TIER -B STRUCTURE & PRODUCTION
Due to some confusion this page has been created mostly for those lacking the knowledge of extended photo-chemistry and how it is impacted by today's volatile processing production.
More than ever, inexperienced labs are closing simply because they do not know how to maintain their processing lines with the 'not-less-than-crazy' intake that film comes in today.
The truth is, quality is hard to find today. Labs feel they can not raise rates to cover the costs of running the lab for fear of not getting film in, yet without volume, tank-lines waver in quality. Today with digital taking 60% of imaging; film volume wavers to the point of 'WIGGING-OUT' the processing line. Before digital a steady flow of film kept the processing line in check. Through film use and fresh replenishment, a process line was able to stay 'quality stable'. This is why labs simply close; because of the now expensive chemistry, labs essentially can't afford to dump 1000s of dollars of out of control chemistry. Some labs - god-forbid - run film anyway.
So how would we figure out how to keep from having to raise our rates with our chem cost going up some 300%, our film volume all over the place, and trying to keep a custom-B&W-process in-line?? 'TIER-B'
Certainly we could just say we had to raise rates, most labs would do this. What happens with TIER-B is 'VOLUME'. This is terrific for a processing line. But there are pit-falls to this in today's volatile film arena - TURN-TIME.
We have devised a preservation-cap and changed our replenishment measures along with some unique procedures, to keep our chemistry 'AT-REST'. This works remarkably well, that we can offer this cost savings to clients, resulting in no rate increase for processing on TIER-B. The alternative was to raise rates overall.
The downside to TIER-B is the possible turn-times. As stated above, when film comes in is unpredictable. Turn-time can be a week or 4.
We hope everyone appreciates our cost saving efforts.
