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Author Topic: Cost of Digital Prints Robert Minichino Master Film Handler Posts: 350 From: Haskell, NJ, USA Registered: Dec 2005 posted 03-30-2010 09:47 AM                        There's still silver halide in the undeveloped film (it's the light-sensitive part), but it's removed in processing during bleach/fix unless bleach is skipped to make a contrastier, blacker image.  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 03-30-2010 10:15 AM                     quote: Jonathan Smith If I were to buy unprocessed 2383, it'd cost me at LEAST $0.20 per foot. That's for unexposed rawstock, chemistry, electricity, processing control, and maintaining a monstrous ECP processor is very very costly. Plus the cost of water, and of treating and heating it, and the cost of treatment and disposal of effulent, minus the value of the silver recovered.  |  IP: Logged Jonathan Smith Expert Film Handler Posts: 201 From: Youngstown, OH Registered: Jan 2010 posted 03-30-2010 11:22 AM                     There's very little silver left in print film (still plenty in camera film stock though), and it is all recovered now unless they do a silver retension process (ala "Terminator Salvation" or "Gladiator" or "Headless Horseman"), but it is still a necessary part of the imaging process. There used to be silver left in the soundtrack too before the cyan transition. But Kodak and Fuji have to charge for that. They have to coat it in the dark. There isn't a 35mm "inkjet" printer. The dye is formed photographically unless you're talking about the now defunct technicolor or Kodachrome processes. I saw a thread on here where someone was saying it was only a couple cents a foot. There's no way it's under $0.20 per foot when you consider the cost of exposing, processing, and printing the film too. The most I could see Kodak giving someone off list is 40%. I here that their print film is cheaper than Fuji's in volume (whereas it is 20% MORE expensive if you don't buy in mass quantities, same with camera film).  |  IP: Logged Jussi Siponen Film Handler Posts: 75 From: Mikkeli, Itä-Suomi, FINLAND Registered: Jan 2010 posted 04-01-2010 04:35 AM                     Edit: Jonathan had already replied, my post was redundant. (I didnt see Jontahan's post, my browser cache must be acting up or something...)  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 04-04-2010 10:28 AM                        While I cannot divulge my source, I can confirm that 35mm prints cost (not on reels) is "under $1000." Reels/can are reused but billed to each production as if they were new. . . infuriating, isn't it? I have another source that lists raw costs as even lower. Remember you get a deal if you have a yearly contract for tens of thousands of reels. Louis  |  IP: Logged Jonathan Smith Expert Film Handler Posts: 201 From: Youngstown, OH Registered: Jan 2010 posted 04-06-2010 10:05 AM                     Louis: I find that hard to believe. Even in volume, (I know labs that run ECP, you see, Cinelab, for one) I don't think they go below $0.15/ft. You can't get a "volume discount" on water or labor, either, at least not legally. You had better believe the lab techs at the film labs aren't getting paid minimum wage. Those are $20/hr. jobs, probably at least 3-4 technicians for each machine, printer operators, packagers, inspectors, darkroom technicians, chemists. Even at 10 cents a foot, which is unlikely, even with a billion-foot order of print stock, the cost of labor after all is said and done is going to bring it to at least 20 cents per foot.  |  IP: Logged Jonathan Smith Expert Film Handler Posts: 201 From: Youngstown, OH Registered: Jan 2010 posted 04-06-2010 12:15 PM                     It's all dye after the lab is done with it. But silver is still used to FORM the dyes during photographic exposure. The only part that used to be silver in color film was the soundtrack. That's all gone now in cyan dye prints, unless of course you have a silver-retension process on the release prints.  |  IP: Logged

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