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In 1997, when the writing was on the wall for sound Super 8mm, I bought ten cartridges of sound Ektachrome 160 Type-A film and froze them all. I've held on to that film, saving it for some landmark occasion. Well, 25 years later, I finally used one of the cartridges (after thawing it in the refrigerator for a week and then at room temperature for a few days). Now I'm faced with a bit of a conundrum.
We all know that in that time Ektachrome died and then was reborn. New Ektachrome is an E-6 film. My old Type-A is EM-26.
How should I process this film?
Most signs seem to point to Rocky Mountain Film Lab, but while I've not attempted to contact them, I can't see any evidence of their still being in business these last ten years, and even before them, their reputation was about as poor as it gets.
Pro8mm will do it. Their website suggests they'll cross-process it to a black and white negative, but while that makes perfect sense for Kodachrome, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to get a color image from old Ektachrome. I contacted them and they did verify they'd process it, but were still ambiguous as to whether it'd be done in EM-26 (or EM-26-like) chemistry or traditional B&W.
There's another lab. I distinctly remember reading about it somewhere, but I simply can't find it now. They were very expensive, but you know, it's not an every day thing for me -- I'm willing to spend a bit.
The other option would be to do it myself. I've got a Super 8 tank and a couple gallon's worth of E-6 chemistry. While it's meant to be processed in EM-26, I think Type-A should develop in modern E-6 regardless. The colors might not come out exactly right, but it would be in color. I know old Ektachrome has a remjet layer that E-6 isn't going to do anything about, so I'd have to manually scrub it off, which would be... tiresome, but doable.
We all know that in that time Ektachrome died and then was reborn. New Ektachrome is an E-6 film. My old Type-A is EM-26.
How should I process this film?
Most signs seem to point to Rocky Mountain Film Lab, but while I've not attempted to contact them, I can't see any evidence of their still being in business these last ten years, and even before them, their reputation was about as poor as it gets.
Pro8mm will do it. Their website suggests they'll cross-process it to a black and white negative, but while that makes perfect sense for Kodachrome, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to get a color image from old Ektachrome. I contacted them and they did verify they'd process it, but were still ambiguous as to whether it'd be done in EM-26 (or EM-26-like) chemistry or traditional B&W.
There's another lab. I distinctly remember reading about it somewhere, but I simply can't find it now. They were very expensive, but you know, it's not an every day thing for me -- I'm willing to spend a bit.
The other option would be to do it myself. I've got a Super 8 tank and a couple gallon's worth of E-6 chemistry. While it's meant to be processed in EM-26, I think Type-A should develop in modern E-6 regardless. The colors might not come out exactly right, but it would be in color. I know old Ektachrome has a remjet layer that E-6 isn't going to do anything about, so I'd have to manually scrub it off, which would be... tiresome, but doable.
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