Film Developing in the UK

Carl Hall said:
Was that a phone call to pay over the phone? If you write a note on your order form they will send you a PayPal invoice via email instead, which is much easier when if you're working during the day :)
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yep, Ill bear that in mind for next time. Thanks for the tip!
 
Carl Hall said:
Was that a phone call to pay over the phone? If you write a note on your order form they will send you a PayPal invoice via email instead, which is much easier when if you're working during the day :)
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That's interesting, I always seem to get that phone call when walking in some public place (or with my OH, which is even worse... "what d'you mean, it's only film processing?")...
 
Stupid question but has anyone posted single rolls off the their labs by post box . When I take it to the post office it costs around £3. I would batch send but have been sending a couple of random rolls off to test new cameras. Was looking at cutting the cost. Would a single 120mm film reel fit in the post box? Or am I playing with fire.
 
Some of us have acquired some unpadded plastic envelopes (see somewhere earlier in this thread, I'll edit if I find the post), send the film off in them. I leave the film bare (ie not in its plastic pot) but wrap it in kitchen foil. Then post it in the plastic envelope with a Large Letter stamp on it (£0.95), posted in a post box rather than the PO. Nine times out of ten it gets there fine; occasionally they catch it. In that case it gets delayed by a few days, then they charge the lab an extra £3, so it cost you £3.95 and a few extra days versus £3.35 for first class Small Parcel. If there's more than 2, I send it Small Parcel...

EDIT... can't find the link, but it was to some fleabay seller, maybe suggested by @excalibur2 .

BTW remember that Peak and AG (at least) have freepost, although they both charge return postage...
 
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Yeah, I get stung for small packet whenever I send a single roll which is really annoying. I've never tried just dropping it in the post but I guess it depends on the luck of the draw.
 
Nick Coe said:
Stupid question but has anyone posted single rolls off the their labs by post box . When I take it to the post office it costs around £3. I would batch send but have been sending a couple of random rolls off to test new cameras. Was looking at cutting the cost. Would a single 120mm film reel fit in the post box? Or am I playing with fire.
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Well it is pot luck with the post office as my three 120 rolls in a jiffy bag just wriggled through the checking slot near the counter, anyway the guy did a rough check of the bag in the slot where you slide your money under and said OK 57p 2nd class. Other guys on the forum had said there PO won't do a wiggle and it has to slide in and they were charged for a small packet. Haven't tried three rolls in a polythene bag and would think that would slide in. Anyway just put them in the post box and avoid all the POs, that's what I'm going to do in future.

Maybe a daft idea:- as the spool is wider than the film maybe clipping the spool would work.
 
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I've posted loads of rolls with a large letter stamp and had no issues, although mine are probably 90% 120 and 10% 35mm. My usual method is to put the roll into a sandwich bag and roll it up tight (to keep it dry if the post gets wet), then pop that into a padded jiffy bag. I fold any order forms in to quarters and put them in the envelope next to the film rather than on top of it, just to keep it thinner. I think doing this only puts it 1-2mm over the top limit of a large letter. I would assume due to the quantity of letters put through the post boxes that it would be impractical for every one to go through a thickness gauge, so perhaps they only pick on ones that someone spots as looking a bit thick.

I've yet to have a single one get caught by RM, and each one has arrived fine. I hope that a lab would pay the extra and then pass the fee on to the customer, but that might only be practical for ones that send a invoice after they receive the film, not ones where you prepay. I realise that you can't expect a lab to do this for you and at the end of the day it's your responsibility for it to get there. Perhaps doing it occasionally isn't too much of a problem for them but I bet they'd get peed off pretty quickly if it was a regular occurrence.
 
ChrisR said:
Some of us have acquired some unpadded plastic envelopes (see somewhere earlier in this thread, I'll edit if I find the post), send the film off in them. I leave the film bare (ie not in its plastic pot) but wrap it in kitchen foil. Then post it in the plastic envelope with a Large Letter stamp on it (£0.95), posted in a post box rather than the PO. Nine times out of ten it gets there fine; occasionally they catch it. In that case it gets delayed by a few days, then they charge the lab an extra £3, so it cost you £3.95 and a few extra days versus £3.35 for first class Small Parcel. If there's more than 2, I send it Small Parcel...

EDIT... can't find the link, but it was to some fleabay seller, maybe suggested by @excalibur2 .

BTW remember that Peak and AG (at least) have freepost, although they both charge return postage...
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Just had my 3rd film delayed by 10 days this time, using this method :(. Filmdev are very good, paying the excess postage (£3, so £3.95 overall) and than charging me; they also scan the envelope as evidence of the excess.

However, it looks like my local Royal Fail office has rumbled me! Maybe I'm going to have to take the bus to the next town in future...
 
ChrisR said:
Just had my 3rd film delayed by 10 days this time, using this method :(. Filmdev are very good, paying the excess postage (£3, so £3.95 overall) and than charging me; they also scan the envelope as evidence of the excess.

However, it looks like my local Royal Fail office has rumbled me! Maybe I'm going to have to take the bus to the next town in future...
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WTF there is nowhere near me that will dev 120 other than snappysnaps for £7 @ 3 miles away OR £4,50 @ 8 miles away.
 
35mm canister in a paddy jiffy doesn't quite fit without a degree of squishing. Those cardboard envelope thingies might just squidge one down enough. Makes more sense to save them up and send a load at once rather than singles as you can get a lot of rolls for the same weight limit.
 
I'm amazed at the depth of discussion over where to send your films for developing ... don't you lot have kitchens and sinks with running water?
 
Stuart M said:
I'm amazed at the depth of discussion over where to send your films for developing ... don't you lot have kitchens and sinks with running water?
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Been there done it and like scanning is boring...but at the last resort I suppose would dev colour again.
 
Stuart M said:
I'm amazed at the depth of discussion over where to send your films for developing ... don't you lot have kitchens and sinks with running water?
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I develop my 35mm films and then scan the negatives. I can develop 120 films but I cannot scan them - it actually works out cheaper to have 120 film developed and scanned than it is to just have them scanned.
 
Stuart M said:
I'm amazed at the depth of discussion over where to send your films for developing ... don't you lot have kitchens and sinks with running water?
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Not sure what kitchens have got to do with it but a lot on here do process their own b&w and a few more will process their own C41 & E6, TBH I'm happy to do my own B&w but find the faff of keeping the temperature stable for colour more trouble than it's worth, also I don't shoot enough colour to make dev'ing at home economic.

This whole thread is a great resource, particularly for those new to film photography or returning to it after years away in the digital world. We try and keep the thread up to date with new developing companies when they appear or we discover them. So giving feedback and relating our experiences has been really helpful to many of the f&c crew and also to the occasional visitors to the forum.
 
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@ChrisR just about to give Filmdev a go and can't find the info on their website, do they do E6 and do they cut negs to fit standard Kenro sleeves? I.e. 35mm in 6's and medium format in 3's or 4's depending on frame size.
 
RaglanSurf said:
@ChrisR just about to give Filmdev a go and can't find the info on their website, do they do E6 and do they cut negs to fit standard Kenro sleeves? I.e. 35mm in 6's and medium format in 3's or 4's depending on frame size.
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Sadly they do B&W and C41 but not E6. I always ask for 135 in 6s via the notes section, also un-sharpened (after one set that was over-sharpened for my taste). You can also get TIFFs (8-bit) for no extra cost, again if you ask. Finally, I ask for a soft envelope so the postie can get it through the letterbox without ringing the bell, unlike their standard A4-sized card-backed envelope. I don't remember the 120 size, but the negs are in my binder with everything else without re-sleeving, so I think they were OK...
 
ChrisR said:
Sadly they do B&W and C41 but not E6. I always ask for 135 in 6s via the notes section, also un-sharpened (after one set that was over-sharpened for my taste). You can also get TIFFs (8-bit) for no extra cost, again if you ask. Finally, I ask for a soft envelope so the postie can get it through the letterbox without ringing the bell, unlike their standard A4-sized card-backed envelope. I don't remember the 120 size, but the negs are in my binder with everything else without re-sleeving, so I think they were OK...
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Thanks Chris
 
Has anyone sent any 4x5 film to Peak for dev only? Any idea on what their turn around times are? I'm not in a rush, but it would be good to know whether I'll be waiting 3 days or 3 weeks lol.

Incredibly I posted my 4x5 film from the Peaks meet to them yesterday at around 4.30pm, and they had it before 9am this morning!
 
I was considering just farming out the film I've shot to date this year just to draw line under it but I've never really noticed how expensive it is! £9 a roll for the 6 rolls I need to do that's a new camera.
 
Carl Hall said:
Has anyone sent any 4x5 film to Peak for dev only? Any idea on what their turn around times are? I'm not in a rush, but it would be good to know whether I'll be waiting 3 days or 3 weeks lol.

Incredibly I posted my 4x5 film from the Peaks meet to them yesterday at around 4.30pm, and they had it before 9am this morning!
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They're generally pretty good, within a week door to door in my experience.
 
Another great experience with Filmdev! Posted a roll off yesterday afternoon and got the link to download the scans earlier this evening. Less than 28 hours from posting to downloading! All for £5. Unbelievable.
 
Carl Hall said:
Has anyone sent any 4x5 film to Peak for dev only? Any idea on what their turn around times are? I'm not in a rush, but it would be good to know whether I'll be waiting 3 days or 3 weeks lol.

Incredibly I posted my 4x5 film from the Peaks meet to them yesterday at around 4.30pm, and they had it before 9am this morning!
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They're in the post. You're welcome.
 
Well got a film done at Asda today and it looks like the take over is happening in two weeks.....and the girl said " that she thinks nothing will change (dunno about prices) till after xmas as there will be a settling down period".
Well I would guess it would be a period for the take over firm to see if there is any money, in film, to keep it going.
 
Just sent a roll of colour 35mm to AG Photolab. Was pretty happy with the b&w film I got them to do last time, so we'll see.

Perhaps I'll try Filmdev next.

As to the dev at home question: I barely have space for a computer on a desk, so no chance of taking over the family kitchen and I definitely don't have the time to do it at home.
If you do, great, sadly not for me.
 
Hi All,

I am the owner of a photographic lab based in Bethnal Green, east London. I process colour (C41), black & white film, provide low and hires scanning and also a C-Type hand printing service. If any of guys would be interested in this service (or know of anyone who might be) then please do get in touch.
 
I've had two batches of film processed by Filmdev over the last couple of weeks and although they've processed them (I know this because I've downloaded the scans) I still haven't received my negs back. Just spoke to the guys at Filmdev and they assured me that they have been posted, I have no reason to doubt them but I was just wondering if anyone else had problems getting their negs back.

I will speak to my local sorting office and see if there's anything on hold for me at the depot but they're normally pretty good at leaving stuff with the neighbours or leaving a card if its been returned to the sorting office.
 
vertexstudiolab said:
Hi All,

I am the owner of a photographic lab based in Bethnal Green, east London. I process colour (C41), black & white film, provide low and hires scanning and also a C-Type hand printing service. If any of guys would be interested in this service (or know of anyone who might be) then please do get in touch.
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Hi, Welcome to the best bit of the talk Photography forum. just a polite word in your ear, you might want to speak to the mods about trading if you want to advertise on here, they can get a little jumpy with people just jumping in posting their services.

On a more positive note I'll certainly check out your services, another London based lab can always come in handy.
 
RaglanSurf said:
I've had two batches of film processed by Filmdev over the last couple of weeks and although they've processed them (I know this because I've downloaded the scans) I still haven't received my negs back. Just spoke to the guys at Filmdev and they assured me that they have been posted, I have no reason to doubt them but I was just wondering if anyone else had problems getting their negs back.

I will speak to my local sorting office and see if there's anything on hold for me at the depot but they're normally pretty good at leaving stuff with the neighbours or leaving a card if its been returned to the sorting office.
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Nick, Filmdev were sending my negatives (and CDs when using them) in stiff A4-sized envelopes that wouldn't go through the letterbox, so if we were out I'd have to go to the RM office to pick them up. After discussion, they were happy to use soft envelopes instead if requested. Since then I've requested them every time, and had no more problems.

I've built my own request form in Word, and include these special instructions in the Additional Information box:

"No sharpening, please.
Please provide negatives in strips of 6 if possible.
Please provide TIFFs as well as JPEGs
Please provide a softer envelope for returned negs and CD, thanks."

Seems to work!
 
vertexstudiolab said:
Hi All,

I am the owner of a photographic lab based in Bethnal Green, east London. I process colour (C41), black & white film, provide low and hires scanning and also a C-Type hand printing service. If any of guys would be interested in this service (or know of anyone who might be) then please do get in touch.
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welcome - if you wish to directly advertise your company, please use the "contact us" link and ask for our extremely advantageous advertising rates. Should you not wish to pay for the privilege of advertising your company, kindly desist from making any posts "pimping your services" - we have a number of advertisers who DO pay to advertise their film services on here, and it's highly unfair to allow you to get away with it for free... hence, as Nick mentioned "we get a little jumpy..." or - more accurately, we get a little "ban" happy... and none of us want that to happen, do we...
 
I am tempted to start using Film Dev for my general stuff that isn't wedding/couple/serious shoot related. Although if they are as good as some of the feedback I am seeing/hearing, then maybe I will start to use them more.

I really, really would love to do my own colour developing but it's the scanning that lets me down in that respect. I only have a V550. My friend has recently bought a V700 and seems to be getting really good results with the better scanning holders. He only uses B&W though but does everything at home now. Shoot and develops the same day, hangs to dry overnight and scans in the morning.
 
I had negs back from filmdev ok. I can't remember whether the posties stuffed them through the letterbox (the envelope is surprisingly curved) or whether he knocked on the door.

Anyone know what the scan sizes are for nik & trick?
 
gazmorton2000 said:
I am tempted to start using Film Dev for my general stuff that isn't wedding/couple/serious shoot related. Although if they are as good as some of the feedback I am seeing/hearing, then maybe I will start to use them more.

I really, really would love to do my own colour developing but it's the scanning that lets me down in that respect. I only have a V550. My friend has recently bought a V700 and seems to be getting really good results with the better scanning holders. He only uses B&W though but does everything at home now. Shoot and develops the same day, hangs to dry overnight and scans in the morning.
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For home scanning of a high quality you'd want a proper dedicated film scanner. The flat beds really don't get the resolution available at all.

Braun make one that does 35mm and medium format. It seems to be quite good. http://www.filmscanner.info/en/BraunFS120.html It is some weird manual thing rather than motorised so you have to move the frame on by hand. That may or may not be a good thing.

The old minolta and nikon coolscans are also pretty good but I don't know whether they're repairable still if they go wrong.
 
gazmorton2000 said:
I am tempted to start using Film Dev for my general stuff that isn't wedding/couple/serious shoot related. Although if they are as good as some of the feedback I am seeing/hearing, then maybe I will start to use them more.
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I'd certainly suggest giving them a try. I ask them for no sharpening, TIFFs as well as JPEGs, soft envelope for the returned negs, sleeved in 6s (for 135). They mention somewhere a service to give your films the same "look", don't know if this is similar to what UKFL used to do. Maybe ring them up and ask?

gazmorton2000 said:
I really, really would love to do my own colour developing but it's the scanning that lets me down in that respect. I only have a V550. My friend has recently bought a V700 and seems to be getting really good results with the better scanning holders. He only uses B&W though but does everything at home now. Shoot and develops the same day, hangs to dry overnight and scans in the morning.
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If you're scanning 120 C41, it may not be the scanner so much as the software and technique? I find C41 really hard to scan and I have a dedicated 135 Plustek scanner. I've tried using Silverfast (version 6.something, not the current 8) and Vuescan Pro. Correcting for the orange mask in such a way as to get the colours right seems really tricky. Although both have "presets" for a number of films, they don't seem to have them all, and results can be dodgy anyway, perhaps based on exposure. The pros use scanners with a far wider set of corrections.

I have tried using ColorPerfect, you can get good results, but it's a lot of faff. You have to scan as if for a transparency, uncorrected, save the TIFF, load it into Photoshop (or Elements, I discovered) then edit with ColorPerfect as a plugin. In my case it all went via Aperture to start with, as I don't use Elements for anything else. The first case I had, when someone did it for me, my usual 3-4 MB image ballooned to 190 MB! However, when I tried it again a couple of years later, the images were about 45 MB, which is probably not far off a decent TIFF size.

So all in all I've decided to leave C41 scanning to the Pros!
 
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