Do you know of a photo lab that will process C41 black and white film PROPERLY?

Question

I hate the new C41 black and white film, but the real B&W stuff is getting harder and harder to find. It seems that when I have it developed, the pictures have a green or purple tint to them. Obviously they're using color paper, which is the whole point of C41 B&W (so that it can be processed anywhere). But I'm trying to find a lab that cares enough about quality to have their equipment calibrated properly to prevent this. I like black and white prints. I don't like black and purple prints. Nobody does.

I'm still using film occasionally because my 35mm SLR takes better photos than my point-and-shoot digital, and I can't afford a digital SLR right now.

Answer 1

You'll never get a authentic black and white effect with those C-41 B+W films. They are a hybrid film with some colour components in the emulsion. It is difficult to consistently print something close to B+W on those commercial semi-automated minilabs...even when they are properly calibrated. This is mainly due to A) Different colour paper emulsions and B) Fluctuations in photolab chemistry. They predominently turn out sepia, but I have seen other colour casts.With a C-41 B+W...I would normally preview before printing and make the corrections manually, rather then just autoprinting.
My suggestions:

Either find yourself a photo lab that would be willing to go through and make manual corrections..they SHOULD be able to get them as close as possible to B+W doing this.

Or pay the extra and get some true Ilford B+W film.

Or get the negs developed and get them printed on B+W paper.

Answer 2

There is no shortage of standard bw film. I bought, just last week, 6 rolls of 35mm Tri-X and 4 rolls of 120 in both 125ISO and 400 ISO. The 125 will have a tighter grain and teh lighting has to be just right, the 400, of course, is a bit more grainy and is more suitable for different lighting conditions. You can push and pull both of the films.

I also bought 6 rolls of 120 Tri X about a month ago and I have some ISO 50 Ilford which is super fine for portrait photos.

I would suggest that if y ou like BW, you get your own processing equipment and screw up a few rolls until you get it right. You can do a lot both in the taking of the photos on black and white and in the processing of black and white that make it a more creative film than color. Think in terms of the filters for BW and try each of them to see the effect.

Answer 3

I've never seen C41 B&W films printed on color paper and look neutral (no color cast). I think it is nearly impossible to get perfect results that way. Have you thought about getting a film scanner or even a flatbed scanner that can do negatives and transparencies? The current generation of inkjet printers, if they can print with black ink only, can produce very nice B&W prints. Or, get your film developed and then take the negatives (or mail them) to a real B&W printing lab. Yes, they are hard to find, and will probably be expensive.

My process for several years was to shoot on real B&W film (I typically ordered from B&H) and developed the film myself. The chemicals are relatively easy to get from a real camera/photo store. Then I scanned them and printed them myself.

Answer 4

It is almost impossible to have dead neutral b&w from C-41 chromagenic film printed on a color printer using color paper.
That said, your prints should be pretty close. They do tend to have either a red cast or cyan. Sometimes this can be corrected, and sometimes one step of correction will be too much. If you can find a lab that will print on b&w paper, your prints should look fine. The C-41 b&w scans beautifully, so you might want to scan and print at home.

Answer 5

If you are using a Holga, does it really matter what chemicals you use? It's not like we are talking quality images here. Who knows, you might come up with a new twist on interesting-but-crappy photos by using color chemicals on B&W Holga photos. But if you are wanting the Holga effect, buy a $25 Holga lens for a DSLR, then you won't be wasting a lot of money on processing.

Answer 6

Check with your local camera stores (the older ones - not the chains). Often they offer printing on b&w paper. That's the only way to get a true b&w look. Go to the phone book and look for the smaller camera stores that offer processing.

Answer 7

c41 is always color tinted. I either shoot black and white or make the appropriate adjustments on adobe. c41 isn't just crapier because of the colors...it's crapier because its a consumer film. it's grainy and ugly.

Answer 8

stop using C41.
just order film from B&H