be 4 blocks from a Pro lab, so I'm not yet on this prowl. But it's around $8 a roll for develop and sleeve.</p>

<p>If you order from <strong><a href="http://www.thedarkroom.com">thedarkroom.com</a></strong> you'll get develop, scan to CD, and online photos for ten bucks. And they have postage-paid mailers for your film.</p>

<p>Seems like 10 bucks is the floor price. Costco was so cheap I was clicking away just to finish the roll. I think it used to cost $4 for a 24-roll film to develop and scan to DVD. This is really a throw away price. I have to be a lot more selective now.</p>

<p>PS</p>

<p>Can you put more than one roll in their envelope?</p>

<p>What's your location? You're lucky your Costco hung on so long. Toronto area warehouses crapped out almost 4 years ago. I'm using FujiFilm Canada for their cheapo 35mm process/scan service. Ironically, Costco still does better prints than Fuji. Lucky to have a healthy pro lab for 120 processing. Low/no volume killed Costco OK+ quality 35mm dev/print service here.</p>

<p>You might search the APUG site for mail order labs in your area.</p>

<p>I ordered some mailers from Darkroom. Too bad they couldn't be farther away. I am in the Philly suburbs. I looked at APUG and they do list an outfit in Philly but they are pricier. Considering that my exposed film has been sitting around for months, a few more days in the mail isn't going to be an issue. All in all, the loss of Costco is going to put a big dent in my film photography. It may be the last straw to push me over to a DSLR. May be I should wait for full frame prices to drop so I can use my lenses the way they were meant to.</p>

<p>If you want to stay with film, there is always black and white and do it yourself processing.</p>

<p>I have been using the Darkroom for a while now. Main reason is because I get all my prints scanned and online, which saves me that time to do. I was developing my own, but time is money and they do a great job...so far. You can put up to 5 rolls in their postage paid envelopes. And the turn around time is not bad. If I mail an envelope on Monday, my prints are all on line by Thurs/Fri. </p><div></div>

<p>I guess I'm lucky. The local Costco where I live still does C-41 developing. I've talked to one of the techs about the future of film processing there and he said that when the machines wear out, that'll be it. But he also mentioned that their machines are pretty new and in good repair. So I have hope.<br>

<br />There's also a pro lab not too far from where I live that develops C-41 and E-6 in all sizes. So I have to take my 120 and 220 neg and slide film to them. Cost is about $10-12 a roll. So for shooting slides, I'm now looking at close to $20 a roll including the cost of the film. That's just too high for me. So I've started developing my own E-6 and C-41. So far the results have been good. I can easily get four rolls processed from a $22 kit, so that cuts my processing costs in half or more. When/if I choose to buy an even larger size kit, I'll save even more per roll. My slides remain unmounted, but I never project them, so I don't mind putting them in sleeves.</p>

<p>That Chevy is gorgeous, Janis. Beautiful shades of gray. What is the resolution of their scans and do they post full res? Costco was doing 6MP scans. They were OK up to 16x20. The fact that they were using scans for enlargements and not the negatives kind of defeated the purpose of film.</p>

<p>Home processing using the Tetenal liquid kits is the way to go. Not only is it very inexpensive ($1.25-$1.50/roll with the 5L kits), but super easy, enjoyable, and the best quality you can get - never again scratched or fingerprinted rolls.<br>

Freestyle Photo carries the Tetanal Kits .Tetenal is the best quailty you can get now in reasonable home use quantities, German made chemistry that equals the Kodak chems which can only be bought in bulk lab quantities now. I know, as I used to use the Kodak kits, then when discontinued tried the Arista kits, but quality was not the same, and they dont include the vital stabilizer for long term permanence. Tetenal does, and results are as good as I got with the Kodak chemistry, only much easier to measure,mix, and develop.<br>

<a href="http://www.freestylephoto.biz/category/13-Chemicals/Color-Chemicals">http://www.freestylephoto.biz/category/13-Chemicals/Color-Chemicals</a></p>

<p> </p>

<p>This guy did a good video on home C41 and E6, shows how easy it is, and the very basic and inexpensive equipment needed. He shows the Unicolor, but Tetanal is the same (excpet temp with Tetenal is the same as Kodak, 100f precisely, not 102).<br>

<a href="http://youtu.be/1718csN3I0U">http://youtu.be/1718csN3I0U</a></p>

 

<p>Try Dwayne's, not bad but not cheap, at least when compared to Costco. Scans are a little larger, more so than Costco, about 3583 pixels on the long side as opposed to 3087 for Costco. However, I have gotten Costco scans as small as about 1080 pixels, which are really pathetic.</p>

<p>I still have a choice by me of Costco, Target or CVS, all still run wet minilabs. Costco uses a Noritsu QSS-3111, CVS a KIS AKS 32-FP, and I can't recall what Target runs but I think it may be a Noritsu. All the operators have told me once they breakdown, they're out the door not to be replaced. So it's just a matter of time before mail order is the only option.</p>

<p>I've been sending out to <a href="http://www.northcoastphoto.com/film_developing_scans.html">North Coast</a> for two or three years now and am extremely satisfied. Quality is superb: no scratching ever, in dozens of rolls. I haven't had to spend time cloning away any dust spots or hairs either. It's totally worth it, though it'll be more expensive than Costco. The time I save not cleaning up the scans is certainly worth the money. Plus, the enhanced scans are giant. </p>

<p>I highly recommend Miller's Professional Imaging. They do an outstanding job with beautiful clean dip and dunk processing and the prices are quite reasonable. Plus, they include free FedEx overnight shipping when sending the prints and negatives back to you. www.millerslab.com</p>

<p>+1 for North Coast. Hey. If they're good enough for Rockwell, they're good enough for me.</p>

My local Walgreens drug store still has in-store C-41 processing, printing, and scanning to CD, but in the wider area, when the C-41 processor breaks down at a Walgreens, they no longer repair them and instead remove them and the service. I tried the Darkroom, which seemed pretty good, but with my slow internet connection I can't access their online scans. Recently tried Dwayne's and might again soon. Planning to eventually develop B&W again myself.