Well it depends on the area. The only BW I have really ever seen done in a lab was the C41 stuff and I really don't call that BW. Anyone serious enough to use bw film is usually serious enough to want to process and print it themselves.
Now color and slides may have a market, but not in the volume it once had. Remaining only analog might be the ticket for some for this reason. Get good analog equipment now and it will likely last a very long time. Up front expense, but its not going to need replacing in 2 years.
Its that quick replacement cycle that skyrockets the overhead. If there are enough people and processing businesses in the area, being an analog wholesaler might be a lot easier and serve a need, much like huge houses used to do. The difference would be that you would 1. do a good job and 2. turn around time could be much faster maybe even deliver.
Now this kind of business could not survive in the high overhead of a mall or shopping center, but it wouldn't need to be there either.
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Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Another E6 resource in jeapordy
From: Eric Nelson <emanmb@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, August 29, 2009 8:17 pm
To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
One lab I know of here has farmed out it's B&W and color to other local labs and afaik is only doing digital on-site. They take a cut of the sale, since it's their customers, while getting rid of the analog overhead. Your lab may well think to contact their competition and have a chat.A lab that remains analog only is cutting their own throat unfortunately, and if the volume of film coming through isn't enough to keep the E6 & C-41 lines in balance let alone profitable, then there isn't much they can do. Those who've kept their overhead low all these years may well be the only survivors. There is still film being shot in decent quantities but being near enough and available to those markets is the trick.
From: Elias Roustom <elroustom@xxxxxxxxx>
To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, August 29, 2009 1:28:27 PM
Subject: [pure-silver] Another E6 resource in jeapordy
Yesterday I picked up 5 rolls worth of slides from Renaissance Creative Imaging in Pawtucket, RI. They recently moved from Providence. I had a very interesting conversation with the owner. The film processing facility stayed in providence, and she doesn't know if she'll bring it to the new location or not. As a result the first location is now for sale, and it will come complete with everything still in it, in short everything you need to process and print E6 and C4. She doesn't feel confident that future sales will justify the expense of moving the machines and putting all the environmental controls into the new place, and as a fellow business owner I can understand. The Rhode Island School of Design used to be a good stream of income for her, but it seems like they're heading towards complete digital color workflow, with basic b&w for teaching, and how many of us shoot enough slides to keep a business afloat?
Will it all come down to two or three processing labs faster than we all think? I wonder if chromes in general will disappear sooner rather than later.
Maybe someone in the area will buy the building and continue the processing. Under (very) different circumstances I would be moving in next month!
Anyway, I think there's an opportunity there for someone - pass this along to anyone who might be interested. There's still demand for E6, and the right marketing can generate a comfortable living for someone.
And if you have some E6 film to process, I highly recommend www.rciprov.com. Encourage it to remain, or get it while you can!
Elias
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