Ilford opens lab in U.S., will start processing your film by mail

 

 

While the world may seem stacked against film photographers, every now and then there's a glimmer of good news. The folks at Ilford, makers of black-and-white film and papers, have opened up a lab in California, and will turn their expertise to developing and printing your film for you.

While the lab will print color film, it specializes in black-and-white work. Ilford explains:

This Mail Order service was originally introduced to satisfy amateur and hobbyist photographers who found it difficult to have their films processed and printed on real black and white silver gelatin photo paper at a local facility. With the advent of digital imaging fewer mini labs had the capability to print real black and white, preferring to print on colour paper. The ILFORD LAB service can process any make of black and white film, and prints will be made on ILFORD black and white paper.

If you send your film through to the lab, turnaround is just 2 to 3 days, and they can work with any 35mm or 120 film, be it black-and-white, C-41 color negative or E-6 transparency films. You can also get digital copies back, at sizes up to 30MP,

Prices start at $16 per roll, with extra for additional services.

If you're not lucky enough to live in a city with a good film developer in it, and you don't fancy building your own darkroom, this is an exellent way for you to get your film in the hands of people who might actually know what they're doing with it -- especially when it comes to black-and-white.