Medium format film processing?

The bad news is that the last local pro lab has shut it's doors here in Seattle. I am looking for

recommendations on good mail-order labs for my occasional rolls of 120 and 220 film. Some is black and white,

most are chromes. Quality trumps price but I am not looking for add-ons like "wedding packages." Just

processing. I scan the film and print from PS.

It's a bummer about the lab closing! My city isn't as big as Seattle and the local camera store still developes film from 35 to 8x10.

Try this:

 

http://www.aandi.com/film_pro2.htm

There are also <A HREF="http://www.chromatics.com/Serv-Film_Process.htm">Cromatics Photo Imaging</A>

and <A HREF="http://www.colorservices.com/index.asp?p=3126">Specialty Color Services</A>.

Make that "Chromatics", not "Cromatics".....

I've had great results from A and I (they're on the same coast as you), and a friend of mine swears by Chromatics. The only down side with Chromatics from your location is that mailing will take an extra 1-2 days each way, generally speaking.

 

- Randy

Maybe your film doesn't need to leave town after all. I don't know why, but in all the uproar about Ivey closing, the other

labs still existing in Seattle seem to be rarely mentioned. For B/W, try <a href="http://moonphotolab.com/">Moon

Photo</a>. I've also heard good things about <a href="http://www.pandalab.com/">Panda</a>, who seem to do color, too.

Thanks for the local info. I knew about Moon (didn't particularly like their work years ago but maybe it's changed) and didn't know about Panda (although their web presence if very weak).

 

I might look into A&I again, but darned, Ivey did a good job! Too bad.

 

D.

I am in a similar situation here in Ohio as far as trying to get 4x5 E6 developed. I found that the Denver Digital Imaging Center (aka slideprinter.com) does a <i>really</i> fine job with the 4x5 as well as the 120's. They have postage paid mailers too! Highly recommended. Regards.

Douglas, I live in Olympia and greatly lament the closing of Ivey Imaging. Tomorrow I'm sending my first six rolls of 220

Velvia to Calypso Imaging in Santa Cruz. They charge $5.10 for 120 and $10 for 220. I'm trying them because of good

feedback. Drop me a line next week and I'll let you know how it went.

Why not do it on your own? Buy a used JOBO ATL-1000 and your done. Chemical cost is as low as ~1EUR per roll.

Never had quality issues again. :)

 

Best regards,

Marksu

Since I send my Kodachrome to Dwayne's (it's the only K-14 line around, anyway), I'm sending my E-6 to them. But it's sad to go from a two-hour turnaround (at Ivey) to about a 4-day turnaround. When they were processing Kodachrome a decade or so ago, I thought both A&I (LAX) and NewLab (SFO) did really good work, and I might look at them again.

www.carlsdarkroom.com. Excellent work, quick turnaround, $5.75 a 120 roll of E-6 plus postage. They're in Albuquerque.

I own a small custom photo lab in Seattle. Ivey Seright started about the same time we did (34 years ago), and

thru professional attitudes, good choices in equipment and employees, grew into the finest full-service pro lab in

town. Being right next to Glazer's Camera created a symbiotic relationship. Ken Seright did it right. We freely

recommended them and used them for things we did not handle, such as E-6 processing and 220 black & white. It

is a shame that a good, profitable professional lab had to be broken apart, written off, and the last 14 employees put

out of thier jobs on a few days notice. No severence pay, no bonuses, etc, etc.

Now film is being used less, but it is not going away. Not yet anyway. Kodak has recently come out with an

excellent B&W improved film, a totally new emulsion, but they did not rename it, (just called it T-Max 400 for some

strange reason.) You can even still get 14x17 sheet film. Film is here to stay, though choices will inevitably diminish.

There is nothing quite equal to a properly exposed and processed piece of film, either as a delicious 4x5 tranny, or a

real black and white, expertly printed on fiber paper. Artists will always want to work with the "real thing" as I call it.

But please don't think there is no place to go in town for pro processing. True, 4x5 E-6 is not currently

available in Seattle, but someone may step up to the plate. As for 120 films, and 35mm, there are still several

choices, we currently send our E-6 to Panda. We do C-41 and black & white 120 and 35. We also scan and

digitally print on photo paper or giclee papers. Are we a dying breed? I suppose, but hey, I want to say, " film is still

fine"!

Thanks,

Bob Mullins

Moonphoto, Seattle

<p>Bob-- Film Photography in Seattle FTW! :)</p>