Does Walgreens print from 120 film?

Question

Do they print 120 film, how about color slides...I develop my own, all I need to know is whether they print from the film. It is the only place in my city where they print pictures apart from other pharmacies...there's no professional labs in sight. If they don't, then mailing them out might be the next best choice, how does mail out work is it cheap? references please? thanks :)

Answer 1

If you develop the film yourself, you really should just do it right and get an enlarger, and develop the prints yourself too.  To me, developing the film is actually a lot harder than prints.  Although neither are really that hard to do.

You can get photo paper and paper developer easily online.  And you can use the same kind of fixer for both film and paper.  Any decent camera shop will have the supplies you need, or you can also order them online.  I would recommend Ilford Multigrade Resin-Coated paper. I get mine from Freestyle Photo Supplies in Los Angeles, California.  But really, there are a lot of places where you can order photgraphic supplies.  If you're going to develop the film yourself, you might as well go all out and develop the pictures yourself too.  I just learned to develop my own black and white film at home in March, and I decided that if I was going to do that, I might as well do it right and do everything the traditional way.  

You can find an enlarger on eBay for fairly cheap.  I got one in good condition for about $40.  Also, it's not that hard to set up a darkroom.  I just set up a darkroom in my garage.

I don't think Walgreens will make prints from 120 negatives.  They would probably have to send them out.  One place I would recommend that you could send your negatives to would be Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas.  They will also develop slide film (even Kodachrome).

Dwayne's Photo has a website:

www.dwaynesphoto.com

OR

www.k14movies.com

They develop 35mm film, slides, and even 8mm and 16mm movie film.  They also sell all kinds of different film.  They're prices for film stock and for developing services seemed pretty reasonable to me, and they are definitely a reputable company.  A lot of photographers use them.

But for black and white film, you really should just develop the pictures yourself.  Believe me, REAL prints made on an enlarger will be WAY better than anything a small photo lab will do, because most of the mini-labs don't even use real optical printing anymore.  They just scan the negatives and print them electronically.  The prints I've made on my enlarger at home were much better than the pictures I've gotten from a 1-hour photo lab.  I just wish I could develop color film myself!

Answer 2

No, they will send it out to be printed.

Answer 3

In general, mail out is decent.  Usually better than the in-store printing in my experience (when talking about drugstore printing).  Look for places that send the pictures away to Kodak or Fuji certified labs for best results.  The process takes a few days -- I expect longer for large enlargements & prints off of 120.  At some stores, mail-out is more expensive because of the additional costs to the store.  However, the printing equipment & labor at the mail-out facility is likely to be of higher quality & greater experience.  

The way it usually works is:

1) You can take undeveloped film & have them either:

- just develop

- develop & print a proof sheet

- develop & print conventional prints (4x6 most likely, or any other conventional size)

2) Give them developed film & have them do the same as above -- either proof sheets or proof prints.

3) For making prints from slides.  It's easy... Just pick the slide & tell them what size you print you want.  Things will get difficult if you are very picky about the cropping.  My suggestion is to get full frame prints made, & then trim the print down to your needed size when possible.  

One thing to keep in mind no matter where you choose to print from slides, is that your prints will gain contrast.  So, mind your highlight & shadow values when you are picking which slide to send in.

Finally, because your negative &/or slide will be mailed out -- literally -- I strongly recommend that you do not send out irreplaceable images.

Hope this helped.  Good luck!