Is a professional photo lab worth the wait and cost?

[gordon_boddington_sturz]

<p>One hour labs have their time and place. I use my local <a href="http://www.photomfa.com/content/cvs-west-lebanon">CVS Photo lab</a> because they are cheap and the people are nice. However, I know that my film will come out a little dusty and have minor scratches. When I have more money and I need something to come out well, i use a good lab and the results are worth it. I don't have to worry about dust or scratches and good lab work+scans can really make you feel like a pro. </p>

[StuartMoxham]

<p>Well it depends what equipment each lab has. A roller processor is not the same as dip and dunk with nitrogen burst aggitation. The results could/should be be the same but the equipment is not. Some photographers won't let their films go anyway near a roller processor for fear of scratching and some have had thousands of rolls developed with roller processors with no problems. A nice clean roller processor that is well maintained and has controll strip run regulary and is using correct auto replenishment could be better than an old manually replenished neg line when someone keeps forgeting to mark down the films processed. On the other hand it could go the other way too.</p>

[john_castronovo]

<blockquote>

<ul>

<li>[but C-41 developing, unlike printing, is an automated process. Most "Pro Labs" use the same equipment as the the 1-hour labs. As long as the machines are maintained, the chemicals fresh (or properly replenished), and the operators trained, one result is much like another.]</li>

</ul>

</blockquote>

<p>Well that's where you're totally wrong. First of all, most pro labs use dip and dunk machines so it's not the same equipment as the 1-hour labs. A professional lab runs control strips and based on the analysis, they're able to see things happening before they become problems so they can take the appropriate actions. Nearly every parameter of the process is <em>independently </em>adjustable in a pro lab.<br>

Such constant attention doesn't happen at the 1-hour shops. When they finally notice that their machines have a problem, they just dump the chemistry and start over. That's all their kind of operation will allow. Of course, that would be after many orders were compromised or ruined. I've run both kinds of labs and there's simply no comparison.</p>

[StuartMoxham]

<p>John you must know then that control strips can be run through roller processors and that the rep rate can be adjusted for each step in the process as well as being able to control the temperates. Sure it may not have the same amount of control as a dip and dunk but C41 is not really the most difficult chemical process in the world. There are advantages to dip and dunk but whether a particular labs C41 process is in control or not will come down to who is working there and probably who is in charge of the business.</p>

[User_4136860]

<p>Generally I find "If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys"</p>

[john_castronovo]

<blockquote>

<p>John you must know then that control strips can be run through roller processors and that the rep rate can be adjusted for each step in the process as well as being able to control the temperates.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Sure, but it seldom happens that way anywhere but in a custom lab. Replenishment rates can be individually adjusted in many machines, but in many cases it requires a service call that just doesn't happen, and remedial actions aren't very possible in 1-hour machines. Otherwise the pre-programmed "intelligence" of the equipment goes nuts. Many 1-hour labs don't even own a densitometer let alone use it. Fortunately, C41 is a forgiving process, unlike E6, but that doesn't mean the results are optimal and consistent. It does come down to the people and the management's willingness to do the right thing.</p>

[alan_rockwood]

<p>I took some film to an unnamed local pro lab a couple of years ago. To be perfectly honest, there were defects in the processing and/or film handling. The processing wasn't any better (not as good in fact) as film I have sent through Walmart sendout service or the local Walgreens minilab. The pro lab was, however, more expensive.</p>

<p>Hopefully, this experience was not typical of all pro labs, but so far I am not impressed.</p>

[john_castronovo]

<p>Yes Alan. I got food poisoning at a restaurant once and ever since then I've only eaten at McDonald's. Maybe you should find a really good custom lab first, then tell me Walgreens is better.</p>

[dangoldman]

<p>it really depends. im 1-3 for local pro labs, all thousands of miles apart... One delivered my slides back with water marks, the other had a distinct black line across the top of the frame 2mm from the frame edge. The other was perfect. Got them back to me the next day as promised (cost extra, of course), and the slides were spotless and in high quality mounts. Today, however, all of my film goes through walmarts sendout service, which goes to Dwayne's photo.</p>

[alan_rockwood]

<p>John,</p>

<p>Feeling a bit snarky today aren't you?</p>

[john_castronovo]

<p>SNARKY? lol, well someone has to liven the place up.</p>

[alan_rockwood]

<p>John,</p>

<p>Your advice to find a good pro lab may be good. However, it is not always easy to do.</p>

<p>The lab I referred to above is one of the relatively few "pro labs" left in the region, and it supposedly has a good reputation. (Well, let us say a mixed reputation, since I have heard both good and less good comments about the lab.) They claim to do premium work and have been in business for decades.</p>

<p>When I asked him about the processing some fomapan 100 I was giving him to process he said he processes it "just like Plus-X." Unfortunately, processing fomapan 100 "just like Plus-X" is a sure way to overdevelop it. This tells me that this so-called "pro lab" is not actually very professional, or at least not very knowledgeable, despite the many decades he has been in business. In addition, some of the film he developed for me had water spots.</p>

<p>Another time I took some C41 rolls to a professional photographer who had his own machine. The results were absolutely dreadful. I came to realize later that this person had very little business and because of lack of volume probably did not keep his process in control. This business failed not too long after he ruined my film, so my film is probably not the only film he ruined.</p>

<p>Another time I took some black and white film to one of the older locally owned camera stores for processing. (It probably doesn't actually qualify as a pro lab, but it was not a chain store lab.) The film was processed OK, but the prints were terrible, not nearly as good as the drug store prints I used to get at the corner drug store when I was a kid.</p>

<p>My own experience is that I have had better processing at Walgreens, Walmart (before they quit processing), and Costco than at the few professional labs I have tried. The processing at the lab you run no doubt does a much better job than the ones I have used, but it is not necessarily easy to tell the good labs from the bad ones without having the bad labs process and ruin a few rolls of film.</p>

[john_castronovo]

<p>You make a good point Alan. Most custom labs have been driven out of business by shoppers who are conscious of the price, but totally ignorant of value. Without enough volume to maintain quality control it's impossible to run a quality lab on a budget.</p>

<p>As we've seen our volumes decrease, among other things we've had to increase replenishment rates to compensate, but due to the economy we can't increase our prices. We're already at a point where processing is almost done at a loss. There was a time when we offered different black and white film developers, but no one appreciated it enough to pay a penny more here than anywhere else. We still sort and give each film type it's own time, but I don't think anyone really appreciates it enough to pay us more for the effort. With the economy the way it is, I'm convinced that nothing matters more than the cost for all but a diminishing handful of customers. When it gets to the point where I can't maintain my own standards I'll be forced to close the last custom lab in NJ.</p>