DataChrome has closed

[baro-nite]

Based on recommendations here, I just used DataChrome for my first-ever batch of large format E6. Got the film back this week and I'm very pleased. Went to check something on their website and found this message on the home page:

DataChrome has closed its doors.

Thank you for your years of business.

I hardly knew ye.

[djdister]

Well, Dodge-Chrome still exists in the Washington, DC area, just had them process a batch of 5x7 C-41 and B&W. They do business by mail too...

http://www.dodgechrome.com/

[baro-nite]

Yes, we still have good options in the US. But one fewer now.

[BrianShaw]

What a shame. But not unexpected. Apparently there's not enough E-6 being used these days to sustain a dedicated processing business.

[Daniel Stone]

Rochelle(DataChrome owner/operator) is a gem of a lady. Unfortunately, she did not have the throughput to keep her Refrema dip-n-dunk machine running
I hand-delivered my film to her, and it was usually done same day. In the past year, however, her business has slowed even more, and she had to turn to other things just to keep the lights on.
I discussed converting her machine to run C-41, but that never transpired. She has competition with Pro Photo, who installed an E-6 line, but didn't maintain it to the same standards she did with her line(she was a stickler for quality).

Sad day in E6 land, she was a trooper, and could have shut the doors earlier, but I'm glad to have given her the business I did.

-Dan

[Sal Santamaura]

...She has competition with Pro Photo, who installed an E-6 line, but didn't maintain it to the same standards she did with her line(she was a stickler for quality)...

It's been a couple of years since my last visit to Pro Photo. They'd moved to Fitch in Irvine several years before that, but hadn't ever got their E-6 line back up and running. For a long time I heard a string of excuses about permits and city inspection woes; I stopped asking. They were farming out all the E-6 dropped off to them during that period; I don't know where they sent it. Do you know when they finally began processing transparencies themselves again?

Another option in these parts is Swan, just over two miles from me:

https://swanphotolabs.com/swan08/

I hardly shoot any E-6 now, but it's nice to know Swan is there, even if quite expensive and running a three to four day turnaround. In addition to operating under its real company name, Swan also markets as "The Darkroom" and, for North America, "ILFORD LAB DIRECT."

[Daniel Stone]

Sal,

Pro Photo, IIRC, was farming out there E6 to Rochelle/DataChrome until they decided to take E6 in-house. I remember her saying she and some person from Pro Photo had a disagreement, IDK if that led to the separation, or Pro Photo simply got greedy. According to Rochelle, PP's E6 was no where close to the cleanliness or chemical accuracy of her line. She did E6, and only E6(with some occasional slide dupes, up to 4x5).

All I know is, if I were to start up a custom processing business today, I'd be using a refurbished Jobo automated unit(s), such as the ATL2300. Much less chemistry to maintain(I believe the main baths for Rochelle's Refrema were 50 liter capacity), so quite large. And she had a small machine compared to some of the monsters made for larger commercial labs of yesteryear.

Icon here in LA does mail-order processing, and they're who I use now for my E-6. They offer discount coupons to "eFilm" subscribers(free): https://online.iconla.com/

-Dan

[Sal Santamaura]

...Pro Photo, IIRC, was farming out there E6 to Rochelle/DataChrome until they decided to take E6 in-house...

Pro Photo ran an in-house E-6 line for many years (I'd been aware of / using it for at least 15) until they moved to Fitch. Alleged challenges in getting it running at the new location were the reason given for then starting to outsource the work. It's interesting to know that DataChrome was their supplier.

Pro Photo's taking E-6 (back) in house might have been a big hit to Rochelle's business that rendered it unsustainable. As far as processing quality, I'd already essentially stopped shooting E-6 by the time Pro Photo moved, so have no way to compare, but always found their in-house work rather middle of the road. That applied to both price and cleanliness / color accuracy.

[MikeH]

A little late to this thread... I only shoot about 30 sheets of 4x5 a year... all of it E6, but I had been using Rochelle and was quite pleased with her quality and consistency. I've started using North Coast Photo in Carlsbad via mail and they've been very consistent and reliable:

http://www.northcoastphoto.com/index.html

I send them individual film boxes for each different push that I want, in a USPS Priority Mail "Padded Envelope" and include a pre-stamped, self-addressed Priority Envelope, and the turnaround is quick.

[DrTang]

while all the closing are sad - perhaps this will help the remaining labs stronger and more likely to hang around, since all the customers from the closed labs will need to find a new one