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Thread: Cost of film processing

  1. #1

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    Cost of film processing

    I recently posted a question where I am looking at doing my own film processing. I realize the advantages of this compared to using a lab. My question to the group who do their own processing, in your experience, what is the actual cost of doing your own film processing, with and without including your time?

    When I did my own film processing, besides quiting because I found the work tedious, I discovered when I include my time, it was cheaper to use a lab. And somehow I suspect this hasn't changed up to a certain point, but I want to hear from those who have done this for sheet film. Do you track your costs, from purchasing the equipment to the on-going expensive of chemicals and other stuff?

    I ask this because Ivey Imaging in Seattle processes 4x5 sheet film for a fixed price, for any of the D-76, C-41 and E-6 processes including any push/pull requests with a normal and one day turnaround, 3 hour optional. I would like to compare their prices to others' experience. What would you estimate your cost per sheet, and does that include your time?
    --Scott--

    Scott M. Knowles, MS-Geography
    scott@wsrphoto.com

    "All things merge into one, and a river flows through it."
    - Norman MacLean

  2. #2

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    Re: Cost of film processing

    How do you value time? When you drop off the film at the store do you value the drive there and back? For me it would take longer to drive one way then to run a batch of film. I can also run quite a bit of 4x5 or smaller film in each batch. That means the time per sheet isn't that high. Plus with daylight tanks it's possible to do other things. So how would I value my time?


    After that. I use D-23 home mixed. 1:3 one shot. Home mixed TF-2 fixer. For colour I'm using mostly fuji chemicals bought in bulk. I can't off the top of my head give you a number per sheet but it's cents. Not dollars.

    Equipment ranges from a couple of new tanks and reels to almost everything else used. The used stuff was much less. I could manage with less equipment but having more lets me do more in less time. If I need to. Which isn't often. Plus much of my equipment is shared with my RA-4 setup.


    You talk about 3 hour rush times. Charges for push/pull. Maybe charges for cross processing. All that is included when I do it myself.

  3. #3
    Resident Heretic Bruce Watson's Avatar
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    Re: Cost of film processing

    Ya, I did the calculations once, years ago. I found that I could process film (C-41) for about the same costs as my local pro-lab if I didn't include charges for my floorspace, HVAC, or equipment. That is, my time and chemicals only. And... I couldn't get the consistency they could either.

    My conclusion was that working with my local pro-lab gave me considerably better quality along with cost savings. Nothing has changed in the last few years to make me want to revisit my findings.

    But that's just me. As I often say, one should find the work flow with which one is most comfortable. If that includes doing your own C-41 and/or E-6 processing, go for it. It's not all just about the money after all.

    Bruce Watson

  4. #4

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    Re: Cost of film processing

    My time is more valuable making images than processing. Unless there isn't a pro lab one can trust, then ruined film is far too expense than my time.

  5. #5

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    Re: Cost of film processing

    I operated a nicely equipped professional B&W lab in the 80s and early 90s. Been there and done that. While I can appreciate how someone can fine tune a Zone placement with careful development choices, I simply don't think it matters unless your entire workflow is also calibrated and super precise. And the real world conspires against me doing that.

    I've also worked in bathtubs and basements with buckets of water...

    A good lab may not give you the ultimate optimal development for every situation. But consistency allows you to work around that, and I'll take machine processed professional processing over streaky home-brew processing anyday. I wouldn't go back to home processing unless I had a really super nice temp controlled chilled water jacket, full stainless steel and air cleaner equipped super-duper darkroom. And those aren't cheap.

  6. #6

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    Re: Cost of film processing

    I think the answer is different for color and black and white, and also depends on what you do next. If you are making wet prints, you already have the darkroom, so the incremental trouble is not as much.

    I find black and white very simple. I use a Jobo Expert Drum, a used bessler base from Ebay, and a changing tent to load it. I get the water temp about right for the developer and do not worry about the small amount of drift during processing. But I do this in a temperature controlled bathroom, so the air temp is pretty constant and close to the developer temp. I then scan and work digitally. Very easy and fast and cheap, and no scratch problem. I am not perfect, and have ruined some film with stupid mistakes, but hey, I do that in the camera as well.:-)

    I do not have a local color lab, which is just one more reason why I do not shoot color with film. I also do not have a local black and white lab, but do not care about that.

  7. #7

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    Re: Cost of film processing

    I've never processed color film. I've processed untold amounts of b&w film. It never occurred to me to use a lab for b&w film. It's very easy to do, you don't need a dedicated darkroom, and it took me about 20 minutes per run (6 sheets per run though I could easily have done double that if time was a major consideration for me) from beginning through dry negative not counting wash and drying time since you can do other things while film is being washed and dried. I never tried to figure the out-of-pocket cost but I used D76 1-1 in BTZS tubes which hold two ounces of working solution per tube so I processed 64 4x5 negatives from a quart of stock solution and a quart of D76 cost about $3. Stop bath lasts forever or you use water if you really want to save money and I don't remember what fix cost but it wasn't much. Add in clearing agent for about $15 per gallon, two ounces per gallon of working solution.

    That's out-of-pocket costs. If you throw in time then you'd have to put some arbitrary hourly rate on it. And if you really wanted to do some serious cost accounting you'd have to calculate depreciation expense for your Jobo, tubes, trays, or whatever other equipment you use, plus allocate your household water bill, electric bill, cost of the light bulb in the room you use, etc. etc. to figure your indirect costs, then to compare with a lab you'd have to figure in postage if you mail the film, allocate a part of your automobile costs to your trips to the lab or post office, etc. etc. All of which gets kind of ridiculous so I don't think it's very realistic to do anything except compare out of pocket costs and forget time and the other stuff.

    I mildly disagree with Frank's statement about the value of fine-tuning your own development times. You don't need to have anything calibrated, you just need to know your normal, plus, and minus development times. I do think that with scanning and digital printing having the "perfect" negative is less important than it used to be because you can do so much more with the print when printing digitally than you could in a darkroom. Nevertheless, I think it's still valuable to start with the best negative you can get and it's very easy to do that when you process your own film.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  8. #8

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    Re: Cost of film processing

    From the time I begin transferring the sheets from filmholders to the Jobo drum until final clean-up is about 40 minutes. It is a 1 hour round-trip to drop off at the lab and another to pick-up the next day. The cost of my time alone clinches it for me.

  9. #9

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    Re: Cost of film processing

    I have other things to do with my time besides watching over an E6 processing run. Additionally, I don't see that I can get the same consistent results as I can with a lab for the price my lab charges - $1.30 for 4x5 E6.

  10. #10

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    Re: Cost of film processing

    My impression is that B&W film and printing needs to be done start to finish by the photographer, in order to get the results you are after. You may as well leave color to the lab, as it's literal and more specialized/difficult. So far doing B&W at home is saving me alot of money to buy equipment to do more processing at home..... vicious circle. But hey, if you like to do it, that's part of the hobby.

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