Franklin Film Lab Succumbs....

Alessandro Machi · June 23, 2004

This topic is probably already under the film labs forum however it is a blow to Super-8 filmmaking.

http://www.franklinfilmlab.com

Farewell From Franklin Film Lab

It is with a very sad heart that we must say goodbye to all our customers, acquaintances and friends that we have come to know in the past four years. Processing your films and helping you to understand the processes involved has been a real pleasure. Most of all, helping the students who are our future filmmakers has been the biggest enjoyment to us here at Franklin Film Lab.

The reasons for closing are many. The changes within the industry itself pertaining to the demands of running a business in California and the constant restrictions placed upon a small business are unbelievable. The latest and also the proverbial ?straw that broke the camel?s back? is the new chemistry, which Kodak has volunteered to agree to change in the B&W Reversal films with the adoration of the EPA. (Environmental Protection Agency). This new chemistry, while environmentally friendly, is not so friendly to the equipment, the film and who?s to say how safe it is to the operator. There are several problems involved and we are sure that after having 30 years of experience in these chemistries there will be more problems in the near future.

Allow us to list some of the problems, which are arising:

#1: The new bleach is highly caustic. Much more so than the older bleach which has been used for nearly 60 years. The new bleach will slowly, but surely eat away Stainless Steel. Our new machine is made entirely of high grade Stainless Steel. Since our new machine is designed completely different than that of the older systems being used elsewhere there is no way of running the system without complete damage to it. The one main tank can be replaced with a titanium liner but the costs are impossible to justify the changeover. A new PVC liner will be less expensive but the lack of heat transfer capabilities would negate the temperature control system. Another fact to consider is the possibility of the new bleach to come in contact with personnel. It will burn the skin within a few seconds.

#2: The new bleach will cause all Polypropylene pumps to fracture and fail which has already happened at another lab in the LA area after their conversion to the new bleach. They experienced a failure during a run and lost about 18 rolls of film. Student?s film. These pumps must be replaced with a PVC style pump. Another $600.00 for each pump added to the changeover costs. Another lab?s holding tank for the new bleach sprung a leak and spilled its contents into the sewer without proper treatment. Now how can that be environmentally friendly?

#3: The new bleach will not allow the operators to Push Process film. Pushing film to increase the speed or to enhance the grain is done by extending the time in the first developer. To achieve this, the older machines being used elsewhere must slow down the run but by doing so it also extends the time inside the new bleach. The problem another lab has experienced with this has been a complete removal or ?melting off? of the films emulsion from the base of the processed film. Kodak?s response to this problem was that they never really recommended push or pull processing before and highly discourage it now.

#4: The costs involved for us to convert to the new chemistries are many. Another cost to convert to the new system will be a need to change the mix ingredients for the first developer as well. In the old first developer there is a Sodium Thiocyanate, which is a metal solvent. The new first developer uses another type of metal solvent you can only get in large quantities from Germany. Those quantities will last our lab about five years and the storage considerations are worrisome. Other labs mix from Kodak?s kits. We mix from scratch to lower the costs of processing, which we pass on to our customers.

#5: Our customers have shown a desire to continue to use our lab because of the quality of the old process we offer; the finer grain achieved in the Plus X in the older process. To change over to what everyone else is doing will only make us just another lab. That was not our goal. We refuse to comply and become just another cow in the herd. Though we are told the conversion to the new system is not ?really? mandatory, as a business, we have learned to read between the lines when it comes to outside sources such as the EPA and their control over businesses especially those in California.

#6: We at Franklin Film Lab are very concerned about the world environment. We are the only motion picture film lab that we know of that is being restricted to sewage discharge in the way we are experiencing. We are in a different county than LA. LA allows discharge to the sewer system to be 10 times higher in TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) than the San Bernardino area. And people wonder why the Santa Monica Bay is so filthy? With those restrictions in mind we needed to devise a way to eliminate those discharge levels. For the past 3 years we have been reconstituting our developer and fixer run off and taking those used, reformulated chemistries and donating them to many major high schools in the area for their use in the photography programs. One school, Franklin Film Lab?s owner?s alma mater, class of 1974, was able to continue their photo program last year just because of this donation system we implemented. It will no longer be feasible to continue this next year since we will be closed.

A special note from Frank Wood, Owner of Franklin Film Lab:

In closing let me say thank you to all those students who found our lab and have shown us respect and appreciation for continuing to use our lab. Let me also express our apologies to those mentioned for us not being able to continue to be a part in your desires to make films and trying to make a difference by staying away from VIDEO.

I truly respect Kodak for doing what they can to help the environment and continuing the film experience. I am sure they too read between the lines when it came to the EPA?s suggested conversions. I sometimes wonder though, if you hug a tree too tightly, do you end up killing the entire forest? It?s just a thought.

Good luck and God bless.