CFP Lab In-House Film Processing Service
Ryan Barrett
Camera Film Photo's Darkroom Specialst and Blogger
Here at the CFP lab, tucked away Hong Kong’s industrial jungle of stacked steel and cement, we subsist on a healthy diet of developing, scanning and printing film. Oh and lots of coffee- that holy liquid, brown as bleach, from filter or French Press that keeps the pulse of our mere lab rat heart at a steady pace. We love film here at the CFP lab, processing and printing it even more so, without it there would be only digital noise. Seeing as there have been a few questions about what services the CFP lab offers I thought it might be helpful to give you a brief rundown.
B&W Development/Scanning/Printing
Our B&W developing, scanning, and printing services are designed to suit the specific film and also customers preference in look of negative/scan/print. No, we do not develop everything in a rub down of Rodinal or D76 (not to say that Rodinal is less than excellent, it suits some films more than others). We have found over time and experience that certain films suit certain developers to bring out the most densely balanced negative possible. If there is a particular B&W developer you prefer with your film cocktail you can always request it, and it shall be made as long as we have it in house. Or hell, just tell us which photographers you wish to achieve the look of- do you want the moody Moriyama, the bunt Bresson, or how about a fresh Frank??
We offer developing, scanning and printing for 135mm,120mm, and 4x5 films. For developing B&W 35mm and 120mm it costs $5 USD, $2 per push/pull stop, and $3 for a contact sheet if you so desire. For B&W our contact sheets are actual contact prints, not digital. Some may say the contact print is a relic of the past, but once you make and use them it’s hard to deny their significance in the development and value of the photographic process. For scanning we offer standard JPEG for $2 or enhanced for $5. The pixel dimenzions of 35mm standard is 3130x2075 and 7.2MB file size. For enhanced JPEG pixel dimensions are 6774x4492 and 32.5MB file size. 6x6 standard JPEG is 2380x2380, 4.2MB file size and enhanced is 4760x4760, 17.5MB file size. And let’s not forget TIFF for those who don’t care for compression. 35mm TIFF is 3130x2075 pixel dimensions/39MB file size. Enhanced TIFF is 6774x4492 pixel dimensions/183MB file size. 6x6 standard TIFF is 2380x2380 pixel dimensions/34.5MB and enhanced is 4760x4760 pixel dimensions/138MB. What’s the difference between a JPEG and TIFF file you ask? As you can see from the specs TIFF files are significantly larger, therefore you and you lose less data from the scan as opposed to JPEG scans. The benefit of this is you have more room to play with the scanned files in photoshop and a digital print from a TIFF scan looks a lot better that JPEG. For a nice visual representation of the scanning size and pricing chart go Here
Or the film processing tab under LAB on our site.
Here are a few examples of different film/developer combinations we have processed to give you an idea of the varying results different film/developer combos achieve.
What would as negative be without the print? Just another piece of transparent plastic covered in decorative gelatine? Some say the physical print is the final goal of photography. We here at the CFP lab tend to agree with the some that say. We offer prints up to 16x20 in size and a variety of RC and Fiber papers to have your negative printed on. We print 35mm, 120mm, and 4x5 negatives. Resin Coated(RC) paper is a photographic paper that has a base sealed between two polyethylene layers. Since its base is sealed in these two plastic layers it doesn’t absorb any chemicals and dries faster. It is a cheaper option for you prints, but not archival. You wouldn’t want to use RC paper if you wanted a print to last longer that 40-50 years. For an archival, museum quality print you would want to use Fiber paper. Fiber-based paper is coated with Baryta, then the emulsion. The base of the paper isn’t sealed in plastic and takes longer to wash and dry but in the end a Silver Gelatin FIber Print will have a longer life span as opposed to an RC print. With Fiber prints the emulsion is in the paper itself. Fiber prints generally look more detailed and dimensional than RC based. Not to say that RC paper is a bad option, but if you’re going for something archival that will last longer or are going to exhibit work you might want to consider FIber paper. Check out the print ordering form below for print pricing details.
C41
For C41 development we have a Noritsu QSF V-50 beast that looks like Luke Skywalker picked up off a couple of Jawas on the deserts of Tatooine.
35mm and 120mm color negatives are both $3 for developing and Push/Pull, scanning, contact sheet prices are the same as B&W. The afore mentioned size/processing form has the price listed as well.
E6 Processing
We offer color and B&W reversal processing done in the battle cruiser-looking Jobo.
The price for 35mm/120mm reversal development is $6 and the push/pull, scanning, contact sheet is, you guessed it, the same price as C41 and B&W which you can also find on the size/processing form. Here are some examples of colour and B&W reversal we have done.
In regard to scanning we take extra time and care with it to ensure the best results. As with developing and printing you can always let us know your desire and expectations of the scan and we will meet them to the best of our ability. The better the rapport/relationship we have with you the customer, the better your results will be and the client relationship is foundational here at the CFP lab.