My 8 Favourite Film Photo Stores and Labs in Taipei

After walking the streets of Taipei, I realized that film photography is not only alive but thriving. There are far more places selling and developing film than I initially thought: there are so many, in fact, that listing them all would be a tedious task.

To keep that list short and focused, I’ve chosen 8 personal favourites.

In this list: 紫蘿蘭沖印 (Violet). 台灣沖印網 (efoto.tw). 台北大使館 (Lomography Taipei). 現代電影  (Modern Cinema). 台灣代理商  (ILFORD Taiwan LAB @ Lin & Life). 長勵數位影像  (ILFORD Taiwan LAB @ Linch). 茉莉生活風格  (Molly Lifestyle). 享樂攝影 (Enjoyphoto or Gobido). Support this blog & get premium features with GOLD memberships!

✪ Note: While some of these stores claim they do ECN-2 processing, they're actually just removing the remjet layer and then developing with C-41 chemicals; other labs are more cautious and call it something generic like “cinema film development”.

紫蘿蘭沖印 (Violet).

Located at: No. 44號, Section 1, Hankou St, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100. Google Maps.

This is my go-to film lab.

It’s conveniently located near the Taipei main train station. Developing and scanning film is cheap, and they do pretty much anything standard, including developing cinema film.

Violet does not do pull processing, and I wouldn’t recommend that place for anything experimental.

They will offer a 10TWD coupon for development for every roll purchased, and they offer bulk pricing for 5 rolls.

You can buy film at this lab. Unfortunately, they don’t have a wide selection, unfortunately. Their offering is pretty standard, but the prices are good.

The staff’s level of spoken English is poor, but they’re very helpful, so you’ll get what you want.

Standard C-41 development and scanning are usually done by the next business day, while anything else takes five.

台灣沖印網 (efoto.tw).

Located at: No. 46號, Lane 143, Section 3, Ren'ai Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106. Google Maps.

efoto.tw is my second go-to film lab.

It is also located conveniently near the Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station (忠孝復興).

Developing and scanning film at efoto.tw is very cheap; they are the cheapest in this list, and they do any kind of development you want. This makes efoto.tw the perfect film lab for film experimentation.

While communication isn’t their strong point, they make up for it in their prices. The staff’s level of English is basic, but they’re very helpful, so you’ll get what you want.

The lab does not have a wide film selection, yet it’s still a little better than the one offered by Violet.

efoto.tw also sells second-hand cameras, and if I’m not mistaken, they also offer film development courses.

台北大使館 (Lomography Taipei).

Located at: No. 21-5號, Lane 51, Section 1, Da'an Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106. Google Maps.

While Lomography Taipei offers film development and scanning, I never used their services, because they’re located quite far from where I live and their opening time is not convenient for me.

Like e.foto, they’renear the Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station (忠孝復興) , but you’ll have to walk a little bit more to get to the store.

Their prices seem to be slightly more expensive than those offered by Violet and e.fototw.

While it’s a Lomography store, they also sell film stocks from other brands, although a little bit more expensive than elsewhere in Taipei.

Lomography is one of the few stores in that list to sell 110film (and they are the only ones that make it at scale!). The staff's level of English is very good, so communication is very easy.

現代電影  (Modern Cinema).

Located at: No. 11號, Lane 190, Section 3, Nangang Rd, Nangang District, Taipei City, Taiwan 11563. Google Maps.

This place is special because it’s actually a motion picture lab, and it is the only lab in Taipei that does true ECN-2 processing.

While their main business is selling film in bulk rolls, they also sell 35mm respooled cinema film, which includes rare ones, such as Fuji Eterna 250D and 400T and Fuji Reala 500D.

Their store is located in Nangang near Kunyang MRT station (昆陽), which is quite far away from the city center. Developing a roll of 35mm in ECN2 is 170TWD/roll, which is quite pricy, but it is the price to pay if you’re looking to get accurate colours on your respooled cinema film. The staff speaks English perfectly, so you won’t have any communication issues.

台灣代理商  (ILFORD Taiwan LAB @ Lin & Life).

Located at: 100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, Bo'ai Rd, 83號3樓. Google Maps.

ILFORD charges more for film development and scanning than Violet and efoto.tw. The staff speaks very good English.

Film is sold at a very good price with various brands — not just Ilford or Harman.

This location is moderately convenient. It’s between Taipei Main Station and Ximen (西門) and has the disadventage to closing at 6 PM. This may work for you as a tourist or a visitor, but tight for anyone holding a 9-5 job.

長勵數位影像  (ILFORD Taiwan LAB @ Linch).

Located at: No. 63號, Section 1, Hankou St, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100. Google Maps.

This is ILFORD’s new location in Taipei. They have the same prices. As of this writing, Google Maps listing still hasn’t updated its store photos, which were taken when they sold a lot of digital equipment. However, they have since added a lot of dark room supplies, lights, film, etc.

The Linch location is more substantial than Lin & Life. They are located right in between Violet and Lin & Life ILFORD.

茉莉生活風格  (Molly Lifestyle).

Located at: Lane 27, Linyi St, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100. Google Maps.

Molly Lifestyle is not just a film photography store, but also a stationery store. Unfortunately, they don’t offer film development.

Their location is pretty good; the store is near Exit 5 of the Zhongxiao Xinsheng (忠孝新生) MRT station.

Molly Lifestyle has the largest selection of film stock, especially 120 film. They are the only store in Taipei that sells KONO film. Their prices are reasonable, though they can be confusing because they list the price per unit rather than the price per pack.

Molly Lifestyle is a Lomography partner store, so like the official Lomography store, they sell 110 film. The staff speaks English well.

享樂攝影 (Enjoyphoto or Gobido).

Located at: 100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, Lane 43, Section 1, Bade Rd, 28號3樓號. Google Maps.

Enjoyphoto/Gobido is a typical camera accessory store. They don’t offer development or scanning, but they have the best prices on film out of all locations on this list.

They are conveniently located near Zhongxiao Xinsheng (忠孝新生) MRT station, Exit 1. However, the store entrance may be hard to find. You can look for their store logo to the right of a tea shop. The staff doesn’t speak English, it’s even written on a sign inside, but they’re helpful.

There is no doubt that there are many more film stores and labs in Taipei that I haven’t discovered yet. If you spot Konica, Kodak, or Fujifilm signs while exploring the city, there’s a good chance that underneath it, someone will sell film, develop it, or both.