Where do you go for E6 in the UK

[arca andy]

So many labs have either stopped processing E6 or have closed down in the UK that I thought it was about time we had a thread on where you go for your processing. How much do you pay for a sheet of E6 5x4..only 5x4 to keep it simple.. and what you think of the quality of the process/service etc. I'll start:
Genesis Imaging in Fulham, London.
www.genesis-digital.net
£3.60 ex vat per 5x4 :eek:
The process is constant and the staff great.
Andy

[BennehBoy]

Peak Imaging £2.00 for 5x4, £3.04 inc VAT for 8x10! discounts for volume 5+ 10+ 25+

http://www.peak-imaging.com/htmls/process.htm

Excellent service and fast turnaround - way less dust than most walk in labs I've visited.

[Joanna Carter]

Leach Colour, Huddersfield http://www.leachcolour.com/

4x5 : 1 - £1.73, 2 - £1.62, 5 - £1.52, 10 - £1.40, 20+ - £1.30

8x10 : 1 - £3.03, 2 - £2.70, 5 - £2.60, 10 - £2.27, 20+ - £1.73

All prices plus VAT.

[JonathanPerkins]

Joanna,

Today Leach have announced that they are pulling out of developing, http://www.ephotozine.com/article/One-Vision-Imaging and transferring all their lab business to "One Vision Imaging".

Jonathan

Edited to say that the press release suggests that the processing will be done at One Vision's facility, and it does say "....many cases can offer more competitive pricing" so hopefully they will still process LF at a reasonable price. I've settled on using Peak and as BennehBoy says the results are very clean.

Edited again to say I've just had a look at the One Vision website which says they process up to MF - hopefully the LF kit will get transferred?

[Joanna Carter]

Today Leach have announced that they are pulling out of developing ... and transferring all their lab business to "One Vision Imaging".

Oh great!!! So much for the Tearoom Appreciation Sub-committee meetings whilst the film was being processed :(


Edited again to say I've just had a look at the One Vision website which says they process up to MF - hopefully the LF kit will get transferred?
Well, looking at the One Vision prices for 120, it looks like I too will be transferring to Peak.

[Joanna Carter]

... looking at the One Vision prices for 120 ...
Just confirmed that OneVision will not be taking over the sheet film side of things, so I will definitely be changing to Peak.

[George Hart]

But Peak doesn't do 5x7 size…:mad:

[Joanna Carter]

But Peak doesn't do 5x7 size…:mad:
As far as I know, the hangers that normally take two 4x5 sheets, side by side, can take one 5x7 on its side.

[RJC]

Have used BPD Phototech (www.bpdphotech.com) since 2002 after recommendation from Joe C, have always been impressed with the quality and service - currently £2.50 inc VAT per 5x4 sheet.

I have recently been given to understand that Joe himself currently uses NPS Media in Middlesborough (www.npsmedia.com) - £2.05 ex VAT per 5x4 sheet, so may try them for my next batch given the obvious saving.

[Joanna Carter]

Have used BPD Phototech
BPD do not do their own E6 processing; they farm it out. They used to use Pro2Col in Manchester until they closed, then they used Leach.

But when I phoned them today, they said that they were now using MPS in Liverpool.

Now I don't know what the quality is like at MPS now but, about three or four years ago, I had a very bad experience with them when they fogged six unrepeatable shots. At that time, they were not processing E6 regularly and were having to start the machine when they got any film in, God knows what the soup was like, having been left for, possibly, days between sessions.

Since I only live about 25 mile from MPS, I will go in to them on Monday and see if things have changed; I will report back next week.

[RJC]

I had 2 bad experiences with Peak in the mid 90s and have never used them since. With what you tell me about BPD I will certainly be sending my next batch to NPS.

[Joanna Carter]

I had 2 bad experiences with Peak in the mid 90s and have never used them since. With what you tell me about BPD I will certainly be sending my next batch to NPS.
And yet, BennehBoy reckons that now Peak are superbly clean and reliable.

I suppose there is always the possibility of any lab having a bad day :rolleyes:

[RJC]

And yet, BennehBoy reckons that now Peak are superbly clean and reliable.

I suppose there is always the possibility of any lab having a bad day :rolleyes:

I suppose Peak may have had 2 bad days :rolleyes: and it was 10+ years ago, but since their cockups cost me several hundred £s in a reshoot :( I'm not minded to go back to them. Since, in addition to Joe, NPS also count David Ward and Mark Denton amongst their clientele I'd rather send my work to them than go for the cheapest Lab possible.

Does anyone have any experience of 'CC Imaging' in Leeds as they seem to run the FujiFilm Lab franchise (£3.00 per sheet with unspecified quantity discount) ?

[Brian ER]

Hi

Try Loxley Colour in Glasgow - Have used them for 12+ years - 3.50 +Vat per sheet

Brian

[Brian ER]

Sorry - Should be £3.50 GB Pounds

Brian

[BennehBoy]

@RJC I've used CC for E6, but only 120, always good results.

[Joanna Carter]

Well folks, I've been in to MPS this morning and can report that things would appear to have changed for the better.

Firstly, they finally came out with the truth about my fogged film that someone had opend both darkroom doors at the same time, instead of some vague excuse at the time (and asking me if I had a pinhole in my bellows).

Apparently, MPS have been doing the processing for BPD for a couple of years now so, if you want to know how good their developing is, ask someone who uses BPD.

Also, they are now one of the labs doing the developing behind the Fuji Choose Film site so, one would expect that they would have to be of a reasonable standard to obtain that contract.

MPS are charging £1.89 per sheet for E6, C41 or B&W 4x5 and £4.20 for 8x10. Discounts for bulk may be negotiable

To maintain quality, they say that they tend to only run (after testing) the E6 line twice a week Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

I have been invited to put some film in to evaluate the quality of their work, so I will attempt to take the same shot twice, one for Peak to do and the other for MPS.

[Baxter Bradford]

For those on the South Coast, Photoworks (http://www.e6process.com/e6_processing_page.html)in Bournemouth are very good indeed £2.30 inc Vat per sheet 5x4. Jonathon Gay is particularly personable and very knowledgeable. They were going to shut down their E6 line a couple of years ago but had a change of heart. By that time, I'd resolved to do my own processing. Their quality control has always exceeded that of Peak in my experience.

FYI DIY E6 using Fuji Hunt 3 bath chemicals (excluding labour of love) costs £0.40 - £0.50 per sheet of 5x4 if you are tempted to take the plunge....! No clip marks on the trannies, no extra charge for pull & push processing..... I reckon I easily recovered the financial cost within 6-9 months.

[Joanna Carter]

FYI DIY E6 using Fuji Hunt 3 bath chemicals (excluding labour of love) costs £0.40 - £0.50 per sheet of 5x4 if you are tempted to take the plunge....! No clip marks on the trannies, no extra charge for pull & push processing..... I reckon I easily recovered the financial cost within 6-9 months.
I have oft times thought of going the same route but have been put off by the thought that the chemicals have a short shelf life and that I don't process film on a regular basis.

I have some questions :

1. How much is the chemistry?
2. Where can it be purchased?
3. How many sheets does it do?
4. How long does an opened pack keep for?

5. What machine do you use?
6. Do you need a tempered water supply?
7. How do you achieve a tempered water supply?
8. How much does it cost to provide a tempered water supply?

[Baxter Bradford]

Answers supplied immediately after the Q's - can't be doing with fiddling with snips etc.

I have oft times thought of going the same route but have been put off by the thought that the chemicals have a short shelf life and that I don't process film on a regular basis.

I have some questions :

1. How much is the chemistry?
£40 for 5 litres http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/shop/categories/colour-film-chemicals/
2. Where can it be purchased?
Firstcall and other places
3. How many sheets does it do?
250ml does 6 sheets - therefore 5 litres does 120 sheets. In practise it's slightly less than this due to my eagerness to process push/pull batches.
4. How long does an opened pack keep for?
Quite a while (months in my experience) so long as you spray with Tentanol Protectan inert spray.

5. What machine do you use?
Jobo ATL2300, previously the much more compact ATL1000. these are automatic, so fire and forget - until it beeps to say process complete.
6. Do you need a tempered water supply?
Yes
7. How do you achieve a tempered water supply?
I have a Casey-Jones lookalike Jobo product I was given with the processor. Prior to that I used a large camping jerry can with water heater from Nova and a camping pump (details on APUG I think). There are other options from plumbers merchants.
8. How much does it cost to provide a tempered water supply? Depends on which option you go for.

[Noeyedear]

But Peak doesn't do 5x7 size…:mad:

You need Metro in London, they have been doing my 13x18 E6.
http://www.metroimaging.co.uk/

Kevin.

[BennehBoy]

I spoke to a chap called Ian who is co-resident at CC Imaging's premises, he is running a traditional print service and is willing to make 10x8 colour contact prints or proofs for me - I'll post more details here when I get them.

[BennehBoy]

OK, the company is called Silvertone, they are a secialist traditional printer, you can speak to Ian on 07814 009131. I have some negs with him not for contacting (with full colour match), so will report back once I have seen the results.

[RJC]

For those on the South Coast, Photoworks (http://www.e6process.com/e6_processing_page.html)in Bournemouth are very good indeed

I have today received an email from Photoworks stating that they are discontinuing their E6 processing service with immediate effect "owing to a sharp downturn in film processing and the opportunity to use the space more profitably".

Jonathon stated "For E6 processing I would suggest you try Profolab in Weymouth.

http://www.profolab.co.uk/e6.html".

[Baxter Bradford]

Surprised by that email you received from Photoworks.

I went in and spoke to Jonathon the week before last and it sounded like they were doing well on the E6 front. Might be worth a call to verify the situation.

Just seen the note about Profolab in Weymouth. I've used these too and they are good. Very handy if you are shooting on the Jurassic Coast and want to check progress. They have a long track record and well worth supporting. Believe that some well known landscape photographers used them prior (no pun, not him!) to switching to digital.

I have had issues with colour consistency from Peak on several occasions. The amber Fuji in the rebate has come back in a whole host of shades.

[uniB]

I've never had a problem with Peak Imaging, that's where mine go, or at least went, they now go into the kitchen and into the Jobo CPP2!

[RJC]

Believe that some well known landscape photographers used them prior (no pun, not him!) to switching to digital.

If not Colin, are we talking someone like Mr Noton ...... ?