Anyone, who knows of my work experience, knows I have had a long-term relationship with the photofinishing industry. I would like to use that background for the basis of this month's column.

We often spend a great deal of time deciding upon our selection of camera, lens, film or various accessories. But how many time dos we give thought to whom processes our film?

There seems to be an endless selection of locations to take your film for processing. However upon closer examination, the choices may not be a numerous as you think, as the same service is offered at a variety of different outlets.

Overall, film processing falls into two major categories, professional and amateur.

As most of us are not professionals, we often do not choose a professional lab for our everyday processing. Professional labs offer individual and quality attention to your work. However, their services are seldom inexpensive or fast. Since most labs are small, they are numerous. We have one example in town with Cee Tee Photographic.

The second category is amateur. Don't misunderstand the term amateur. It merely indicates the type of customer being sought and is not a reflection of the lab's quality of work. The amateur lab wholesales its services through various outlets. These range from the mass merchandiser to the corner drug store. The processor does not offer different degrees of quality. So the film leaving K-mart is getting the same degree of care as CVS. The film is delivered via the labs own courier system.

Here is a basic rundown of the amateur labs.

Kodalux - In case you haven't gotten the word, Kodak no longer processes film and hasn't for several years. They sold their processing labs to the Qualex Corporation a few years ago. Qualex markets the "appearance" of Kodak processing under the name of Kodalux being licensed by Kodak to do so. Kodak monitors the quality but does not process the film. No matter where you take Kodachrome film for processing, it goes to a Kodalux lab.

Qualex - This company without a doubt rules the photofinshing market. They have about 80% of the wholesale business in the US. Only 6 years old, they formed from numerous acquisitions and buyouts of other processing labs. Interestingly, Kodak owns 49% of this company. They offer ovenight service on most color print rolls on a seven day-a-week basis. They are easy to spot at they are about the only lab offering the Kodak Colorwatch System designated by the gold Colorwatch seal. Their services are found just about everywhere.

Konica - A distant second, but the country's second largest processor. Locally represented in Kmart, Hills and CVS.

- Third largest nationally is coming on strong. But unfortunately, there are no local outlets.

Centre Film Labs - Located in State College. It has large amount of local loyalty due to its location. Immeasurably small compared to the giants listed above but a great source for fast E-6 (Ektachrome-Fujichrome) processing.

Two other amateur choices are available; 1 hour labs and mail order.

One-hour labs offer the same end result as the wholesalers. However the price is higher since you are paying for the short turnaround convenience and the film is being processed on-site as opposed to

hundreds of miles away. If your pictures are of extreme importance, I often recommend such a lab. Your roll will be given a bit more individual attention than say a large company such as Qualex who will be processing your roll among perhaps 50,000 other rolls on a given night. In case you wondered, a one-hour lab does not take shortcuts in the processing method. The film you send out of town spends more time on the road than in the lab.

Mail order offers deep discounts by eliminating the middle man and the convenience of having your photos returned directly to your home. I often question whether they are truly low when you add the postage and handling fees. Turnaround is slow by comparison. I have my personal reservations with dealing mail order. Film does occasionally get lost by a lab. When you have your order mailed, you increase the chances that something can happen to it. And should you have a problem with an order, the correction becomes more involved than if you used a local outlet.

So where do you go? The choice is normally decided by four factors price, convenience, quality and service.

You will often find that the same photofinishing company has different prices for the same service in various outlets. The processing is the same. However, a few pennies hardly merit a trip across town.

For convenience, most people choose a location close to home or work because multiple trips are required with drop-off, inquiry, pick-up etc.

Quality is important. Seldom do things go wrong with the processing of negatives. It is in the interpretation or printing process that occasional disappointing results are found. Amateur labs mass produce and print for a high level of acceptable prints. Subtle differences you may have made in your exposures are often cancelled in the printing process. Any lab can have an off night. So if you are not satisfied with your results, have them remade. Since there are not that many choices of labs, changing outlets may not improve your chances of quality. You may end up dealing with the same lab.

Lastly is service. And by that I mean behind the counter because the processing service is the same. Often the higher the degree of service, the higher the price for processing. If you don't mind filling out your own order and dealing with Gus the meat manager when you have a question, you mave save a few pennies at the lowest priced outlet. But if dealing with a knowledgeable clerk or having your order filled out for you is important, it is well worth the extra money for additional service.

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