Film processing

clylbw

I have two rolls of film for processing. Can anyone please recommend some money-saving ways/places? I am in Manchester. Cheers.

jonesMUFCforever

Truprint? Send them seperately and you might get 2 new rolls with your photos for free. (Not sure if they still do this but they used to)

angelcake

Asda is quite cheap! you can get them done in an hour, they give you a little leather wallet and you can do your shopping and collect them afterwards! it costs around £3.88 (Can't remember) I was always impressed!!

chalky_bertie

We tried this once and wanted to save on our photo developing so we made the mistake of taking them to Max Spielman - what a oad of rubbish. They left a mark across every photo (airshow) and then couldn't give a dam. We wished we had stuck to Boots.

Just a note I allways hold a piece of paper with my name and postcode on every time I start a new film in case they get lost some nice person may post them back!

clylbw

Many thanks.

Just checked with the Asda nearby, no luck: they did not do film processing.

Will try Truprint & Boots later, though I somewhat have the impression that it could be expensive at Boots.

angelcake

Boots is expensive! Trueprint are cheap and you get a free film but the quality for the standards photos are poor and they are a tiny size!

Asda really is the best for photos! I haven't really tried elsewhere! sorry!

Contains_Mild_Peril

Truprint are usually the best value for money, they've never lost any of my films, and I've never had any real gripes about quality (though they did once send me a batch of prints which were all about a quarter of an inch shorter than they should have been, which was annoying).
The "tiny" prints angelcake mentions are probably the cheap "compact" 5x3.5" size, but they also do the standard 6x4" and 7x5" sizes (which they refer to as 30% bigger and 100% bigger respectively) at very reasonable prices. Extra sets are cheap, which is good if you want to give prints to relatives.
Their processing envelopes are available at Poundland (which also sells their film), and at some other shops, PO's, big railway stations etc. I acn't be bothered typing out all their prices, so I scanned one of their envelopes which I picked up recently at Glasgow Central station.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/Siddles/Truprint.jpg
Klick also offer a mail order service which is good vfm, not quite as cheap as Truprint, but they have plenty of special offers (e.g. free photo albums with a certain minimum spend etc), and they give loyalty points which are converted into vouchers when you have enough. These can also be earned by introducing friends.
Klick also have the option of the larger 8.5x6" print size, which is a good size for wall display.
I have had a substandard batch of prints and discs with scans of the pics from Klick, but when it comes to quality, tests have shown all the major processors to be inconsistent. The best thing to do is pick a time when the labs aren't tooo busy, then more time is likely to be devoted to quality control. For instance, you should have your current films processed asap, to avoid the post-Hallowe'en rush.

hncsys

Hi

Thanks for the last post - but the side of the picture was cut off

I managed to get a hold of this offer envelope and scanned it (both sides) which gives you the free post section too

Truprint side 1

Truprint side 2

Regards

Paul

highguyuk

Having been a photo processor (How I miss it) - some points to consider!

6x4 is the standard small size - places do smaller but you may struggle to find albums.

If you want extra sets - order them when you get them developed. Much much cheaper this way. But if you dont - dont waste your money.

If offered a finish, there is Gloss or Matt. Basically, Matt doesnt show the fingerprints.

Any white marks on the photos are the processors fault and can be removed. Any black marks are on the film and cannot be removed.

Before I worked for Sketchleys/Supasnaps, I sent my photos to Truprint and they lost 2 films. Credit to them, they found them after I sent in a description but it shouldnt happen!

Try and support your local place. We closed down because the big companies busted us out of the market even though we were the cheapest in town. Ask around your independants and im sure they will match or beat the cheapest price - maybe even Truprints price.

Anything further to ask - PM me!

kittiwoz

I use Truprint and think they offer great service and value for money. They are much cheaper than other places. I have always had my films back very promptly (without paying the extra 45p for express service). The free film is not available on compact prints, you get money of vouchers for Brewsters Fayre instead. The prints I have had from Truprint have always been of very good quality. If you want them more quickly or don't want the risk of them getting lost in the post then Superdrug is cheaper than Boots. The only supermarket I have ever had film processed at is Tescos and the prints were very poor and lacked definition and detail which was visible on the negatives. My parents have also had several bad sets of prints from Tescos with various problems such as dulled colour.

ManAtHome

chalky_bertie wrote:

Max Spielman - what a load of rubbish

That's sad - they were easily the best 10 years ago. Haven't used them for a few years - seem to recall that they were taken over a few years ago though (won't mention any names..). Also found Jessops were good although again haven't used them that recently (mainly digital these days - Jessops and Asda are ok for prints).

chalky_bertie wrote:

Just a note I allways hold a piece of paper with my name and postcode on every time I start a new film in case they get lost some nice person may post them back!

Blimey - I used to do that as well. Obviously worked - I never lost a film... Also thought it might come in handy if some cheeky sod nicked the camera, then took the film in (unlikley though).