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(Our tour contains a lot of photos. Depending on the efficiency
of your modem, you may want to turn images "off" to speed the
tour.)
 Our Hollywood Laboratory
is located in a beautiful industrial park about 10 minutes from the Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The building is entirely owned
by our company and every square foot has been designed for one purpose:
producing high-quality photographic and digital images.
The first floor houses a retail Imaging Center, the Customer
Service Department, film processing and printing, plus our domestic and
overseas shipping departments.
The second story contains the incoming mail room, digital imaging and executive
offices.
 The Imaging Center
serves local customers and the many people who visit us during the year.
While only 2% of our sales come in "over-the-counter" (98% are
from U.S. and international customers who send their film in by mail), we
make a special effort to provide "fun toys" for the nice folks
who visit our plant. These include a Kodak Create-A-Print enlarger
that lets photographers make their own enlargements, a Fuji Pictrostat
for making photographic enlargements from small prints or slides and a Kodak
Image Magic Station for making computer-generated,
"package" prints from photographs, slides, negatives or Photo
CDs.
 The Customer Service department is just
behind the Imaging Center. We believe in caring people serving valued customers.
So, when you call our toll-free number - 800-327-1776 - you'll speak directly
with a "real" person who will do his or her absolute best to answer all of
your questions. Our job is to help you fulfill your
photographic and digital needs...and that's just what we'll do!
Let's Follow a Typical Processing Order as
it Goes through the Laboratory
 All incoming film processing orders go through
our Mail Room. It's here that we open your mailer to determine exactly
what you want from your film. We're a lot different than the average photo
lab because we offer so many more services. While most companies make just
3-1/2"x5" or 4"x6" prints...one of each or two of each...we
offer a multitude of photographic and digital services. Our customers can
order slides...or prints...or both, Index Prints, Photo CDs,
and all sorts of "special" services that are beyond the capabilities
of the "large" labs that process film for drug stores and retail
outlets. The photographers and computer users who come to us are also a
lot more discriminating and shoot far more film than the average consumer.
So, it's essential that we carefully open every
mailer to determine exactly what you want. Your
roll(s) are then joined (spliced) with other customers' film that requires
the same service. The spliced rolls are sent to negative processing.
 We develop your film in our Film Developing
division using specially designed, continuous processing equipment. The
joined rolls go through photographic chemicals where every processing variable
is rigidly controlled. (Our temperatures are controlled to +/- 1/4 degree.)
We process to professional standards...rather than the amateur standards
required for retail photofinishing...to produce more brilliant colors and
greater sharpness in your prints and provide longer, archival life for your
negatives.
 Every roll of developed negatives is individually
inspected to determine if there are any camera or photographic problems
(i.e. flash not working, malfunctioning shutter, something in your camera
causing scratches) that might affect your photos. If we spot a serious problem,
we'll take the time to telephone or include a written memo to let you know
about the problem and advise you on what steps you can take to avoid future
difficulties.
Each film "batch" is then sent to the
appropriate department to produce the service(s) requested by our customers
(i.e. 4"x6" prints only...or slides and 3-1/2"x5-1/4"
prints...or Photo CDs and prints, etc.).
Let's Assume This Order Will Only
Require 4"x6" Prints and Follow "Your" Roll
 After careful cleaning, film is printed
onto Kodak photographic paper. We use high-precision, Swiss-made computerized
printers. These $300,000 technological marvels scan every 35mm negative
frame at 90 discrete points to determine the precise "filter pack"
for printing that individual picture. Then, the exposure is made onto Kodak's
best photographic paper through an ultra-sharp, Swiss lens. (The lens costs
$10,000!) The photographs we produce are the most beautifully balanced,
true-to-life pictures you can find anywhere. Every print has a distinct,
"custom" look with a level of sharpness that gives it a near three-dimensional
appearance.
 The exposed photographic prints are made on long
rolls of Kodak paper. This paper must be processed to bring out the final
print images you see. We develop your prints on a custom-designed paper
processing machine.
We don't use the conventional, two chemical RA-4
paper process that most other labs employ. Our environmental
RA-4 process uses four chemicals...rather than two...to allow
for improved handling of chemical wastes and minimal environmental impact.
(Less than two dozen labs in the U.S. use this process because of its increased
cost and lower production throughput.) The "fringe" benefit you
receive (outside of supporting "cleaner" processing) is that the
environmental process produces prints that are significantly sharper
than ones from the same negatives that would go through a "conventional"
paper process. (Combined with our lenses, this gives the increased sharpness
that gives our prints the "special" look that makes them so much
more impressive than conventional proofs.)
 Every photo, enlargement or slide we make in our
laboratory is individually inspected for quality. Our inspectors'
standards are governed by the Golden Rule: if he or she wouldn't want to
receive that picture, he won't send it to you...until it's right.
 Photographs that don't pass inspection are individually
redone at our Reprint Station to bring them up to the best possible
quality. If any one step differentiates us from the "discount"
labs, this is it. We certainly wouldn't dispute the fact that you can find
laboratories that will process film at a lower price; you simply won't find
many that will give you prints that are consistently as good as ours.
 High-speed Packaging Stations cut the long
rolls of paper into individual prints. Our technicians work in teams of
two. The first cuts and reinspects your prints...and if you ordered slides,
brings the slides and prints together. The second technician packs the order
for shipping.
We ship our developing orders via First
Class Mail, Priority Mail, UPS or 2nd Day Air; never by
the Third Class Mail used by nearly every other direct-mail finisher. Each
day, we ship to every state in the U.S., to all Canadian provinces and to
countries around the world.
An Interesting Statistic: We actually do more
processing for customers outside of the United States than we do in the
Hollywood, Florida area! Why? Because for the $10 per roll additional shipping
we charge customers in the Pacific rim, Europe, Asia, South America and
Africa, people can get services...and quality...that are simply not available
to them in their own countries. With the convenience of MasterCard/Visa,
financial barriers have also been removed. The result is a wonderful example
of how well the "Global Village" concept can work, with unrestricted
trade allowing people around the world to get better pictures...in more
ways...than ever before.
When You Order Photo CDs or Picture
CDs...
 Our Digital Department has rooms full of
specialized scanners and high-powered computers. We "scan" each
of your pictures and convert those pictures into numerical "descriptions"
of each image. Then, the digitally encoded images are placed on
a compact disc by "etching" the digital information onto a plastic
disk utilizing
a laser beam. At every stage of digital work a skilled technician adjusts
and, if need be, enhances your images for optimum quality.
Color Slides
We produce our color slides in several different
ways...depending on the film you shoot and what services you order. For
people who take pictures on Ektachrome or Fujichrome slide film, we use
a conventional...but tightly controlled...E-6 film process. These slides
are either mounted directly after processing or are sent to the Digital
Department for Photo CDs or Picture CDs.
 Most of our slide customers use our special slide
process that gives slides from color print films like Kodacolor
Gold, Fujicolor or our 9100 and 9400 films. By using this process they can
take advantage of 1) the wider exposure latitude of color print films, 2)
the option of getting prints with their slides and 3) the quality and convenience
of having a color negative for making reprints and enlargements later.
One of the really great things about our process is that on many of the
slides where you may have "missed" your exposure, you won't
see an under or overexposed image. That's because we correct for exposure
variations in processing. (This "special" correction has saved
the irreplaceable photos of more than one "once-in-a-lifetime"
vacation!)
So you get beautiful, "hassle-free" slides...and can concentrate
on getting beautiful compositions - not on dealing with "chrome"
film's plus or minus 1/2 stop latitude!
Are You Planning to Visit South Florida?
There's a wonderful expression among Cuban-Americans
who live in Florida..."Mi casa es su casa (My house is your house)." We would like you
to consider our photo lab to be your photo lab...an extension of your creativity
and the beautiful photographs you create.
So, if you're in our "neighborhood,"
please drop by and see us. We'll be happy to give you your own personal
guided tour of our facilities and introduce you to our friendly staff.
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2960 Simms Street, Hollywood, FL 33020-1579
800-327-1776 * 954-925-0103
Fax: 954-922-3008 *
E-mail: info@dalelabs.com
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