Drab—for a purpose

Press, 16 April 1986, Page 31

Drab—for a purpose

When I visited Ken’s Photo Lab. recently my first impression was: “What a drab-looking place!” But it is drab for a purpose.

The neutral grey decor is part of a plan to achieve the correct daylight balance in customers’ prints. However well set up the equipment the final responsibility in achieving colour-balance is with the operator, whose task is

made much easier if the surrounding lighting is daylight-type. Before the laboratory opened a few months ago, the shops owned by Ken (Mr K. Surie), sent their print orders to an outside laboratory. The Photo Lab now services these shops (Ken’s Camera Craft and Fox Talbot Photographies) as well as what comes in over the counter. The laboratory, which

provides a one-hour service, has a new 80-chan-nel Japanese Copal 5S processor. Prints are offered in three sizes, on Fuji archival paper.

Film processing is monitored daily and paper processing weekly, with visits from Fuji’s technical representative at least every two months. There is a processing staff of three. — R.M.