Where to Develop, Scan, and Print Film in Bangkok

Bangkok’s film scene is fantastic — but also notoriously fragmented. Several times, film lab owners told us, “I had no idea about that place you just mentioned, thanks for telling me, I’ll have to go check them out!” after we mentioned a service or shop we had just visited. Bangkok’s film community is so spread out that it’s common to find “hidden gems” offering a spectacular service that nobody besides their neighbours knows about.

Let’s see what we can do to fix that. In this article, we’ll cover an array of places in Bangkok offering a wide range of services: film labs for E-6, ECN-2, B&W, and C41 processing, of course, but also places to buy film and get film scanned. Finding the film you want in Bangkok can be a huge challenge, and if you want your transparencies or negatives scanned on something higher-end than a Noritsu or Fuji Frontier, most people will tell you it’s impossible. (Fortunately, they’re wrong!) We added comments to help you understand which places are best for which needs.

Bangkok is a huge place, and this list is by no means exhaustive. If you need a film lab in a specific neighbourhood, check out the KitzOnARoll list, which is, as far as we know, the most comprehensive Bangkok film lab list out there. Unfortunately, it doesn’t give you much detailed information, so you may find yourself visiting several different labs until you find one that can do what you want.

If you head to Bali afterwards, see our article “Where to Develop, Scan, and Print Film in Bali.” (We’ve also contributed updates to “Where to Develop Film in Chiang Mai.”)

In this list: XANAP (Sukhumvit). Sweet Film Bar (Khao San). A&B Digital Lab (Chatuchak). Fotoclub BKK (Bang Rak, south of Hua Lamphong stn). Bloom Pro Lab (down the street from Fotoclub BKK). Patani Studio (near Hua Lamphong). IQ Lab (BTS Chong Nonsi). Photo Gallery (Thaniya Plaza). PROCOLOR Lab. Bangkok Darkroom Equipment Co. Support this blog & get premium features with GOLD memberships!

XANAP (Sukhumvit).

Located at: เลขที่ 256 ชั้น 2 ห้อง 2004 Lido Connect Xanap Filmlab อาคาร 2005 Rama I Rd, Wang Mai, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. Google Maps | Facebook | Instagram.

Very centrally located lab in Bangkok’s busiest shopping area. They’re on the 2nd floor of the Lido Connect building.

Open 12 PM to 8 PM. Closes at 6 PM on Wednesdays.

Development: No E-6 process.

Scans: Can do (8-bit) TIFFs. Stores negatives up to 1 month. Delivers files via Google Drive. Scans were great.

Time: Very fast development for C-41. 7-10 days for ECN-2, uses proper ECN-2 process.

Film for sale: has a small selection of standard films.

Sweet Film Bar (Khao San).

Located at: 2, 1 Trok Wat Tritosthep, Khwaeng Ban Phan Thom, Baanpanthom, Bangkok 10200, Thailand. Google Maps | LinkTree | Line (shows current film stock on sale).

A film lab that’s also a bar. Located just north of the Khao San Road backpackers’ party area of Bangkok. Drop your film and grab a beer!

Open 12 PM to 9 PM (Monday to Friday). 10 AM to 6 PM (Saturday & Sunday).

Development: They do E-6 but only when chemicals are available, which can take a while. Good results, though. They use 6-bath Ilfocolor E-6 chemistry. (Better colours than 3-bath labs.) If you get lucky and they have chemistry mixed, then E-6 will happen very fast.

B&W film is developed in DD-X, but we have had mixed results. (Some, but not all, of our film came back with what looked like scratches and light leaks from the developing process, uneven development, etc.) They’re very fast, ours was done the next day.

They can process medium format ECN-2 films.

C41 development is fine and quick.

Scans: Can do (8-bit) TIFF scans. They store negatives up to 2 months or longer if you ask. Files delivered via Google Drive.

Film for sale: Usually has a good film selection, unfortunately, it is not stored in a fridge. They cut and package their own 35mm ECN2 films, so they reliably have all the Vision 3 stocks available at excellent prices. Since they process E-6 films, they often have E-6 films in stock, and we have managed to find Provia and Velvia there on occasion. They can also special-order films for you if you ask and are prepared to wait.

Issues: Their process for submitting film is a bit of a hassle (get the beer AFTERWARDS!) Other labs hand you a simple paper form and a pen. Here, you have to scan a QR code and fill out a multi-step web form that seems like it never stops asking you new questions.

A&B Digital Lab (Chatuchak).

Located at: 1152, 13 ซอย พหลโยธิน 22 Chom Phon, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. Google Maps.

Open 9:30 AM to 8 PM Monday to Sunday.

Development: C-41, B&W, E-6, ECN-2.

Scans: The scans we got showed clear artefacting in the JPEGs, though the exposure was fine. Probably a software configuration issue with their Fuji Frontier scanner. They only deliver JPEGs.

Time: A&B is known all over Thailand as a place to get E-6 developed, and they do it fast (5 days). They get C-41 done extremely fast (3 hours).

Film for sale: A&B is, as far as we can tell, the only place to buy 120 format (70mm) ECN-2 film in Bangkok — because they roll their own! We found their 120 format ECN-2 films to give us better image quality per dollar (or per Thai Baht) spent than any other 120 film we found in Bangkok.

Unfortunately, when we went, their 120-format ECN-2 rolls were supplied “bare” (no foil packaging) so bring your own air-tight plastic bag to keep them from sucking up the Bangkok humidity (and getting paper marks as a result) during the trip home. And shoot them immediately. We lost quite a few pictures as a result of this -- our film came back from the lab with blotches all over every frame.

Their film selection is broader than most of the Thai labs, but we would have liked to see them stock more 120 film (other than their ECN-2). They have a reputation for getting Fuji film stocks (when they are available at all) before other labs do.

Fotoclub BKK (Bang Rak, south of Hua Lamphong stn).

Located at: 1158 Charoen Krung 32 Alley, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand. Google Maps | Website | Line | +66 (087) 673-7333.

Located right next to the General Post Office.

Open 11 AM to 8 PM Monday to Sunday. They also do photo walks & photo workshops.

Development: Uses 6-bath E-6. We had them push-process some B&W film, and they did it exactly right. However, they’re not cheap: we paid 670 THB for dev+scan B&W with all the extras. C41 is done with the expected speed and quality.

Scans: Does true 16-bit TIFFs, which is very difficult to find in Thailand (or anywhere else for that matter). Stores negatives up to 1 month. Delivers files via Google Drive. They’re used to dealing with more sophisticated photographers and are generally willing to accommodate special requests. Can do flat/low-contrast scans.

Time: Fotoclub BKK develops film on a regular schedule:

- B&W in D-76 on Monday & Friday.

- ECN-2 Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.

- E-6 every 2-3 weeks, sooner if you give them 5+ rolls.

Bloom Pro Lab (down the street from Fotoclub BKK).

Located at: 460/12 Surawong Rd, Si Phraya, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand. Google Maps | Website.

Open 10 AM to 6 PM Monday to Saturday.

Specialist in extremely high-end (fine art gallery grade) digital printing and framing. Some really famous photographers use Bloom to print their exhibitions.

Development: N/A.

Scans: Bloom Lab used to offer high-end scanning, but they sold the scanner off some years ago.

Film for sale: They sell some analog cameras and film, but as far as we can tell, their process is entirely digital (using Ilford Galerie prints).

Patani Studio (near Hua Lamphong).

Located at: 59 Na Na, Pom Prap, Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok 10100, Thailand. Google Maps | Facebook.

Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10 AM to 5 PM, but make sure to contact them ahead of time to make an appointment! It is a one-man shop and if he is in the darkroom (which is usually the case) nobody will hear you knocking on the door.

Patani is certainly the highest-end, most fine-art focused film lab on the list. Special requests are their specialty.

They have a reputation among other film labs for doing the best E-6 processing in Thailand.

Development: They run E-6 (using 6-bath Fuji chemistry) monthly and B&W weekly. They can run E-6 sooner if needed. For B&W developing, they make their own D-76 from basic chemicals.

For ECN-2, they use C41 chemistry and strip remjet. Can do 120 format ECN-2 films. But this is not really a C-41/ECN-2 lab; it’s better to get those films developed elsewhere and bring them to Patani for scanning and printing.

Scans: Scans 35mm film on Noritsu and 120 film on Fuji. Can deliver TIFF and BMP (Noritsu & Fuji, respectively)

More interestingly, Patani has a Nikon COOLSCAN 9000 and can do scans with that on request. The quality is astounding.

Flat/low contrast scans are obviously no problem. They keep negatives for a few months at least.

Prices: C-41 dev+scan 400 THB. B&W 500 THB. E-6 700 THB.

Darkroom prints: Patani does a lot of silver gelatin printing, including RA-4 colour darkroom prints. B&W prints are done on both RC (less expensive) and FB (more expensive) papers. For prints, they quoted us: 350 THB for 6x8 B&W (smallest size), maximum size 50x60cm (2500 THB colour, 3,000 THB B&W).

Workshops: Patani has a studio space and regularly does photo workshops. They are putting the finishing touches on an apartment/living space so that you can come to Bangkok, live next door to the darkroom & studio, and work on your photography projects day and night.

IQ Lab (BTS Chong Nonsi).

Located at: 9, 32-34 Tana Arcade Alley, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. Google Maps | Website | +66 (2) 714-0644.

Very friendly high-end digital print shop that used to be a full-service film lab. They don’t process film anymore, but they still have a (little-known) high-end film scanning service using their Hasselblad Flextight scanner. Delivers 50MB 8-bit TIFF scans of 35mm, 120, and 4x5 film. Higher resolution is possible, but ruinously expensive.

They keep negatives for 2-3 months.

Photo Gallery (Thaniya Plaza).

Located at: 52 Thaniyaplaza Bldg,Room 443,4th Fl, Road,Bangrak Si Lom, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand. Google Maps.

Photo Gallery is a small camera and film shop on the upper (4th?) floor of a shopping mall that is otherwise focused on golf accessories.

Google Maps says Photo Gallery is permanently closed, but they’re wrong. Indeed, this shop is so analog that you’ll have a hard time finding any trace of it on the Internet! You simply have to go to the mall and wander around until you find the small signs for “Photo Gallery.”

The mall is divided into two halves. Photo Gallery is in the half closest to the skytrain station and the main road. Try the 3rd or 4th floor.

What makes Photo Gallery worth the “Indiana Jones in the Temple of Golf” routine? They are widely reputed in the Bangkok camera scene to have the best film selection in the city.

As one film lab told us, “If Photo Gallery doesn’t have the film you want, you can’t get it in Bangkok.” We found this to be not entirely true; other places had more and different films. But they may have been out of stock and waiting for a new delivery when we went -- your results may differ. Photo Gallery stands out as one of the very (VERY) few film suppliers in the entire country who keep their film stock refrigerated.

Their selection of used cameras (all analog, naturally) is first-rate. Abandon your wallets, all ye who enter here.

PROCOLOR Lab.

Located at: 35 Soi Ratchadaniwet, Pracharat Bamphen Road, Bangkok 10320, Thailand, 10310, Thailand. Google Maps | Website.

They may have been a lab once, but now they only sell film, darkroom/studio supplies, and Sekonic light meters.

They stock the complete range of Ilford/Harman, Kentmere, and Foma films. They appear to be the main distributor for Thailand for these films.

Getting specialist films in Thailand can be very difficult. If you want something from Ilford beyond the usual HP5 or Delta 100, this may be the only shop in the country that can sell you what you’re looking for.

Make sure to check the film expiration date. More exotic films that don’t sell regularly may have been sitting on the shelf for a while.

They do not keep their film stock in a refrigerator.

If you want developing tanks & chemistry to soup your rolls in the comfort of your hotel room’s toilet, this is possibly one of only two places in the country to get them.

Bangkok Darkroom Equipment Co.

Located at: Sutti Mansion II, 802 Sukhumvit Rd, Phra Khanong, Khet Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. Google Maps | Website.

Visits to their office, darkroom, and studio are by appointment only. Their office is currently impossible to get to without an appointment. They are finishing a larger and exceedingly well-appointed studio + office + darkroom facility at a better location. Po (the man in charge) is a professional darkroom consultant, so expect no half-measures here!

They have a very good selection of film, kept in a refrigerator. Their website accurately represents what they have in stock, film-wise. They are probably the only place in Thailand to buy Adox films.

They sell darkroom equipment and rent out their darkroom for an extremely affordable price. (The darkroom has a Durst M670 Color enlarger.) They charge for chemistry by volume consumed, and have just about every Adox and Ilford developer in stock.