The History of the Film Lab

A closer look at the history of film labs shows that business has been getting tougher for quite a while, and offers some insights into the specifics of what’s coming soon.

By the 1920s, major feature film studios maintained their own labs, although independent labs sprang up in many major cities to handle the non-theatrical market of industrial and amateur film. “Laboratories also kept pace with technologies such as improved tinting and toning of release prints, early color processes, and, towards the end of the decade, the introduction of B&W panchromatic stock,” said Kenig. “The introduction of 16mm in the U.S. and 9.5mm in Europe required labs to purchase new processing equipment for these formats in addition to the new reversal development procedure.” An interest in wide film for major features also blossomed in the 1920s, and some labs were equipped to handle both processing and printing, even though several wide features were released in standard 35mm prints.

The introduction of sound in the late 1920s and early 1930s saw labs accommodating variable density and variable area optical soundtracks. “Sound also accelerated the need for automatic developing machines since longer reels without splices were required for release prints,” said Kenig.

In the 1930s, after introducing the new three-strip camera and dye transfer process, Technicolor expanded its facilities in the US and England. In Hollywood, a growing number of independent labs produced release prints and supported the special effects field and independent feature production.

With the onset of WWII, labs increased their output due to the demands of the military for training films and combat footage. “Large numbers of 16mm reduction prints of feature films were required for entertainment of the U.S. armed forces,” said Kenig. “Many branches of the service had their own production units which included laboratories.” In fact, said Kenig, the U.S. Navy was the first purchaser of the new Acme Dunn optical printer. Color processing increased after the introduction of Kodachrome stock for both professional and amateur use.

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