Walmart.......ruined my b&w film! YIKES!

It was a stupid mistake.......on my part. I didn't think they processed b&w, but I asked anyway since they've expanded their photo lab recently with all kinds of machines, etc.

Well, the "tech" said "yes, we do black and white." So I left one roll of Ilford Delta 100 that I shot last weekend in NYC - my first roll of b&w since I got my digital Rebel.

On the way out of Walmart, it occurred to me that maybe they only do C41, but I thought the tech was so confident, and seemed to know what he was talking about that surely, he would recognize it wasn't C41.

Tonight when I went to pick up my pics and CD, the other tech said "it's blank. you gave us a fresh roll of film." No.....that I didn't do! So, a 3rd tech came over and said "I know what happened this morning. The tech put the b&w film through the C41 processor which is hot, and your pics were burned off."

Oh well! Guess I'm not meant to use film anymore! Heheh. I'll try again next week. I thought I'd have some nice shots to upload. Next time.

Moral of the story? Walmart doesn't process black & white film! :p

Liz

unfortunately. A pro lab in LA processed a roll of color print film of mine in b&w chemicals ... ruined negatives filled with splotches. Hard lessons learned, sometimes. Hope "the" shot wasn't on that roll. :-)

Never had that happen to me but had all kinds of other problems with slides - not fun, I know! The tech was probably thinking of the C41 process b&w (maybe?). It's a very different film than true b&w as they found out. Sorry to hear.

Sorry to hear about this. I have never put much trust in my local Walmarts. I tried to explain that to my dad, but he took some old, old, slides to them for reprints. They were VERY RARE and old slides taken of an old shipwreck off the Texas coast. Anyway, Walmart "Lost" some of the slides, even though they were not sent out, and he returned 1 hour later to pick them up! :mad: Its sooo frustrating!

But please don't let this stop you from shooting more B&W!!


Anyway, we live and learn I guess.

Kathy

i work in a lab just like one of those, Once Fuji messed up and put a true b&w film into a c-41 process canister, it came out clear as day, the lady cracked it and blamed us, but we had proof, the canister still had the little taped on tags, Not always the techs fault huh!!!

and probably over reacted in my disappointment. As a photographer, I should have know better than going to Walmart to begin with to get b&w processed.

And knowing Walmart is not a pro lab, techs are not trained enough, low salary, etc. I should have gone with my instincts and clarified whether he meant C41. Because it didn't occur to me until I was almost out the door, I let it go.

Also, the guy who did it wasn't out to ruin my film. :)

A lesson learned.

Liz

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jezz

i work in a lab just like one of those, Once Fuji messed up and put a true b&w film into a c-41 process canister, it came out clear as day, the lady cracked it and blamed us, but we had proof, the canister still had the little taped on tags, Not always the techs fault huh!!!

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Liz, I believe there is still black and white film out there that IS C-41 process. I've used one by Ilford before. Unfortunately, I forget the name of it. If going to a pro lab is rough on the budget, you may want to consider doing the film yourself and getting only the contact sheet from the lab! It's pretty easy to do the film yourself - takes about a half hour, depending on how long it takes you to get the chemistry to 68 degrees!

Megan

[QUOTE=megan]Liz, I believe there is still black and white film out there that IS C-41 process.

That's what I was thinking when they said that they did B&W. I've used Kodak T400CN and had great results but you have to find the right lab for it (ask if they print it on true B&W paper, results are amazing). They probably sell a consumer version at WalMart - they have it at most one-hour photo places but I can't remember exactly what it's called.

In any case, I've done a little developing myself. The equipment can be bought used for next to nothing anymore and it's not hard, just takes a little time. I'd like to do more with medium format and get a flatbed to scan the negs - I don't have space for a darkroom currently (which you don't need for developing film).

I took a roll of delta 100 to what was our local pro lab (they have sinced closed down their lab, wasn't making enough money) I dropped it off, and they called me not two hours later to say they were sorry, they processed it as color.

Apparently the girl didn't recognize the brand, and assumed it was color. They did give me a roll of something else to replace the one they ruined.

So after I switched to another lab when they closed, I took a cd full of images into be printed, another pro lab, and they gave my prints, cd and all, to someone else with a similar last name. And then told me "oh, I'm sure they'll bring them back".

Shortly after that I went digital and found an online lab. I'm sure they will make mistakes too, but they haven't yet. And I'm not physically giving they anything, so they don't have anything to misplace.

Hope you get some good shots on your next trip out.

adina

some of my friends have also encouraged me to do the processing myself. Right now I'm overwhelmed at work - still haven't found a new secretary.

However, this is certainly good advice, which I will consider at some point. The reason I went to Walmart is because it was easier. And honestly, for the most part (depending on the tech and time of day), Walmart does a very good job with my digital 4x6 images. When they haven't, I've returned them and they will do them over, free. So I figured, maybe they wouldn't be bad! For anything larger, I wouldn't use Walmart.

It was basically disappointing simply because it had been so long since I've done any film, yet alone my favorite Ilford Delta b&w!

Thanks for all the encouragement and comments. I appreciate it.

Liz :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Liz

It was a stupid mistake.......on my part. I didn't think they processed b&w, but I asked anyway since they've expanded their photo lab recently with all kinds of machines, etc.

Well, the "tech" said "yes, we do black and white." So I left one roll of Ilford Delta 100 that I shot last weekend in NYC - my first roll of b&w since I got my digital Rebel.

On the way out of Walmart, it occurred to me that maybe they only do C41, but I thought the tech was so confident, and seemed to know what he was talking about that surely, he would recognize it wasn't C41.

Tonight when I went to pick up my pics and CD, the other tech said "it's blank. you gave us a fresh roll of film." No.....that I didn't do! So, a 3rd tech came over and said "I know what happened this morning. The tech put the b&w film through the C41 processor which is hot, and your pics were burned off."

Oh well! Guess I'm not meant to use film anymore! Heheh. I'll try again next week. I thought I'd have some nice shots to upload. Next time.

Moral of the story? Walmart doesn't process black & white film! :p

Liz

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Liz,

If you want to shoot bw, but would like the convenience of a one-hour lab, you should considered using Ilford XP2. It uses C41 processing, the same as standard color film, and (knock on plastic) cannot be messed up even by knucklehead lab techs.

Sure, it's not as beautiful a film as Delta 100 (biggest complaints are that it's a bit flat), but generally it IS very good and has a 4-5 stop latitiude...

Hey Jezz...

Is your avatar a tally-whacker (penis)? If so, why???

I've never tried that one. I've tried one C41, but think it was Kodak something. I've only used Ilford Delta. :D Yea, I'm spoiled.

Thanks, I wasn't sure what the official name was.

Liz

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Asylum Steve

Liz,

If you want to shoot bw, but would like the convenience of a one-hour lab, you should considered using Ilford XP2. It uses C41 processing, the same as standard color film, and (knock on plastic) cannot be messed up even by knucklehead lab techs.

Sure, it's not as beautiful a film as Delta 100 (biggest complaints are that it's a bit flat), but generally it IS very good and has a 4-5 stop latitiude...

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Hey koko,
Its actually a carrot that grew in our garden, i think its funny but getting old?
there is b&w C41 process, kodak and fuji both make it.
But you do have to check when processing that the lab uses true B&W paper or all the prints will have a magenta ting to them, not really appealing in any case, some techs, like me have ways to get it pretty close but you just cant really do it, it goes very green! which is even worse!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jezz

Hey koko,
Its actually a carrot that grew in our garden, i think its funny but getting old?

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Thanks for clarifying that for me!! Now I need to ask if I was the ONLY one that wondered what it was??

Have a great evening Jezz!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jezz

Hey koko,
Its actually a carrot that grew in our garden, i think its funny but getting old?

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I thought it might be a carrot! LOL ( I was chicken to ask though.)

Spike

yeah i thought it was a really strange thing when i pulled it up, so i took a quick snap and ate it, tasted good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kokopeli

Thanks for clarifying that for me!! Now I need to ask if I was the ONLY one that wondered what it was??

Have a great evening Jezz!

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I was thinking the same thing, and just came back from reading his profile to see if I could enlarge the picture to figure it out for myself. Or to get a glimpse of some skin, anyway ;) So you were not the only one wondering!

Megan

Actually, it might not had been a problem if the film had been sent out to the lab they use instead of one-hour. But then again, send-out is a two day service <i>if</i> you deposit it by the designated drop-off time.

But it's like you said-- it's a lesson learned and the guy wasn't out to damage your film.

Generally, I use Ritz's service when I can. It costs a little more, but but I've always been satisfied with it.

Why not just edit your digital images in photoshop or photoelements? I used to shoot xp2 but that required some heavy dodge and burn in the darkroom to get decent contrast. The digital darkroom is definitely easier for black and white for me. Just my two cents-I'm totally digital now, so I'm a little biased ;)