Cheapest Good B&W sheet film developing (someone to do it for me)?

[sully75]

Hello all,

So...JOBO drum or not, I really don't like developing film that much. I like the rest of the deal, don't mind scanning, but developing is a real chore.

The one lab I use for color charges $3 a sheet for 4x5 B&W, which is not totally crazy if you think about an hourly rate, probably takes me 1.5 hours to finish 10 B&W 4x5 negs in my jobo drum, so, 3 hours for $60 isn't a bad exchange.

I'm just wondering if there is anyone out there who might be cheaper and still be good. I'm guessing no but just wondering.

Thanks
Paul

[Frank Petronio]

All the labs look at one another's price lists and I doubt you'll find anyone significantly cheaper who is also any good.... You actually want a busy lab that can afford to do it right, as opposed to someone who might only do B&W once a week (old chemistry, lazy, out of practice, etc.)

[Ken Lee]

Perhaps the JOBO is the problem. I had one and got really tired of being able to do only 10 negatives at a time.

With an infra red viewing device and some sterilite shoe boxes, I routinely develop 20 or more sheets at a time.

It really helps when you can see what you're doing and when the trays are deep rather than wide - and let's not forget the dishrack film washer

I couldn't imagine having someone else develop my film. Not only because I want to use my own chemistry, but because development by inspection gives control over the development of the negative: a little more or less to bring out the best, and a lot more or less when preventing disasters and encountering surprises.

[jcoldslabs]

Pro Photo Supply here in Portland charges $2.00 per sheet for B&W 4x5.

http://www.prophotosupply.com/p-lab_price.htm

Jonathan

[Lenny Eiger]

I wish I had an answer for you. However, I will add that you want to choose someone who will soup things in a developer you actually like.... as in Xtol, or some Pyro variant, etc. The old time labs used a lot of DK-50, which wasn't so great, IMO. Your photos have a distinct quality and it will matter what they are developed in...

Lenny

[Tim Povlick]

I can't imagine sending out B&W for development as it's part of the fun. Trying different developers / time etc to match the subject / film / lighting.
A while back I sent some TechPan out to a lab that claimed they could handle it no problem, turns out they could not.

I use Jobo 3010 tank and the Combi-Plan. The development chore of hand rotation the Jobo tank was eliminated with a home make "Tank Rotation Device". One can set a timer and well away during the long development / fix / rinse cycles.

Best Regards,

Tim

[mdm]

Learning to develop film in a tray with an IR viewing device is definately worth the effort. Because you can see what you are doing you can learn easier not to scratch the film and also see the image develop so it is an interesting way to spend time. I use cheap 2 litre plastic lunch boxes for 5x7 and 4x5 with a thermometer and a waste sheet in the bottom so it is easy to remove the bottom sheet and to prevent the first sheet being marked or scratched. To tell the truth, I dont even black out the window of the laundry (though I live in the middle of nowhere and there are no other lights around except the moon and stars).

[Henry Ambrose]

I think sending off your film is a bad idea, so I have two words for you:

Tanks

Hangers

Its not a big deal to set up to run 24 sheets (or more) at a time.
And if you refine your procedure you should be able to make one run of 24 in less than an hour, easy.
Look for 6 of the 4-up hangers that fit into 8X10 tanks and some one gallon tanks with floating lids and covers to fit.

Xtol is $9.95 for 5 liters, in theory enough to process 200 4x5 sheets. (100ml stock per 80 sq. ins. of film, 80 sq. ins. = 4 sheets of 4x5)
You won't get this much because of the mixing and time requirements. 5 liters of Xtol diluted 1: 3 will give you 5 runs of 24 sheets or 120 sheets.
A gallon of mixed TF4 at $9.95 will fix all that film and lasts really well in a covered tank, a month for sure.
Only other thing you need is water.

So there you are, 5 runs resulting in 120 sheets of film in one month for $20.00. One run a week and an extra for good measure.
And you are in complete control of what you get.

[Jay DeFehr]

I don't think switching from Jobo drums to tanks and hangers is going to make processing film faster, cheaper, or better. Sure, you could run more sheets in a batch, but how often is that optimum? One of the great benefits of sheet film is the ability to develop each exposure optimally. How often do you have more than 10 sheets that should get the same development? How often do you have less than 10 sheets to process in a batch? I'm not anti-tank/hanger, but you already own the Jobo drum, and I don't think any theoretical benefits of tanks/hangers warrant re-investing in a new process.
As for economy, 100ml of 510-Pyro costs about the same as 5 liters of Xtol, but will develop 400 4x5 sheets of film, or more, whether you want to process one sheet in a batch, or ten, and there are no keeping issues.

But then, I don't see film processing as a major burden, either. Unfortunately, I think the economies of scale necessary to make film processing inexpensive compared to home processing are no longer possible, due to low demand, widely diffused. You'll probably have to decide whether you have more money or patience.

[sully75]

I think mostly I'm pissed off at myself for not really exposing a single sheet of film in probably 4 weeks after investing quite a bit. I think that's kind of a danger of buying stuff, if you just have a couple of things, you can kind of feel ok about letting them sit, but if you have good stuff, and you don't use it, you feel shitty. At least, that's me.

Also I have this project where I go and find strangers on the street and try to do good portraits of them. When it works I love the pictures but it's kind of difficult on an emotional level to get out there and do it. So I've been having a lot of brain farts about it. So I'm looking for excuses.

But I kinda do hate developing film, still. I just like the results.