Very disappointed with labs

[anner]

I have yet to find a lab in my area that will produce quality images consistently. It's really

disappointing. I just spent $75 on a lab bill with a camera store lab (local company) and

got the same results that I would have received if I had simply gone to Costco and only

paid $30. Dust and scratches- they are the bain of my photographic exsistence. All of the

labs do just fine with my digital files, but when it comes to film, inevitably something

almost always goes wrong! For this reason alone I'm eager to switch to digital! Anyone

care to comiserate or share a lab who has never let them down?

[r.m.]

I have the same problems with local color labs. Try Miller's - www.millerslab.com.

[stacy]

try A&I www.aandi.com

[m_p7]

There are a few pro labs in my area (SLC, UT). I had been using one for quite a while. After having to go back nearly every time to get my prints redone due to an error or dust/lint problems, one set of scratched negatives was the last straw. I haven't been back for months and I'm much happier. My new lab is great. Talk to some pros in the area and ask who they use. Could be as simple as calling some portrait or wedding photographers and asking. Don't accept mediocrity from your lab, especially if you are selling your stuff.

[gmahler5th]

http://www.alphafotoworks.com

 

I just talked to a sales person at Alpha Photo Works. They are extremely knowledgeable, and their prices are outstanding! (About about 2/3rds less than the lab I have been working with here in Portland. They offer development, and a wonderful array of other services! I'm so excited to give them a try!

 

I discovered this site by visiting Becker's Website, and he claims to do 95% of his printing with this company. dare I say "If it's good enough for 'The Becker' it is good enough for me?" ;-)

[austinphoto]

What you need to use is a Professional Lab. Try Austin Photo, 222 Merrick Road, Rockville Centre, NY 11570 516 536-3200. We specialize in professional work and spot all prints leaving here. The cost from a Pro Lab is also much cheaper than a local one hour shop and close to what Costco charges. This is due to the volume professional bring in. Good luck! Abe

[fotografz]

Anne, save up your films and take them to Tri-color on 14 mile. They still do Tri-X also.

 

Local labs have become hit or miss. One day an experienced lab tech does the stuff, the

next day a gum crackin' high school kid does it while talking on a cell phone. Get to know

the experienced people, and make sure they do your order.

[awahlster]

I guess I'm lucky here in Salem OR the one true Pro lab we have has people working in it I have known for 25 years and have been at this lab for nearly as long. The work is consistance my name is known and my problems are fixed. Prices reflect their customer service but for everything above snap shots I would rather have success then a few extra bucks. The have reduced their crew by a part timer or two over the last couple of years but the girls as well as the owner tell me they are strong and they always look very busy turn around time on E6 used to be 3-4 days it is now 1-3 days Wedding stuff is 2-3 days custom printing might take 4-5 days. I have not used any of their digital services as I do that at home. But they are offering a full line of options for the digital shooter.

 

I guess being the only decent lab in the area helps them out.

[maury_cohen]

Anne,

you really need to send wedding processing to a lab that specializes in it.

There are a number of such labe located around the USA.

[khitrovg]

Anne,

 

Hands down, I have been using American Color Imaging for all my wedding stuff and they are superb.

Greg<div></div>

[stevensimages]

Someone mentioned that their pro lab was cheap because of the volume they do. Mine is definitely not cheap. Their work is superb, but proofing film is roughly triple what I would pay at a Costco or Walmart (not that I would ever trust my pro work to them). I am curious. What do you guys pay for the labs that do good work? And when I say good work, I mean they use quality paper, they pull you out of the fire if you have a poorly exposed shot (don't lie, it happens to all of us at least once in a while), they color correct for good skin tones and they have roll and frame numbers clearly printed on the back.

[cjogo]

burrell color---10 labs across the States..>> been with them since 1980

[houstonphotographics]

Just a footnote about 1hr shops like Sams/Costco etc. I had my local Sams process some wedding work for me, scanned to cd, and several negs were scratched. Previous work I had them do in the past was fine, but not this one. I was able to fix them in Photoshop, but took a while to make them acceptable. That was several weeks ago.

 

When I went back there the other day and let the tech know what happened, she said "that is the first we heard about that happening.." yea right. I asked what resolution (megs) their negs are scanned at when putting to cd, and she said "the company just tells us that they are hi resolution".

 

This was the last straw, and I got what I paid for by cutting corners ($$). This is why I am going back home to my main lab with medium format. Never had problems with them, but was wanting to try something different and save money. Never again.

[photoreu]

This was actually one of the main reasons I finally decided to "go digital". I still love shooting film but it seemed that whenever I lost control of the process (ie in developing and printing) things would get screwed up. For my personal stuff I used to always take it to the cheapo places... (target, walmart, etc). I've had everything from serious scratches, dust, bad chemicals (prints are green), frames chopped in half (and sleeved for me to see)... just horrible. That being said, I would NEVER EVER let one of these labs touch a wedding, or anything that was important to me. Still, with digital it is nice to know that even if they completely screw up the printing, I've still got the original file. If they screw up the negs... well that's it, too bad.

Oh yeah and they more than once tried to tell me it was my fault (oh you must have opened the camera with the film in it.. yeah, that's why they're green). Or your camera is what's scratching the negs, etc, etc... c'mon.

[andrew_john_chapman]

Personally, I ain't gonna go digital until I can get a full-frame (i.e., not a poxy little viewfinder,) digital at a reasonable price. Digital is still in it's experimental phase and will be so perhaps until 2012, although I will probably go digital before then.

Traditionally, wedding snappers shot on pro 160ASA film. This type of film is a different contrast to regular film. However, a lot of shooters thesedays use the 200ASA amateur film, for various reasons. I use what my lab prefers. My lab in Manchester prefers I use 200, and my lab in Birmingham prefers I use 160. If I'm in Birmingham and use 200, the results are too contrasty.

[wigwam jones]

I do not send my negs to pro labs (with the exception of my MF C41 and E6 work). I process my own B&W, and give my C41 35mm work to the local Walgreens Drug Store. I used to get back very scratched-up and dusty negatives from pro labs as well as consumer labs, but no more.

 

The secret is to ask for processing only. No prints. No scanning. Both of those activities involve your strip of negatives being drug along the top of a filthy metal box (the processing machine) and then mechanically jammed into an enlarger/scanner, where they get scratched up some more.

 

For about $2.00 per roll, they will process them only - plus cut and sleeve them. Very few scratches, unless the clerks drag the strip of negs on the floor or leave them hanging out on the drying rack too long, which I counsel them against. When an employee is particularly bad, I leave if I see them on-duty and come back later. Most of them know me now, and they know what I like, and I get it. It was not the employees causing most of the problems - it was the equipment.

 

Once I get back my sleeved negs, I scan them with my Minolta SD IV (an investment that paid for itself very quickly) using Vuescan and Linux. I process my scans in The Gimp 2.2 and if I want prints, I upload them to Walmart's photo store online. I can pick up prints in about an hour at any local Walmart and 4x6 prints are something like seventeen cents each. By scanning and modifying my photos myself, and printing only the ones I like, I save a ton of money and don't have any real problems with scratches and dust anymore.

 

Best,

 

Wiggy