B&W dev and print by post in the UK

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alandav123 - 26 Feb 2007 21:06 GMT

Hi all, Could someone kindly point me to a reputable company that
developes and prints B&W film. I got some C41 compatable film and got
them done in an hour in the highstreet, the sepia thing did not look
good at all. An earlier set were sent thought a highstreet shop but
took about 9 days which is too long, although the true B&W pics were
really great.

So I need to find a company myself and deal direct.

Regards and thanks

alan in arbroath

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Tony Polson - 26 Feb 2007 21:49 GMT

>Hi all, Could someone kindly point me to a reputable company that
>developes and prints B&W film. I got some C41 compatable film and got
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
>So I need to find a company myself and deal direct.

Ilford do a reasonable job, sometimes an excellent one.

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/wheretobuy/bwprocessingilfords.asp

Peak Imaging are consistently very good.

http://www.peak-imaging.co.uk/

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Richard Polhill - 27 Feb 2007 12:20 GMT

>> Hi all, Could someone kindly point me to a reputable company that
>> developes and prints B&W film. I got some C41 compatable film and got
>> them done in an hour in the highstreet, the sepia thing did not look
>> good at all. An earlier set were sent thought a highstreet shop but
>> took about 9 days which is too long, although the true B&W pics were
>> really great.

>> So I need to find a company myself and deal direct.

> Ilford do a reasonable job, sometimes an excellent one.

> http://www.ilfordphoto.com/wheretobuy/bwprocessingilfords.asp

I concur with the recommendation of Ilford. Their payment method is a little
unorthodox as you buy the prepaid envelope either with or without film and
then just send it without payment to Ilford. The quality of the prints is
second to none, as you'd expect from black and white specialists, and the
packaging is superb.

> Peak Imaging are consistently very good.

> http://www.peak-imaging.co.uk/

I cannot agree with this. Perhaps you pay for the premium service, Tony, but
the basic service produces dull, slightly purple prints as they insist on
printing on colour paper. The packaging is awful: just a cellophane/paper bag,
relying on the cardboard mailer to protect them.

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Tony Polson - 27 Feb 2007 12:37 GMT

>> Ilford do a reasonable job, sometimes an excellent one.
>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>printing on colour paper. The packaging is awful: just a cellophane/paper bag,
>relying on the cardboard mailer to protect them.

Richard,

I haven't used Peak Imaging for well over a year, as I do my own
printing now. I always had my prints returned on black and white
paper, and they were consistenty very good. And yes, I used the
professional service. Not cheap but consistenty very good.

However, the Peak Imaging site does make it clear that the standard
service incudes prints on Fuji Crystal Archive, which is of course a
colour paper. That would explain the colour cast, but I regularly get
proof prints made on Crystal Archive at my local supermarkets (Asda
and Tesco) and colour cast is noticeable by its near-complete absence.

I can ony speak as I find, but thank you for your comments, which I am
sure Alan will find useful.

Tony

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Mark Dunn - 27 Feb 2007 17:28 GMT

Good old (or rather new) Ilford, eh.

> >> Hi all, Could someone kindly point me to a reputable company that
> >> developes and prints B&W film. I got some C41 compatable film and got
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> printing on colour paper. The packaging is awful: just a cellophane/paper bag,
> relying on the cardboard mailer to protect them.

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Tony Polson - 27 Feb 2007 17:37 GMT

>Good old (or rather new) Ilford, eh.

If Ilford performed consistently at their highest standards, they
would be unbeatable. But my experience, and that of several people I
know, is that Ilford D+P can vary from excellent to mediocre.

But that is a problem with commercial B&W processing that is not just
limted to Ilford. The extra intervention required to obtain good
prints is the problem. It is far better to do it yourself using a
traditional darkroom, which gives you total control.

If that isn't an option, use C41 film, get it developed and scanned to
CD at a minilab and print it yourself at home using a good quality
inkjet printer. The low-res scans from the Fuji Frontiers (etc.) are
fine for up to 7" x 5" prints.

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monopix - 27 Feb 2007 08:40 GMT

> Hi all, Could someone kindly point me to a reputable company that
> developes and prints B&W film. I got some C41 compatable film and got
> them done in an hour in the highstreet, the sepia thing did not look
> good at all. An earlier set were sent thought a highstreet shop but
> took about 9 days which is too long, although the true B&W pics were
> really great.

I use Metro (http://home.btconnect.com/Peter-Gaffney/) but only for
processing not for printing. But they produce consistantly clean negatives
and are, I think, one of the cheapest.

Peter

Signature

www.monopix.co.uk

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Mark Dunn - 27 Feb 2007 09:08 GMT

Ilford still do their d&p from FP4 and HP5. It's called 'Premium Direct'.

> > Hi all, Could someone kindly point me to a reputable company that
> > developes and prints B&W film. I got some C41 compatable film and got
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Peter

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Bandicoot - 28 Feb 2007 02:04 GMT

> Hi all, Could someone kindly point me to a reputable company that
> developes and prints B&W film. I got some C41 compatable film and got
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> So I need to find a company myself and deal direct.

Like others here I've used Ilford and been happy: excellent developing,
prints that are good by machine print standards but (sometimes) could be
better. If you want the negatives and the prints are just a reference, with
you making your own (darkroom or PC) then Ilford is a good choice.

If you want the prints as the end result, then Ilford's can be beaten, if
you are happy to spend the money. I like The Darkroom in Cheltenham for
that sort of work.

As for 'the sepia thing' with minilab D&P of C41 B&W films, a lot of high
street places manage to avoid this just fine. It doesn't need different
paper so can go through without the operator changing the roll, it just
needs a different setting on the machine. Boots (for example) usually
manages to get it right, so I think you've been unlucky there: if it happens
again, I'd complain...

Peter

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