the International Rollei Club

Dwayne's Photo in Parsons KS (800 522 3940) will process a roll of film and supply 12 5x5 prints for $8.99 total.

Have you thought about developing and printing your own films? It is very easy if you use black and white film, which is my own preference with Rolleiflex cameras, and second-hand enlargers, processing trays, timers, developing tanks, etc. can be bought very cheaply on eBay or at photographic markets. Similarly, developer and fixer can still be obtained very easily. You don't need a dedicated darkroom; a darkened laundry or bathroom will do just as well. You can print 8 x 10-inch photos at half the cost you are paying for your 5 x 5-inch prints, and the results will amaze you. The quality of Rolleiflex lenses really only becomes apparent in enlargements of at least this size.

The cost of film processing will increase as demand for it continues to fall. I found it too expensive some years back, and decided to process my own films, if only to save money. I thought it would be difficult to learn, but I learnt the basics in five minutes. (You get the information from the Internet.) Almost immediately, I could see that my camera lenses were a lot better than I had thought. So was my photography. As happens to many who take up darkroom photography, I soon became obsessed with trying to produce 'the perfect print', inevitably wasting a lot of paper in the process, but medication is helping me get on top of that now and I am almost back to normal.

Regards,

Eddie Vaughan

I should have added to my last message that you could scan your 120 negatives and then print them on your computer printer. This would be an alternative to darkroom printing, although not necessarily a better one, but you would still have to develop your films in the usual way or pay a photo lab to develop them for you.

A photo lab should not charge much to develop your 120 films if you do not want to develop them yourself, and you can buy a new or second hand scanner quite cheaply that can scan medium format negatives. Once you scan the negatives, you can then edit the positive images on your computer and print them at home on photographic paper. Dead easy! I am sure you would find this much more satisfying than paying the lab to print small square photos (or rectangular cropped photos) on 5 x 7-inch paper, much more flexible, and much cheaper in the long run.

Good luck!

Eddie Vaughan

First of all, I have disliked Ritz as being over priced and underserving for many years. I suppose it is because a good friend of mine owns Precision Camera here in Austin. Also we have a fine independent lab Holland Photo. If you don't have a local lab, then send to one of the several good mail order ones.
Learn to develop your own film and get a good flatbed scanner (Epson 700V etc). They will more than pay for themselves and you will learn some new skills. Every professional I know who uses film from time to time does digital prints. The only exceptions are the artists and they might be doing any number of processes including paper negatives, tin types, etc.