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Photo Forum / Film Photography / Film and Labs / November 2005Fuji mailer turn around time?
Can anybody post their experience using Fuji mailers? I sent of a single test roll of slide film on October 31st. Still not back two weeks later. It seems slide film and I are doomed to a very latent relationship.  SignatureThomas T. Veldhouse Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1 >Can anybody post their experience using Fuji mailers? I sent of a >single test roll of slide film on October 31st. Still not back two >weeks later. It seems slide film and I are doomed to a very latent >relationship. Have patience. We typically see the return in two weeks. It was the same back in the good old days with Kodachrome. F1 > >Can anybody post their experience using Fuji mailers? I sent of a > >single test roll of slide film on October 31st. Still not back two [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > F1 You did not mention where you are located. From the Phoenix area about 10 days but we are a main center for most air shipping. PunishSpammers@nospam.com wrote: > You did not mention where you are located. From the Phoenix area about 10 > days but we are a main center for most air shipping. Minneapolis area. SignatureThomas T. Veldhouse Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1 > PunishSpammers@nospam.com wrote: > >> > > You did not mention where you are located. From the Phoenix area about 10 > > days but we are a main center for most air shipping. > > Minneapolis area. That seems to be a hub of shipping as well so I am a bit confused that it would take more than 10 days. Is there a local lab that can to it for you? PunishSpammers@nospam.com wrote: > That seems to be a hub of shipping as well so I am a bit confused that it > would take more than 10 days. Is there a local lab that can to it for > you? Local lab is more than 20 miles away. Even a store that ships to a local lab is 20 miles away. Costco, and most retailers around here, send their E-6 over to Qualex in Chicago, which has about a 10 day turn around. My single experience with them is twenty something lost slides out of 35 (one black exposure) and a smudged slide (photoshop was a good tool to fix the image, but the slide is defective). 15 days and counting from Fuji. I am considering selling my mailers off (I have 20), as this is simple ridiculous. SignatureThomas T. Veldhouse Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1 Well it's all a matter of price, isn't it. You could send it to any number of pro labs and have it back the next day. There are plenty of labs that process E6 in two hours, mine included. "Thomas T. Veldhouse" >> That seems to be a hub of shipping as well so I am a bit confused that it >> would take more than 10 days. Is there a local lab that can to it for [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > 15 days and counting from Fuji. I am considering selling my mailers off > (I have 20), as this is simple ridiculous. > Well it's all a matter of price, isn't it. You could send it to any number > of pro labs and have it back the next day. There are plenty of labs that > process E6 in two hours, mine included. Price is part. But, I am sure the film arrived in Phoenix within three days of me shipping. So, they have been sitting on it for 12 days [assuming that it hasn't been mailed back to me yet]. That is what is ridiculous. Why should they hurry? They already have the money. SignatureThomas T. Veldhouse Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1 To quote Warren Buffet, "Price is what you pay, value is what you get." Seriously, how much can you save by using a mailer over using a pro lab? A dollar or two? And you have to wait two weeks to get mediocre processing and possibly nothing at all? "Thomas T. Veldhouse" >> Well it's all a matter of price, isn't it. You could send it to any >> number [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > [assuming that it hasn't been mailed back to me yet]. That is what is > ridiculous. Why should they hurry? They already have the money. > To quote Warren Buffet, "Price is what you pay, value is what you get." > Seriously, how much can you save by using a mailer over using a pro lab? A > dollar or two? And you have to wait two weeks to get mediocre processing and > possibly nothing at all? My only pro-lab access is via the mail, or a 20 to 30 mile drive. The drive alone is about $4 these days. So, my choice of mail is about the only option, unless I use Costco or other retailers to mail out to Qualex for me. Qualex lost 26 of 35 slides on my very first order, so I am not too inclined to give them repeat business. As far as mailing goes, I can try A&I, but even my experience with A&I for C-41 was four weeks. They cited the reason as having only one person to do C-41 in the lab. Hopefully service is better for E-6 (for which they are known). BTW ... the slides arrived in the mail on Saturday. They were in excellent shape and seemed perfect [typical cardboard dust, but that was easy to remove]. SignatureThomas T. Veldhouse Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1 So if you will mail them anyway, why send them to a place that takes so long? For example, we process film in two hours and can have it back in the mail or FedEx the same day. We're not the only place that will do this. Any custom lab will. It may cost a dollar more per roll, but you have the assurance that it was done correctly and you'll get it back in a hurry. I don't want to solicit business here, but I'm really curious to understand why bright people like yourself will put up with such bad service? Is it because you need to save a dollar or because you just don't know any better because you haven't been given the option? "Thomas T. Veldhouse" > My only pro-lab access is via the mail, or a 20 to 30 mile drive. The > drive alone is about $4 these days. So, my choice of mail is about the [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > excellent shape and seemed perfect [typical cardboard dust, but that was > easy to remove]. > So if you will mail them anyway, why send them to a place that takes so > long? For example, we process film in two hours and can have it back in the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > because you need to save a dollar or because you just don't know any better > because you haven't been given the option? No, I will gladly pay for good service if the price is reasonable. However, I have several Fuji mailers that I paid less than $4 for. Paying $10 to develop slides is simply ludicrous to me. A&I will do it for $6.95, which is far more reasonable. I don't yet have experience with them to know what amount of time it will take. I do know their C41 was quite slow [also three weeks], but they cited the fact that they have one person doing C41. What do you charge? Would would the turn around be using the cheapest USPS option? Thanks! > "Thomas T. Veldhouse" >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >> excellent shape and seemed perfect [typical cardboard dust, but that was >> easy to remove]. SignatureThomas T. Veldhouse Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1 "Thomas T. Veldhouse" > No, I will gladly pay for good service if the price is reasonable. > However, I have several Fuji mailers that I paid less than $4 for. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > What do you charge? Would would the turn around be using the cheapest > USPS option? We're at $7.50 per roll, not ten. That's all roll sizes, cardboard or plastic mounts. Push/pull is another fifty cents per roll with a two dollar minimum. Custom imprinting on the mounts is $1.00 per roll. For a single roll, adding postage may put it over the top, but it might make sense for more rolls or important situations. Large quantity discounts are also possible. I don't like USPS without the ability to track it. Fedex is our usual. All work is return shipped the same day we get it. But this is really custom service. For example: My days frequently begin with a voice message from a studio which says that they dropped off six boxes of 4x5 and 8x10 chrome film in the middle of the night at our lab, and they'd like to pick up the processed film before 9:30 in the morning. Oh, and by the way, they're all various pushes and pulls so we need to identify each sheet to the box it came out of and the process it got. Also, be sure that it matches the color they shot yesterday and the week before since this is part of a catalog shoot. Very few labs will or even can offer such service. We must be nuts, but that's the end of the business we're in. john castronovo tech photo & imaging www.technicalphoto.com > So if you will mail them anyway, why send them to a place that takes so > long? For example, we process film in two hours and can have it back in the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > because you need to save a dollar or because you just don't know any better > because you haven't been given the option? Maybe these people accept 3-6 week process times from Fujifilm Arizona because they want to re-live the Kodachrome experience. If only Fuji could figure out how to make E-6 film harder to scan... > PunishSpammers@nospam.com wrote: > > That seems to be a hub of shipping as well so I am a bit confused that it [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > 15 days and counting from Fuji. I am considering selling my mailers off > (I have 20), as this is simple ridiculous. Ever think of investing in a Jobo minilab for at home? PunishSpammers@nospam.com wrote: > Ever think of investing in a Jobo minilab for at home? I am not familiar with these. However, I don't shoot that much film. Really, I shoot mostly digital (Nikon D70). SignatureThomas T. Veldhouse Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1 > 15 days and counting from Fuji. I am considering selling my mailers off > (I have 20), as this is simple ridiculous. That's what I did. I bought five, used two, and sold three on eBay. IIRC, I got a few cents more than I paid for them. I've bought an E-6 kit and have now processed a few rolls of slide film myself with good results. My main concern is that I don't shoot all that much slide film, so the chemistry may go bad before I can use it all. SignatureRod Smith, rodsmith@rodsbooks.com http://www.rodsbooks.com Author of books on Linux, FreeBSD, and networking >> Can anybody post their experience using Fuji mailers? I sent of a >> single test roll of slide film on October 31st. Still not back two [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > back in the good old days with Kodachrome. > F1 In the good old 70's and 80's Kodachrome was 3 to 4 days in New England and to 3 days for E6 from Kodak. SignatureJim <jen....not....home..remvdots...@....yahoo > Can anybody post their experience using Fuji mailers? I sent of a > single test roll of slide film on October 31st. Still not back two > weeks later. It seems slide film and I are doomed to a very latent > relationship. I've only done two rolls via Fuji mailers. They took two and three weeks (round trip from and to Rhode Island). If that's any indication, it could take a bit more time for you yet. SignatureRod Smith, rodsmith@rodsbooks.com http://www.rodsbooks.com Author of books on Linux, FreeBSD, and networking If you want to speed this up a bit, try this: Wait until you have a few rolls ready to be processed, fill out the appropriate number of mailers, but do not put the film in them. Instead, put the loose rolls and mailer envelopes into a small cardboard box, and send them to the address on the mailer via Priority Mail. If you have 5 or more rolls, you actually end up saving on shipping by doing it this way. Every time I've done this, not only does Fuji rush the order, they also return my film via Priority Mail, in another cardboard box of large padded envelope. It should cut down your turnaround time considerably. - Chris > If you want to speed this up a bit, try this: > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > return my film via Priority Mail, in another cardboard box of large > padded envelope. It should cut down your turnaround time considerably. Thanks, I will try that next time I have a few rolls that need development. SignatureThomas T. Veldhouse Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1 > Can anybody post their experience using Fuji mailers? I sent of a > single test roll of slide film on October 31st. Still not back two > weeks later. It seems slide film and I are doomed to a very latent > relationship. Well .. still waiting. Monday will be three weeks. Anybody care to buy some mailers? SignatureThomas T. Veldhouse Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1 > > Can anybody post their experience using Fuji mailers? I sent of a > > single test roll of slide film on October 31st. Still not back two [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Well .. still waiting. Monday will be three weeks. Anybody care to buy > some mailers? Maybe you should find the best routh by train or car to the nearest city with a good lab. :) Acctually I would use a mini lab or sink. PunishSpammers@nospam.com wrote: > Maybe you should find the best routh by train or car to the nearest city > with a good lab. :) Acctually I would use a mini lab or sink. They arrived on Saturday, one day short of three weeks. They were stamped November 5th, so it took them two weeks to mail (how long did they sit in the Outbox in Phoenix?). I will try them again and see if the results are consistant. The quality of the slides seems to be quite good. SignatureThomas T. Veldhouse Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1 > PunishSpammers@nospam.com wrote: > >> [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I will try them again and see if the results are consistant. The > quality of the slides seems to be quite good. Great, I am interested in how they look overall. Too bad it takes so long. Do you have enough other shooters in your area or a club where you could maybe all chip in in a Jobo minilab or something on those lines? PunishSpammers@nospam.com wrote: > Great, I am interested in how they look overall. Too bad it takes so > long. Do you have enough other shooters in your area or a club where you > could maybe all chip in in a Jobo minilab or something on those lines? I am not part of one, but I will consider it. There must be several around. SignatureThomas T. Veldhouse Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1 |
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