Hello, fellow forum members!
Before I get started on my topic, a few words about myself. I’m a 22-year-old film enthusiast from Upper Bavaria and have been getting back into analogue photography since early 2016, having switched to digital in 2009.
The reason for my return to analogue is that I want to focus more on individual subjects again, knowing that every shot needs to be carefully chosen – quality over quantity. At some point, I got bored of being able to view photos straight away; it’s much more exciting to shoot a whole roll of film and then wait until it comes back from the development, so you can either frame it or hold the prints in your hands. Besides, I’m generally not a huge fan of digitalisation, even though I’m writing this on a laptop, of course. It has its advantages, but when it comes to photography, I prefer to stick with analogue techniques.
I’m still learning, as I’m a bit of a greenhorn when it comes to this subject, but I’m more than happy to pick up any new knowledge.
Now to the actual topic of this post:
Nowadays—or rather, for many years now—it has been standard practice for prints from negatives to be produced digitally in photo labs. This means that after development, the negative is scanned in a digital minilab, e.g. Fuji Frontier, and then exposed using laser technology.
These are usually very cheap, which is unmistakably evident from their large-scale lab origins.
The other option is analogue hand-printed prints, such as those offered by Fotoimpex. These look first-class, of course – but they also come at a price.
My question is: where in Germany (or the surrounding area) are there still photo labs that produce machine-made analogue prints?
I’d like to create a list here in the forum, with names, possibly links or addresses, and the range of services offered.
To get things off to a flying start, I’ll kick things off:
Flash Foto Fachlabor, Hohenzollernstr. 90, 80796 Munich-Schwabing
http://flash-fotolabor-muenchen.de/fotolabor-muenchen/?page_id=30
Analogue prints are produced there on a 1997 Noritsu minilab, and only from colour negative films in 135 (35mm) and 120(medium format)
Black-and-white films can only be printed using analogue methods if they are designed for C-41 development, such as the Ilford XP2.
The prices are very reasonable and the quality and service are first-class; a very friendly and competent lab.
Just a quick note: the large-scale lab
CEWE produced
fully analogue prints from Pocket and Instamatic films
until 31 December 2016
. Unfortunately, the special-format service has not been available since 1 January 2017; it was discontinued due to low demand.
Does anyone know of any other labs that produce machine-made analogue prints? Let us know so the list can grow!
