When it comes to processing your film, the choice of where to develop your film is crucial. Once your film is developed, no corrections can be made, so you want to trust your photo lab to get it right the first time. Let's dive into the differences between developing your film at the ubiquitous drug stores or at the independent specialty store, PhotoLounge.
Your proximity to a drug store may be tempting. But if you’re already itching to see your pictures you must know that drug stores ship your film to a centralized film processing plant, leading to wait times of 7-10 days for 35mm film developing and approximately 3 weeks for APS film developing, 120 film developing, and B&W film developing. When you finally do get your digital images, they will be stored on a DVD, and your original negatives will be disposed of.
In contrast to a drug store film processing service, PhotoLounge is committed to photography and nothing else. Your film will be processed right in our own lab and scans from your color film or disposable camera will be delivered to your inbox with a Dropbox link that is easy to open on any device and share with others. Black and white film processing is also fast (in by Tuesday and out by Friday). You have the option of adding prints to your order, and you’ll always get your negatives back when you process film at PhotoLounge. This is incredibly quick, high-quality, and affordable developing, even by the standard of other fine independent photo labs. So whether you’re across town or across the country, trust PhotoLounge with your film developing and scanning. PhotoLounge also offers prepaid shipping so you can ship the film to us with no regrets.
Visit our Film Processing page to ship us your film, or walk into our Center City Philadelphia photo lab to drop it off in person and say hi.