which processing LAB...?

Yardbent

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John
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which LAB do you use for processing B&W 35mm film .....?

''my'' LAB (Photo Express) only handles Ilford XP2 B&W - a C41 film

I'm looking for developing, and scan to their CD - or my supplied thumb drive.

no prints required

thanks
 
I normally do it myself, but I have occasionally used Colourstream www.colourstream.net in Brighton for colour and black and white. They've always been fast and reliable, but they are local to me and I've always popped film in in person and collected it later (same day, usually about 2 hours).
 
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I use ComeThroughLab in Manchester for my colour now that I do my own B&W but used to use them for B&W too.

Excellent service and results across all types/brands..

I scan my own so cannot comment on their scans if you need them.

I have a roll of Velvia 50 120 with them at the moment.
 
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Depends where you are. You can post anywhere, but if there is a good one nearby you might like to use that.
 
thanks to all for the suggestions...I've contacted them all with a few questions

they, together with internet search results, will now go into a spreadsheet

(..BTW.....no driving to PO since my hip surgery so all films by post/courier...)
 
@StephenM

Brilliant....thanks

I'll contact them b4 my spreadsheet
 

I think that post needs updating @Musicman - Peak Imaging went out of business a few years ago, and the link to FotoHippo has changed (to https://www.photohippo.co.uk/ - although you need to shield your eyes from the AI generated image of a woman holding a non-existent camera in weird hands ;)).

There are probably other changes too, but those are ones that I noticed straight away.
 
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You might like to add Aire Street Darkroom, who are recommended (and were used, I think) by West Yorkshire Cameras.
 
You might like to add Aire Street Darkroom, who are recommended (and were used, I think) by West Yorkshire Cameras.
from their website

''...It’s one of the only black and white film darkrooms that enables photographers and printmakers in the North of England to process their own films and make their own photographic prints.......''
 
Drat.
 
...and no-one has yet mentioned Filmdev, AFAICS! If you want scans as well as dev, they pretty much have the best prices...
 
This is probably a good time to remind people (and @Yardbent) about the Nifty dev/scan price estimator, that compares prices (*) from the following labs: A&M Imaging, AG PhotoLab, Analogue Wonderlab, DS Colour Labs, Filmdev, Harman Labs, Photo Express, Photo Hippo, The Dark Room UK and Canadian Film Lab.

* The caveat is, the last price check I did for this version was March 2024, so as always, this is only a rough comparison, please always check before ordering!

I'd try to keep it more up to date, but there are a very large number of prices to check, and every site has a different layout, so it's time consuming.
 
...and no-one has yet mentioned Filmdev, AFAICS! If you want scans as well as dev, they pretty much have the best prices...
so far I have prices for these

A + M Imaging

Brighton Film

Photo Express

Analogue Wonderland

HARMAN Lab

AG Photographic

Photo HIPPO

Come Through Lab

Photographique

Film Processing Co

Film Dev Co

SouthSun
 
@ChrisR

how do I insert a link to a spreadsheet on my desktop pc...?
 
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Honestly, I can't see why not develop your own. It is so simple - and so much cheaper. It's also a joy.

A few years ago I'd have said "no way". Really, though, once you pick it up it's a breeze. Lots of those who develop at home seem to want to make it look way more complex and demanding than it is, I sometimes reckon that places such as Kodak and the major labs in Europe also had a vested interest in creating the image of the mysterious practitioner in the dark with chemicals and thermometers and a stopwatch, but that isn't the case. A darkroom isn't needed.

My practice these days is to take a walk with my medium-format box and use up a roll. On arrival home, I can spool them up and have the film developing while I settle in. Within the hour the photos are scanned and my children are scrolling through them on their phones.

At this stage, I can develop through to large format, reverse develop and also develop in C-41 for colour(oh for the day when I can reversse develop colour!)

Each step has been fun. For normal B&W, though, a simple Rodinal dilution, and fix works really well. B&W has great flexibility, and the chemicals are robust, working perfectly at room temperature, and having a great shelf life.

There's nothing quite like seeing sharp images emerge from the tank.
 
I used to use AG Photolab and was very happy with them, but lately their turnaround times have been getting slower and slower. It used to be that a roll sent to them on Monday would be back on Wednesday, but now it'll be sometime next week. Consequently I've recently started home developing B&W again after a 30 year break, and I'm loving it.
 
I used to use AG Photolab and was very happy with them, but lately their turnaround times have been getting slower and slower. It used to be that a roll sent to them on Monday would be back on Wednesday, but now it'll be sometime next week. Consequently I've recently started home developing B&W again after a 30 year break, and I'm loving it.
Yup. Straightforward B&W developing is as easy as sending off the film.

What has always amazed me is that the pleasure of seeing the film emerge after the final rinse has never diminished. Each time is a joy.

I've experimented over time with cross-development, bypassing the bleach etc.., but the great majority of my work is B&W, and it really is very straightforward.
 
@NiallerM

can you recommend a budget scanner..?
Well, I picked up an Epson Perfection V250 for €20 some time ago. It's only good for 35mm, but it works well. I'll pick up one which does 120 as well soon. Just keeping an eye on the ssites. For formats larger than 35mm or for some 35mm work I use my Fujifilm and a macro lens.

The Epson surprised me. It offers quite a degree of manipulation, and seems to have profiles for most film bases, which is handy.
 
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@ChrisR

how do I insert a link to a spreadsheet on my desktop pc...?
I'm not quite sure what you mean, John. But if you have a spreadsheet on your PC, I don't know a way of linking that to this forum directly. The Nifty dev/scan thingy is a file on my Mac (used to be Excel, now Mac Numbers); I upload it to G$$gle Docs and fiddle about a bit to get the cell protections right (so that only the numbers of different film types can be altered), and then link it from there.

The only other option I can think of is to make a dump in some form, eg a screenshot, or perhaps a CSV file, and include those in a post. Oh, I guess you could put it on Dropbox and link from there, maybe?
 
Has anyone used Film Safe in Southampton? FilmDev are shut until early August.

 
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