Re: Kodalux: a modest proposal

[P3D Paul Talbot <ptww@xxxxxxxxx>]

Re: "Sacrificial" rolls of film to be sent to Kodalux, DrT wrote:

> This is a great idea!  Even though I have tried to educate people about
> the benefits of mounting one's own slides, I am fully aware of the
> importance of this service and ready to support it.  Will have no
> problem sending a few random rolls to Dallas.

I agree with George's comments and other expressions of support
for this idea.  I also detect some misunderstanding of the
problems among the negative comments.  A poor mounting job
does not permanently destroy a stereo image.  The pair can
usually be salvaged by remounting it properly.  The primary
risk of permanent damage is when the film processing 
damages the emulsion (scratches, chips, chemical stains,
etc).  While this is more common with a batch process using
rollers (like Kodalux), I've had the same problem with my
local lab's dip and dunk processing...which happens to 
as much as I pay Kodalux for processing *and* stereo mounting.

We need a way to make our impact felt, however.  Five more rolls
of stereo slides aren't going to be enough to get Kodalux to ask
"how high" when we say "jump."  (Think about how many tens of
thousands of rolls of film they handle in, what, a week?) So
how about some thoughts on how to extend Emil's suggestions and
amplify the impact?  I'll toss a few out to try to get the ball
rolling:
    -- Someone volunteer to serve as a "point man."  We all agree
    to send our film to the volunteer by a specific date, and then
    submit them en masse to Kodalux.  A nice start would be to put
    together an order of 100 rolls of stereo slides.  Someone mentioned
    Dalia taking some initiative to contact Kodalux, so perhaps this
    could go hand-in-hand with her efforts.  If Dalia doesn't want
    to do this, I will volunteer.

    -- Stereo clubs could similarly aggregate their submissions.

    -- Even better, if club members could get their clubs to
    participate and send film to the designated collector for
    the en masse submission.

I'm sure someone out there can improve on these suggestions,
so let's hear it!

Also, thanks to Richard Koolish on the tip about contacting the
home office.

Now let's look at the issue from an entirely different perspective.
Suppose we can't impress Kodalux; Kodak's restructuring efforts (or
all our complaints) cause them to terminate stereo slide services
altogether; or for whatever reason we collectively determine
processing of stereo slides by a mega-volume lab will never be
satisfactory.  What are the other options?

How much are folks willing to pay for quality hand mounting of
their stereo slides?  What other possible suppliers of stereo
slide services are out there?  Could an influential person like
Dalia convince Photo Works or Grand Photo to expand in to stereo
slide services?  Would it be feasible for an enterprising 3D
enthusiast to offer stereo slide services as a sideline to
help fund their own 3D addiction?  Could a very large club
with enough active members hold a monthly "slide mounting
party" where members meet, and set up an assembly line of
stereo slide processing?  With the volume of film used by
the club, and outsiders who buy the service, perhaps it could
be done fairly efficiently, and serve as a club fund raiser.

Let's all brainstorm a little and see what else we can come up
with.  And to help it along, perhaps we could agree to temporarily
supress any "that's wacky" reactions until we get a sizeable list
of ideas on the table, and then select the most promising.

Paul Talbot


------------------------------