Pentax kc1000

[smoke665]

are the only game in town for film.
Color film $8.50 dev only, $13.50 with 2000 res scan. Average daily count 70-100 rolls.
BW film $10 dev only, ad $4.95 for 2000 res scan. Average monthly count 100-150 rolls

After considering the labor, chemicals, equipment cost, maintenance on the equipment, and overhead is it really profitable?

 

[webestang64]

After considering the labor, chemicals, equipment cost, maintenance on the equipment, and overhead is it really profitable?

Very. The equipment at work has been paid for like 25 years ago. For maintenance we have 2 parts machines we got for cheap. C-41 chems are not to bad as we get discount for volume (we use Fuji) .
And my BW....? All my cost is just chems (I can dev around 40 rolls per gallon of Arista 76, fixer is replenished) and a slightly higher water bill. I can do up to 18 rolls of 35mm in one batch so I make an average of $20-30 an hour.

 

[smoke665]

can do up to 18 rolls of 35mm in one batch

Way back when I owned the newspapers, I developed 10-20 rolls a week in house. Since most everything was standardized (film, exposures, etc) I could do batch processing. However, any deviation resulted separate processing.

 

[webestang64]

However, any deviation resulted separate processing.

Sometimes I have to start with a few small cans for longer dev times then transfer to bigger can with less times. Kinda a pain but I have done it so long now I just go into auto mode.....LOL

 

[cgw]

Labs like Scotty's are unicorn ranch material and deserve worshipful support. I now use a guy in a slightly larger nearby town who runs a small fleet of JOBO machines and offers custom processing. Fair pricing is nice but it's consistency I'll pay a premium for any day. A long-time Toronto GTA resident till recently, I watched the city's pro labs wither--along with cheapo minilab services like Costco--as film became a residual market. Great lab service morphed into good and sometime degraded into "meh." Film shooters are out there but not in sufficient numbers in enough locations to launch new labs--sad proof the "film revival" is a mirage.

But then I could be dead wrong!!!

Harman Makes Largest Investment in Film Manufacturing Since the 1990s

This type of equipment has not been commissioned by film manufacturers since the 1990s.

petapixel.com