UK Labs

[leica dream]

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Since I restarted my film experiences a couple of years ago I have settled on UK based AG Photolab in Birmingham as my most satisfactory processing lab. I have been advised to-day that they have been subsumed into Digitallab based in North Shields who specialise in output printing without, as far as I can see, any lab facilities experience. I assume equipment will be transferred from the existing factory to the new base premises but not sure about expertise.

I think it might be a good time to research alternative lab options ........ just in case. I am not able to process films myself so my chosen lab needs to process and scan reliably to a high quality.

I would welcome input from other forum members about their chosen lab and reasons for satisfaction.

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[LocalHero1953]

I received the same email. I found AG Photographic to be excellent and quick - perhaps too quick - not enough business? I went to AG after Peak Imaging closed a couple of years ago.

I have used Rapid Eye in London for 4x5 without problems.

[Mike Rawcs]

I received the email too. It's not very informative, just 'Please send your films to..." an address in North Shields. I'll need much more information before I consider doing so.

[leica dream]

Interesting, Paul - it was Peak Imaging demise which made me switch to AG after trying Harman who did not seem to be as slick as AG.  At least it does seem that analogue photography is on the up again at the moment so hopefully other labs will survive. It will be all about service levels and reliability which is where experiences fo other users is so valuable.

[Topsy]

I use Spectrum Photolabs in Plymouth ( http://spectrumphotolabs.co.uk/ ) though he has recently downsized and no longer does E6 but his C41 service is great. He does B&W too but I can't say on that since I don't use B&W these days. 

[LocalHero1953]

I wonder how much of the analogue resurgence is colour (lab processed) vs B&W (home processed)? The higher and higher cost of colour film may mean that labs aren't gaining as much of the benefit from analogue as one might expect.

[250swb]

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If Digitallab have bought AG I'd assume they are interested in maintaining quality and keeping the customer base because that is the essence of the business they've paid for. Of course expertise comes from having made all the mistakes so they aren't repeated, so I hope they take the guy who presses the buttons with them. I'll probably try them next time I have a roll of colour developed but in the meantime here is a lab in Leeds that I don't think has been mentioned before

https://takeiteasylab.com/

 

Edited December 21, 2024 by 250swb

[Bikie John]

There is a small "High Street" shop in Salisbury who are very good - Salisbury Photo Centre:

https://salisburyphotocentre.co.uk/

Their main business is printing but they do all sorts of other stuff. They have developed and scanned B&W neg film for me recently and as far as I can see they did an excellent job. I think they still do C41 colour neg processing (although I can't see any reference to it on the website), but they farm out E6 slide processing nowadays. If it is of any interest I can pop in and ask them where they send it.

Somebody on another forum had found and old and corroded cassette of slide film and was curious to see if there was anything on it, and I suggested he sent it to them. Ian, the boss, jumped at the opportunity and hand-processed it. Unfortunately nothing had survived beyond a few ghostly shadows, as expected, but it was worth a go. They are friendly and helpful, and Ian has been in the business a very long time and really knows his stuff.

John

PS I have no vested interest beyond being a happy customer!

Edited December 22, 2024 by Bikie John

[leica dream]

That is all super valuable stuff, thanks everyone. Luckily a quiet time of year for the camera so I can dig around your suggestions.

Going on from Paul's latest comment, I have been most interested recently in what my grandson has been doing. He is at University and uses the bathroom in his lodgings to develop B/W films very successfully. Recently he has also managed a very creditable C41 too, so being encouraged by that maybe I should give it a shot. My understanding is the temperature criticality. More research needed. I'll search the Darkroom threads on this forum.

[leica dream]

This is very interesting!

The address of this propcessing unit is the same as the new address we have been given for Ag. It looks professional on the face of it.

https://riverandcoast.co.uk/film-processing/

[earleygallery]

I have found Snappy Snaps shops generally very good for C41 processing (can be done in an hour) although they're getting expensive now and scans are sent by a web service which need to be downloaded within 5 days or they're gone!

There's a new lab in Brighton which I have yet to try but they offer C41 and traditional B&W processing https://picturethisfilmlab.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqIIvlnUxG8V56KtvrRB3Ll1DaN2UswljKRXrdaqrVTM4R4wnGg

Edited December 22, 2024 by earleygallery

[250swb]

2 hours ago, leica dream said:

That is all super valuable stuff, thanks everyone. Luckily a quiet time of year for the camera so I can dig around your suggestions.

Going on from Paul's latest comment, I have been most interested recently in what my grandson has been doing. He is at University and uses the bathroom in his lodgings to develop B/W films very successfully. Recently he has also managed a very creditable C41 too, so being encouraged by that maybe I should give it a shot. My understanding is the temperature criticality. More research needed. I'll search the Darkroom threads on this forum.

C41 is very easy and while temperatures are a bit higher they like timing are all about consistency and are no more critical than processing B&W consistently. It's worth a go although there is a bit more planning involved devising a water bath and having sufficient storage bottles.

[chris_livsey]

On 12/21/2024 at 10:51 AM, 250swb said:

If Digitallab have bought AG I'd assume they are interested in maintaining quality and keeping the customer base because that is the essence of the business they've paid for. Of course expertise comes from having made all the mistakes so they aren't repeated, so I hope they take the guy who presses the buttons with them. I'll probably try them next time I have a roll of colour developed but in the meantime here is a lab in Leeds that I don't think has been mentioned before

https://takeiteasylab.com/

 

One of my sons is currently working in Australia on a student visa based in Perth he has found  SILVER HALIDE STUDIOS excellent, this I mention not as an option, rather obviously, but they set up with a great deal of backup knowledge and support from https://takeiteasylab.com/  so they I think will be my try out, too much happening in North Shields and I have to say I was considering moving from AG anyway as I was finding their scans below acceptable quality, for me. Such co-operation among film enthusiasts is most welcome and deserves support.

Thanks for reminding me SWB.

 

[250swb]

2 hours ago, chris_livsey said:

 as I was finding their scans below acceptable quality, for me.

 

Have you tried doing your own scans to see how they compare? Even full resolution scans from a dedicated film scanner need far more sharpening than you'd expect compared with a digital file, but not so much with scanning/copying with a digital camera.

[LocalHero1953]

I never asked AG (or anyone else) to scan my negatives. A hangover from pre-digital camera days when high street scans were both incompetent (bent and scratched negative strips) and terrible in resolution and colour.

[chris_livsey]

I am frequently away from home for periods so don't have access to my scanner and lab scans are useful to me. However when the same negatives scanned at home I found them inferior to my results by an uncomfortable amount from this lab considering my scanner is not high end, Plustek 8100. 
 

[Bikie John]

On 12/22/2024 at 12:26 PM, Bikie John said:

There is a small "High Street" shop in Salisbury who are very good - Salisbury Photo Centre:

https://salisburyphotocentre.co.uk/

Their main business is printing but they do all sorts of other stuff. They have developed and scanned B&W neg film for me recently and as far as I can see they did an excellent job. I think they still do C41 colour neg processing (although I can't see any reference to it on the website), but they farm out E6 slide processing nowadays. If it is of any interest I can pop in and ask them where they send it.

Somebody on another forum had found and old and corroded cassette of slide film and was curious to see if there was anything on it, and I suggested he sent it to them. Ian, the boss, jumped at the opportunity and hand-processed it. Unfortunately nothing had survived beyond a few ghostly shadows, as expected, but it was worth a go. They are friendly and helpful, and Ian has been in the business a very long time and really knows his stuff.

John

PS I have no vested interest beyond being a happy customer!

I popped in yesterday. Didn't have time for much of a chat as they were very busy, which was good to see of course. They confirmed that they do processing for B&W and C41 colour neg. Nowadays they farm out E6 slide processing to The Darkroom in Cheltenham - https://www.the-darkroom.co.uk/ . Given that they do work for most of the local pro photogs, they wouldn´t send stuff there if it were rubbish!

Apparently one of the things that they have noticed is that "young people" will come in with a film wanting it developed and scanned, and then just tell them to email the scans and chuck away the negatives!

Happy Christmas ... John

[leica dream]

That is useful, John, thank you.

The Young People mindset is quite different from those with life experience. One wonders if they are not interested in having the negatives back why they just do not stick to digital. Maybe it is the shooting experience which intrigues them. In fact, to renew my passport recently I went to a local Fuji shop to get my mugshot. Observing the stacked Fuji film shelves  I asked if they sold much.  The answer was a resounding YES, qualified by  "mainly young people because to them it is new technology"!

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[PCPix]

Bayeux in London is another to add for uk labs. Certainly one of the few remaining pro labs. 

[Mike Rawcs]

I've sent a couple of emails to Digitalab and their response is very encouraging. I asked if they were happy for me me to share details of our correspondence and they were happy for me to do so. Please see below, I hope this is helpful.

Hi, Happy New Year to you all.

I received an email, just before Christmas, with regard to the merger / acquisition of A.G. Photographic with Digital lab. The email didn’t give any detail with regard to film processing, and indeed your website makes no mention of film processing.
Can you please clarify who will process the film for you?
Is the black and white processing still dip and dunk?
Is C41 processing dip and dunk or machine process?
Can a request be made to push / pull processing?
Is there a choice of film sleeve, as there was with A.G. Photographic?
Many thanks for any help you can give.

Regards, Mike.

Hi Michael,
Thank you for your email, I have answered your questions blow, please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with 😊
Can you please clarify who will process the film for you? This will be developed in the Digitalab site in the North East.
Is the black and white processing still dip and dunk? It is indeed.
Is C41 processing dip and dunk or machine process? This is machine process.
Can a request be made to push / pull processing? Yes you can. 
Is there a choice of film sleeve, as there was with A.G. Photographic? Absolutely, this will be the same as AG, the website/ordering process and production processes are remaining the same.
Best Wishes, Jordan

Hi Jordan,
 thank you for your prompt reply. Am I correct that I should send film to River and Coast? I couldn’t find a link on the Digital Lab website, but found River and Coast by searching for ‘Digital Lab film processing’. 
Are you happy for me to share our email on the Leica User Forum? There is a post in the Film Forum section discussing the move of A.G. Photographic to Digital Lab, and the link to River and Coast may be mutually beneficial to you and Forum members.
Best wishes, Mike.

Hi Mike,
You can still send it marked for AG, the address label can be downloaded from the AG website which you can use to place your orders still, this will be in use to the transition as smooth as possible. Everything is remaining the same for the moment. Link below for the new free post address label.

https://www.ag-photolab.co.uk/delivery/

I would suggest keeping this as AG rather than River and Coast and this is a sister company to Digitalab for non-trade photographers (Digitalab site is trade only) so I wouldn’t want to confuse people any further 😊

We are still using the AG email and will be for the foreseeable future but info@digitalab.co.uk works great as well so please feel free to share either.

Best Wishes, Jordan
Jordan Cervantes
Customer Support

 

As I stated earlier, I find this very encouraging and I will be using them to process my film. I do hope that they will begin to sell film in the future: I usually buy film from A.G.  in bricks of ten.