Kodak processing labs

[P3D Richard M. Koolish <koolish@xxxxxxx>]

There seems to be some confusion about the various Kodak processing labs.
Here's what I know, and I hope this doesn't add to the confusion.

I believe that the Minneapolis lab is different from the other labs.  Last I
knew, it was run by Lerner Processing Labs.  A couple years ago, Kodak forced
small outlets to switch from Kodalux processing service to Kodalux Plus.
Kodalux Plus was run by Lerner.  In the Boston area, E6 was done locally in
Waltham and Kodachrome was sent to Minneapolis.  Any Kodachrome 2x2 slides done
there have MN stamped on the slide mount.

The other labs, i.e. Dallas, Fair Lawn, Rockville, etc. are the original Kodak
labs.  They became Qualex when Kodak spun them off into a joint venture with
Qualex.  I've heard, but haven't confirmed that Kodak has bought them back.

Kodachrome has to go to one of the labs with the special processing equipment,
i.e. Minneapolis, the Qualex labs, or one of the independent labs like A&I.  E6
(Ektachrome, Fujichrome) can be done just about anywhere and won't necessarily
go to one of the big labs.  If you ask your photofinisher, you can probably
find out just where your film is being sent.

When my local photofinisher was sending Kodachrome to Fair Lawn, NJ, unmounted
film came back wound up with a paper interleaving and then put in a small box.
When they switched to Kodalux PLus and started sending Kodachrome to
Minneapolis, I started have trouble with both mounted and unmounted slides.  I
had one roll of unmounted film come back without paper or plastic interleaving
so I started making nasty phone calls to complain.  I called Lerner locally, in
Minneapolis and I complained to Kodak in Rochester.  After that, the film came
back in a plastic sleeve, but tended to have scratches and crud in the
emlusion.  I stopped sending film to Minneapolis completely.  For a year or so,
I sent Kodachrome to A&I in LA.  Unmounted film came back in a plastic sleeve.
I would still get occasional crud in the emulsion.  Lately, I've been using
Kodak mailers to send Kodachrome to the Kodalux lab in Rockville, MD.  It comes
back with paper interleaving.  I've got a few rolls back so far, but haven't
mounted them, so I can't comment on the quality yet.

The bottom line is this.  Your local photofinisher has specific arrangements
for Kodachrome and Ektachrome.  If you ask, and possibly make some phone calls,
you can find out where it goes.  It's probably not the closest lab.  If you
want to make sure your film goes to a specific lab, then you might have to mail
it there yourself, in a Kodak mailer if it's a Kodak lab, or with a check or
prepaid processing sticker if it's A&I or another independent lab.


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