Argh, North Carolina pro labs

[DrPablo]

The E6 lab (Chromex) in Greensboro will stop processing film at the end of 2008. My hobby of late is shooting 8x10 sheets of Astia and Velvia, so this is tough to take. Already in Greensboro I can only get C41 processed in 135 or 120 but not sheet film. There is a pro B&W lab that does 8x10 if needed.

I work in Durham, so J&W labs is accessible to me if needed, but on their website it looks like they don't process sheet film.

Any other suggestions? I'm getting to the point where I may need to get my own Jobo and just do it myself.

[Brian Vuillemenot]

Send it to Calypso Imaging in Santa Cruz, CA

[DrPablo]

Do they have quick turnaround?

I was so spoiled when I lived in Boston, same day (usu 2 hour) service for C41 or E6 of any size.

[rmmoore]

I use J&W labs in Raleigh to process my black and white 4x5 sheet film so I would imagine they can do 8x10 also.

[Bruce Watson]

I work in Durham, so J&W labs is accessible to me if needed, but on their website it looks like they don't process sheet film.

Don't be silly. Of course they process sheet film. They do quite a good job of it too. I've been processing film there for years.

What happened to the lab in Greensboro could also happen to J. W. Photo Labs in Raleigh. If you don't support your local labs, don't be surprised when they quit processing film.

[Scott Knowles]

What happened to the lab in Greensboro could also happen to J. W. Photo Labs in Raleigh. If you don't support your local labs, don't be surprised when they quit processing film.

I would say no to that. Ivey Imaging in Seattle was a profitable lab (other lab in Portland) for both the digital and film processing work. The owner, who had repurchased the company from Ivey-Seright a few years earlier, decided it was time to do other things. Even when the lab showed a profit and steady customer base (last big/pro lab in the area), the new owner only wanted the digital equipment. Much to his surprise, no one stepped up to buy the film lab.

A few years before that ProLab (Ballard), still profitable, went commercial digital only. And last year our local lab (Strode-McGowan) quit altogether when the city mandated additional upgrades for the disposal of chemicals in the permit for a renovation. The owner decided the whole business wasn't worth the time.

That's leaves one lab for E-6 roll film and none for E-6 sheet film. Not one of the labs which have quit in the last 10 years or so here were losing money with film, and only a few were losing customers who moved their business to the other labs.

It's not about the customer base, but the profit margin and/or interest.

[DrPablo]

Don't be silly. Of course they process sheet film. They do quite a good job of it too. I've been processing film there for years.

I only ask because they don't list anything above 120/220 for C41 or E6 on their online pricelist.

If you don't support your local labs, don't be surprised when they quit processing film.

Be fair, they're a 90 minute drive from home and they're a more than 30 minute drive from work -- and I am lucky to have time to refill my coffee when I'm at work, so I'm never free to go spend an hour dropping off film. I understand your general principle, but they're not exactly a local lab for me and with a hard job and a newborn I'm not going to spend hours driving to Raleigh and back every time I expose a couple sheets.

[Joseph O'Neil]

It is also about insurance, enviromental fees, etc, etc. I know one local lab that shut down their film processing because the mall they were in added a "premium" to their monthly rent in the mall to cover the increased cost of insurance becasue that photo store had a lab with chemistry and the "danger" and "liability" of having chemicals on site . I wonder what the local pharmacy has to pay?

And ever mind the fact that this company had been processing film for over 50 years....

As much as I want to protect the enviroment, I do think there are many people who are taking advantage of the situation. For example, my company wanted to order 4, one gallon jugs of alcohol based hand sanitizer - the refills basically. There was a "hazardous materials handling charge" that by law had to added. However, if I ordered 100, 4 oz containers of hand sanitizer, no hazardous material handling charge. These fees are all mandated by law too. It was all about the size of the container, not the real volume.

So, I drove the 15 minutes to the warehouse and picked up the four jugs in person.

My point is however, that photo labs, through various juristictions, are facing much the same kind of issue, double standards, gouging, and other problems, and some of the owners of these businesses are just fed up, too close to retirement, and giving up.

[Bruce Watson]

Be fair, they're a 90 minute drive from home and they're a more than 30 minute drive from work -- and I am lucky to have time to refill my coffee when I'm at work, so I'm never free to go spend an hour dropping off film. I understand your general principle, but they're not exactly a local lab for me and with a hard job and a newborn I'm not going to spend hours driving to Raleigh and back every time I expose a couple sheets.

You said in your original post:

I work in Durham, so J&W labs is accessible to me if needed...

Be fair? How am I not being fair?

For that matter, who said you have to drive? J. W. Photo Labs takes mail orders just like everybody else. The difference is, they are closer to where you live. So transport time from your location to theirs (and back) is considerably less than if you use a distant lab in, say, NY or California. UPS ground from Greensboro to Raleigh is overnight last time I checked.

A few days vs. a couple of weeks. Yet another reason to support your local labs.

[DrPablo]

Yes, if needed. I'm getting them to do some Lightjet prints for me, and if they were still doing Cibachromes I'd get them to do that as well. But accessible and convenient are not synonyms. If they really do develop C41 and E6 sheet film in 8x10, then I will use them -- but since those services are notably absent from their otherwise comprehensive price list, you can understand why I'm asking this question to begin with.