 Michael Warnock |
Photo finishing frustration! Greetings all, I have had an ongoing frustration with processing labs and the seeming impossibillity to find consistent results with my film prints. How can I be assured of consistency between the prints made at the time of film developing and enlargements made months or years later? What do pros do to ensure they get a print that represents what they intended? My problem is not exposure errors or equipment related as I have had great prints made and then at a later date an enlargement of the same picure looks way off. I had hoped that the code printed on the back of the prints would help labs match the results of enlargements but I was told that these codes are of little help as processing chemicals usually vary in strenth or concentration, processing equipment will be different from lab to lab and the technicians are of course different from lab to lab. Truth be told, I have yet to find a lab employee that can tell me what specific information this code contains. I seem to have had to deal with my unfair share of techs that do things like look at a print of an outdoor scene with a green cast and tell me that the cast is due to flourescent lighting. Can anyone help me? Mike Warnock
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
send a 4x6 along with it. Should try to match it. The codes mean density and if they added anything as far as color correction. The machine has it's automatic corrections that are usually good, but not always if the negative isn't shot very well. And if any color needs to be added or taken out, how much is printed on the back. If they didn't do anything, it will print something like all n's for normal. But if you're doing something that was originally from a year ago, you have different paper that's been used, different people as you said. Not unusual to have different places not have the same picture looking the same, if you've been doing enlargments at a place different than the film roll.
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Laura Roth |
I have had similar frustrations and one thing that I have taken to doing is to find a photo lab that will let you have a say while they make the prints.... I have found that this may be possible with labs that have slower business. Greg's suggestion of having a print with it to say "do it like this" is useful also, especially if you can't find a "personal" lab.
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Michael H. Cothran |
If you deal with machine prints, it's hit & miss at best. If you are willing to pay more, as in custom prints, then you can provide your custom photo lab with a "master" print that they can try to emulate. Even this is no guarantee, but is better than machine prints. Each time a lab changes chemistry or paper, it's a new ball game, and your images will rarely look the same, even though two different versions may be quite acceptable. Find a good custom lab, and have THEM make you a small print to your liking. Then, use that print as your "master," and let the same lab print it in the future. As I said, this is still no guarantee, but your odds will sure be better. The only real (and economical) way to have consistent color results is to convert to digital inkjet printing, and print from a digital file. Michael H. Cothran www.mhcphoto.net
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