Thinking of doing some experiments with 35mm high-contrast B&W or color transparencies.

Source material would be digital files, similar resolution to typical consumer DSLR or iPhone image frames (4K pixels x 3K pixels, for example), with output to real film transparencies (or even B&W negative film).

Casual googling brings up some film recorder service bureaus that offer such services for maybe $5 per slide plus handling fee, with turnaround times from a day or two up to perhaps a week or longer.

Anyone have experience with any such vendor(s)?

I suppose that an alternative could be had by rigging up my Nikon F2 SLR with some real color transparency film or B&W negative film, and take macro photos of my iPhone screen in a dark room, then find a place to develop the film. I don’t actually need these to be mounted. Figuring out proper exposure might be a bit painful, as I’ve been spoiled by digital SLRs.

Do it on Kodachrome 25 and process it yourself in a phototherm temperature controlled bath.


Slide film has to have the exact exposure it’s not like print film that goes 1 to 2 stops under through 3 stops over .

Can’t they just take the digital file and print off a backlit display transparency positive like a Duratrans. I’m not really understanding the final application. $5 a slide is probably a bargain.

The intended application is for a gobo-like transparency mask for projecting a constructed geometric image on a wall or ceiling.

But it is mainly for me to do experiments, rather than for any practical application.

I believe that I once processed a roll of Ektachrome in my basement darkroom, but it has been many ages since I had any wet lab experience.

Kodachrome, well, if I had a million dollars to build a lab…