Topic: another lab bites the dust

[tijeras]

My E-6 photo lab in Albuquerque is closing down.
 

Carl's Darkroom is closing their doors in Albuquerque.  Their website is misleading as it says they are expanding.
Well, they have sold their equipment to DigiGraphics in Fort Collins, Colorado and will no longer do any processing locally.
So they expanded, (poor word choice if you ask me) right out of town.

Now instead of a one day service, I  will have to mail my films and expect a week turnaround.
I guess it's better than nothing, but the reality of this is, the local lab is GONE.

Sigh. Another sign of the times I reckon.

[Francois]

I've already seen my share of closing labs... and I'm getting scared they might even close the one at the grocery store. They used to have people come and print tons of digi pictures. Their film processing machine always had orange strips hanging from it on a daily basis... but now, they seem to be busy only on weekends. Looks like the digital picture frame is killing their business...

[hookstrapped]

I love Carl's Darkroom.  Great service, quality work.  I used them mail order and they were very quick -- quicker than DigiGraphics.   

[Les]

Hello Group... I wanted to make a couple of comments concerning this thread. My name is Les De Moss. I founded DigiGraphics in 1977...

My poor choice of words
The term "Expanding" was intended to highlight the increased number of services that would be available to existing clients of Carl's Darkroom. I regret that it came across as misleading, especially to those in the Albuquerque area.. and have since updated this page. Most of Carl's business was national, arriving by mail order. Not recognizing the impact on those in Albuquerque was an oversight for which I apologize.

Regarding turnaround times
Film is in-house for a matter of hours...  we process and return ship E6 on the same day that it's received. Circumstances that delay processing are very rare but may occur due to unscheduled equipment maintenance or extended process-control procedures. I don't recall the order that was mentioned, or why it took longer than expected. All I can say is that we are highly motivated to process and return as quickly as possible... and regret that this wasn't the experience of the person who made this comment.

Like Carl's Darkroom, behind the name 'DigiGraphics' is a small, tight-knit group dedicated to offering film processing services for as long as there is a viable market. If there is ever an issue with our service, I'd hope to be contacted so that it can be shared and corrected. My email address is in my profile.

If there is a downside to performing so much work via mail order, it's that we miss the personal relationships we enjoy with our local clientele - being able to have conversations like this one face to face. We know it's the same for those in Albuquerque who've lost their trusted lab. The best I can say is that we'll do our best to overcome these obstacles with anyone  choosing to work with us.   

Respectfully,

Les De Moss
DigiGraphics LLC 

[original_ann]

Hmmm, I just may give you all a try!  Thank you for posting here.

[Les]

Well Ann..

Your positive comment made my Saturday.

If you'll put "Attention Les" on your order I'll oversee it personally.

Les 

PS: Our largest client in Albuquerque (running four to five hundred rolls/sheets of E6 monthly) is Gamma Tech. The owner is Charlie Dodge. I'm sure he'd be pleased to give a recommendation and impartial critique of our service to anyone who might inquire. Contact information can be found at www.gammatech.com.

Also, while I am not familiar with processing resources in Albuquerque, I understand that a business named 'Kurt's Camera Coral' provides E6 processing. I don't know if it's handled in house or sent to an outside vendor. I mention this because, in the end, we want to support the industry at large and understand that shipping film for processing is not a perfect solution for everyone.