Film processing labs

[JamesT]

I guess mainly for @Ryewolf and @stevedevil , I thought it would be useful to post a few notes on processing labs.

I generally now do my own processing for Black and White, so I've not had much recent experience with external B/W processing, that said, all of these do offer B/W as well as colour (both C41 and E6).

A.G. Photolab: based in Birmingham, and closely linked to A.G. Photographic who supply film, chemicals etc. Offer a comprehensive range of developing, scanning and printing services. Generally reasonably quick, and one of the few mid-range labs to print optically (albeit via a digital printer). The only drawbacks are that they are not really set up for odd formats like 6x12 or half frame (though they do do 127, 110 and APS).

Silverpan Labs: based in Bristol. A small-scale operation, with more control than most but less pricey than some professional labs. I've only sent one film there as I then started DIY colour processing[*]. Turnrounds tend to be quite slow, at the moment they are estimating 4-5 weeks. For me, at any rate, a plus is the option of 16-bit scans which allows a lot more flexibility in post processing. Seem to be more able to deal with odd formats.

Harman Labs: The processing labs of Ilford (based in Cheshire). Mainly B/W though they do do colour as well now. I've not used them recently, my main concern was the relatively low resolution of the scans. The only lab listed here that offer sheet film processing.

[*] Not worth the effort! Very edgy compared with B/W and the results I got were less than stellar, so I plan to go back to labs for colour.