Best way to get colour prints

Over the years I have got pretty fed up with the varied quality of

colour film processing - muddy colours and so on - that I have nearly

given up on it. But colour prints are still useful. Should I:

<p>

a) choose a pro lab and pay three times as much?

<p>

b) put up with variable quality and have only the best two or three

enlarged?

<p>

c) shoot on slides and print just the best?

<p>

d) scan and print them myself, or have them scanned then print them?

<p>

As a follow-up question, which colour print film do you favour as a

all-round favourite?

The best way to get color prints is to scan with a film scanner and then output

on a Fuji Frontier for small format or Lambda/Lightjet for larger

prints.<br><br>As for film, slides are much easier to edit and, frequently,

easier to scan too.

"varied quality of colour film processing - muddy colours "<P>

You have to shop around, some very good, some very poor.

<p> Look for labs using Fuji film processor, it has automatic

reporting system back to Fuji about the condition of the chemicals to

prevent operator from using stale chemicals to save money. <p>

a) Choose a Fuji lab with a Frontier printer. I was in the same

situation as you till I tried Fuji's latest and greatest. Simply

awesome.

<p>

b) Never put up with second best. Pay what you have to (within

financial means) to get the most out of your equipment.

<p>

c) Printing from slides on a Frontier is not impressive, but OK. I

now get prints done by hand at a special lab using a process

called "R3". Though I know nothing more about the process.

Looks almost as good as ciba/ilfachrome. The prints look like

slides on paper. Although, unlike a print from neg, you get

slightly less shades. More contrast.

<p>

d) Scanning and self-printing is expensive to aquire the gear and

to print. This comes down to personal expense and taste.

Obviously you have more control, but at what price?

<p>

Lastly, I use strictly only Fuji Reala on print and Fuji

Provia/Sensia II 100 on slide.

<p>

Good luck

The best way to get great color

prints is to shoot a professional

color negative film, have it

processed by a good lab and

printed by a skilled printer.

<p>

Too many labs just 'plug and

chug' and don't give a crap, so

they'll tell you lies about what

they can and cannot do, or what

acceptable results are. If you're

not happy, have them re-do it,

or give you a refund. A

professional lab worth its salt

will not argue, and many times

they offer discounts to those

who are loyal customers.

<p>

I don't know why color neg

films get such a bad rap...there

are certainly some dogs out

there, but if what you want is

prints in the end, I think a good

negative film will be better

than a slide film. Even

William Eggleston, arguably

one of the most influencial color

photographers, has shot

almost exclusively with

negative films in the last

decade, abandoning

Kodachrome.

<p>

In the digital darkroom, there

are some great performing

printers and new archival

papers out there now, and if you

have the hardware to really

do it right, go for it! My

experience has led me to

believe that you don't save

much time and money when you

factor everything in, and we

have yet to see how long these

prints will last, but time will

tell.

<p>

For film, I like the Kodak

Portra series, the Fuji films

tend to be a little more blue/

magenta, but they are quite

good as well.

<p>

In the end, you get what you

pay for...edit in the viewfinder

and make each one of those

images count! It's a terrible

thing to have a great picture

ruined by a 1hour lab.

I have never had much success printing off slides. Whats the secret

involved in getting representative results?

<i>a) choose a pro lab and pay three times as much? </i><p>

You mean you're not using a pro lab already? Other people on

this board have mentioned using consumer and 1 hour labs. I

really don't understand the point of spending extra $$ on Leica

glass and then dropping the film off to a Walmart or something.

Can I get some help in locating a Fuji processing outlet in Northern

NJ (Bergen County)? Went to the Fujifilm site and they do not have

any sort of dealer locator for processing. I currently use a kodak

premium processing place and want to compare the differences.

<p>

thx

<I>I have never had much success printing off slides. Whats the

secret involved in getting representative results?</I><P>

With either slides or negs, go digital. A decent scan, Photoshop to

correct the color and contrast and get rid of dust & scratches,

output to Fuji Crystal Archive via LightJet, Fuji Frontier, ZBE

Chromira, Noritsu 2901 or the like. You should be able to get the

print to look exactly like the slide. It ain't cheap but the results

are first-rate.<BR>

<CENTER>http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/HBIRD.JPG</CENTER><BR>

This photo is unprintable via conventional means because of

accumulated crud and scratches. The slide is over 30 years old but

with the digital printing process the prints match the slide exactly

(minus crud & scratches).

oops, here's the photo:

<BR>

<CENTER>

<IMG SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/HBIRD.JPG">

</CENTER>

<BR>

Richard and Carlin make great points. It is also the "person

behind the printing" as well as "you get what you pay for".

<p>

It is also up to you to specifically ddescribe what you want prior to

paying for it. This way, your expectations can be more easily met.

I opt for the cheap wal-mart up the street, they are the closest

with a fuji frontier machine. It may not be the best around, but

compared to any other machine, the fuji frontier gives the best of

the "cheap" labs. Later I take the negs to a pro for anything to

hang on the wall.

I'm a 'do-it-yourselfer' when it comes to photography - so I combine c)

and d)..

<p>

I mostly shoot slides (Velvia) but would use Kodak Supra 100 and 400 if

I needed negatives.

Thanks for your answers. Though some of the one-hour labs can be fine,

sometimes they're not - it's the inconsistency that's annoying. So

I'll go to the more expensive pro lab mostly. I'll also try Fuji

processing, Reala and Portra film, and do some more of my own inkjet

printing when I get time. Doug: nice pic, luminiscent, it just has to

be a Leica!