Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Tue, 20 Apr 1999 01:21:07 -0400 (EDT)
On Mon, 19 Apr 1999, Larry Watson wrote:
> .... At $188.00 a box for 14 X 17 film, that's a lot of money.
> >We still have Bergger now, but how long is that going to last. Secondly,
>
I lost track of who said this (ye gods you stay offline for 20 hours to
get some work done & there's an entire bang-bang War & Peace saga by the
time you get back)... but as long as we're comparing costs... What is the
cost per SINGLE sheet of that 14x17 film... not to mention the outlay to
get it or what you could be earning with a CD during that time for the
money?
Then factor in the fact that very few folks are like Patrick Alt, getting
one for one with the film. They may not like anything shot in a day, but
they had to pay for the film. Or they may have missed with the exposure,
or a squirrel kicked the tripod. With the service bureau, you only pay for
the negative you order... and you can "perfect" it on the monitor (also
of course preview it) before ordering...
Service bureau prices are dropping. My hunch is the imagesetter will be
competitive soon if not now & if you count the efficiency, probably
cheaper already. That doesn't count the equipment or the learning curve.
I would never have done it & once begun would have given up (as far as
I've gone, which is only far enough to get a sense of the potential), if I
hadn't had to for something else.
But so what? Computer capability is *extremely* liberating (as well as
frustrating & expensive, & don't get me started on the so-called
"manuals.")
PS. Since you can now get an 18 by 22 inch inkjet for about $500 (put
it on the Visa), you don't probably really need a service bureau either..
and that's less than 3 boxes of 14 x 17 film... How many to a box?
Judy
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Thu Oct 28 1999 - 21:39:32