Reader's Comments - Index of - Free

Recommended Labs
to check and double check orders when they are delivered.
Of course, just because a lab is expensive doesn't mean that they will be good. But at least they have a
chance of being good. Sometimes labs that are highly automated can be good and relatively cheap for
certain things like E6 process and mount or C41 process and proof. Finally, you can get lucky. If you
have an easy-to-print negative, you might get a machine print at a cheap lab for $2.50 that looks the
same as a pro lab's $25.00 print. But if you liked the image well enough to enlarge and present, then I'll
venture to say that you'll be fairly sorry when the cheap lab loses or scratches the negative. And it is only
a matter of time.
Note: remember to help the Internet community by recording your own experiences with labs in the
photo.net Neighbor to Neighbor service.
Ilfochromes (Cibachromes)
Prints from slides that won't fade for 500 years or
more if stored in the dark, thus outlasting the original
slide. The traditional Cibachrome material is plastic
which makes for an incredibly glossy surface.
● Portland Color, (800) 734-3230, FAX (207)
772-6378, 51 York St Portland, ME 04101
Portland Color made its reputation printing for
art museums so when they say "exhibition
quality" they aren't kidding. They use high
contrast paper for vibrant color and B&W
contrast masks for contrast control, unlike
cheap printers who like to use the low contrast
Ilfochrome material which allows for more
sloppiness in printing. Their printers are real
artists. The cost is about $12.50 for the mask
(one time) and then about $30 for the first 8x10 Ciba.
All of the above is still true. It is what I used to say about Portland Color. However, now
they have started making prints for people who make charitable donations to Angell
Memorial Animal Hospital (see the gift shop section of Travels with Samantha). That
makes them Good Internet Citizens in my opinion and thus even more deserving of
business.
Cheap Cibas (i.e., < $20 for an 8x10) are terrible quality in my experience. I have tried several cheap
mail-order Ciba labs and they all produced results worse than a $5 Fuji Type R print (see below).
http://www.photo.net/photo/labs (2 of 10)7/3/2005 2:24:23 AM