RE: filmscanners: OT:X-ray fogging

["LAURIE SOLOMON" <LAURIE@advancenet.net>]

But not everybody uses the same quality controls or implements them in the
same way with regularity.  Moreover, not everyone uses the same exact
chemistry or has the same quality of water.  I know of two professional labs
in my community that use different brands of chemistry which results in
slightly different results in processing film and papers; they also tend to
use different brands of paper so as to produce slightly different print
results.

The net result is that while in many cases the results will be similar; they
will not be virtually the same or identical as would be more likely the case
if you take your film to the same lab over time whose work you are both
familiar with and have come to expect a certain level of quality and type of
result in terms of color reproductions.

>Virtually everyone uses the same machines

Only true in a qualified sense.  While most one hour mass market
photofinishers may use different brands of roller based processors and
printers, many professional labs, custom labs, and even some mail order labs
use dip and dunk machines to process film.  When it comes to printing it is
not so much the type of machine as much as the types of papers and chemistry
that is used as well as the sorts of quality control and maintenance that is
instituted and performed along with the competence of the technicians who
run the machines.  I once has a technician at a well known photofinishing
chain in the US accidentally use a 110 film holder when printing a 35mm
negative without being at all aware of it and arguing that it was my
camera's fault that I got only prints of belly buttons despite the fact that
there were whole people on the negative.  If I were not a professional
photographer, I might have not examined the prints and negatives while at
the lab so as to raise the complaint.  If I was the man on the street, I
also might have never compared the negatives to the prints  and left
believing that my camera or I were at fault and that the technician was
competent.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
[mailto:owner-filmscanners@halftone.co.uk]On Behalf Of Anthony Atkielski
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2001 1:30 AM
To: filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
Subject: Re: filmscanners: OT:X-ray fogging


Johnny writes:

> you know how it'll turn out

Virtually everyone uses the same machines.  I'd be very hard pressed to
identify
the work of one lab as opposed to another in film development.