ANALOG MINILAB?

[pennypop777]

Can anybody point me in the direction of a recommended Professional processing centre that still uses an analog minilab? I have just received back from the analog lab I use, some work, none of which is quite sharp. I have had one negative printed at a digital lab without the sharpening effect activataed and the print is crystal clear. It may be that all digital labs automatically sharpen so I need to do a like for like comparison.

I am in Mid-Sussex and need the lab to be somewhere around here.

Please help!

[Chan Tran]

You could just buy a used analog lab. They sometimes sold for less than $10,000 in excellent condition. Of course, I am just kidding as it's tough to operate one of them in your home. I can't find any lab that still use analog equipment either. My solution is to print my own with my enlarger.

[Alan Johnson]

Here's a lab that appears to be still analog:
www.westminsterstudios.com

[Samuel B]

Hi, I still operate an analog mini-lab, but I'm in Melbourne, Australia! It's good to hear some people can see the quality of analog prints.

One thing with digital mini-labs is they will sharpen slightly out of focus photos, so you will need to get them printed on another analog machine for a fair comparison.

Of course you could get a used analog machine for free (I have 2 in my shed that I can't give away!) but you need a reasonable amout of work to keep the chemistry in check, and they are complex machines with lots of things to go wrong, so you that's not really a practical solution.

You won't find many analog labs around, most have either closed or gone digital, but if you hunt around you might find one, there's still a few around.

[Samuel B]

Another thought, you could post your question here:

www.minilabhelp.com (http://www.minilabhelp.com)

A UK based mini-lab website.

[gnashings]

Anyone in Toronto or East of Toronto still have a completely optical (no scanning) minilab? Let me know - there is some business coming your way, I promise!
BAsically the same reasons as above - I feel your pain.

(sorry to piggy back on your thread!)

Peter.

[pennypop777]

I like your witty quip about film not being dead etc!
Thanks, I'll try www.minilabhelp.com