Film cameras are becoming increasingly common since people are getting more interesting in learning about film-based photography. Since 110 mm film cameras is one of the most portable and less expensive options ever made, many people finding it interesting again. Luckily, there are many options still around to get your film developed like mailing your film to an online film lab and a retail store or drugstore (like Walmart, Walgreens, or CVS).
While the cheapest place to develop 110 film is Walmart (costs $9.96 and includes a free CD of jpegs with a set of 4×6″ color prints) but takes 2 – 3 weeks or more, they don’t return negatives, and the scans and prints are low-quality, a better option is using Dwayne’s Photo which costs between $15 – $18 depending on the film type (includes scans) and returns your negatives.
When getting 110 film developed either locally at a drugstore or sending it off in the mail there are a several more things to consider. Keep on reading to learn more about the cheapest and best place to develop 110 film.
To learn more about 110 film and cameras, see this guide about 110 film.
Option 1. Developing Film At Walmart
Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart are retail and drugstores that can develop 110 film and are most likely located near you. These stores will develop both color and black & white 110 film and includes a set of 4×6 inch color prints with digital scans on a CD for decent price, with Walmart being the cheapest of the three.
However, usually the scans you receive from Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS are generally low-quality, low-resolution, and you won’t get your negatives back to fix bad scans or create a higher-resolution scan for larger prints. This is important to know with smaller negative formats like 110 film since you will already have some problems getting clear images because of the small size.
How much does it cost to develop a roll of 110 film at Walmart?
Walmart is the cheapest drugstore that will develop for color or black & white 110 film and costs $9.96 since the most common exposure count for 110 film is 24 exposures. The price not only includes film development, it also includes a single set of color 4×6 inch prints and a CD with digital images of your negatives.
Number of Exposures | Single Prints | Double Prints |
|---|---|---|
24 Exposures | $9.96 | $12.96 |
Walmart can also develop other film formats and types like color and black & white 35mm film, slide film, APS (advantix), and film for the same price as 35mm film.
How to Get A Roll of 35mm Film Developed at Walmart?
The process to order film development at Walmart is relevantly straight forward. To order your 110 film to be developed you first have to go to the location you want to use, fill out the order form / envelope, place your film inside the order form and seal it, and then drop your film in the collection box. The store will notify you once your order has been processed and ready to be picked up.
What is the Turnaround Time for Processing A Roll of Film at Walmart?
While Walmart is the cheapest price to develop 110 film most likely near you, it takes the longest to process at 3-4 weeks or more and it also applies to APS, black & white 35mm film, and slide film. Walmart will take around 2-3 weeks or more to develop 35mm film.
Update for 2022: Since 2021 I have found that because of the pandemic drug stores like Walgreens, Walmart, and CVS have a much longer turnaround time then previously reported. For example, I am still waiting for some color 35mm film to be developed from my local CVS for 4 months when it should have been only 2 – 3 weeks. For this reason I highly suggest that you don’t use a local drugstore and use an online film development lab to develop film with a shorter turnaround time instead.
Walmart Compared to Walgreens and CVS
While Walmart is the least expensive drugstore to develop a roll of 110 film, the next expensive place to develop a roll of color or black & white 110 film is CVS which costs about $14.42-$16.99 for 24 – 36. Walgreens is the most expensive of the three drugstores at about $14.99-$17.99 for 24 – 36 exposures. CVS and Walgreens have a slightly faster turnaround time but still produces low-quality, low-resolution scans and don’t return the negatives.
Location | Scannig? | Returns Negatives? | Turnaround Time | Price* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Walmart | Yes | No | 2-3 weeks | $9.96 for 1 set of prints; $12.96 for two* |
CVS | Yes | No | 2-3 weeks | $14.42 for 1 set of prints; $$17.85 for two* |
Walgreens | Yes | No | 2-3 weeks | $14.99 for 1 set of prints; +$4 for additional sets* |
Pros and Cons for Developing 110 Film At Walmart
Pros:
- Convenient since you likely live near one of these stores (see the store finder here)
- No shipping cost
- Price is inexpensive compared Walgreens and CVS
- Can do both color and black & white 110 film
- CD of scanned negatives and prints included with development cost
- Will call you when your order is ready
- Good option if you are using expired film and not sure how the negatives will turn out since it is so inexpensive
Cons:
- Long wait time of up to 3 – 4 weeks or more
- Low resolution scans and prints
- Low quality scans
- Don’t get your negatives back (Biggest Con for me)
- Very little, if any, customer service – drop film in a paper envelope in the store
- No online film development ordering available (must go to location)
- No bulk pricing available
- Will not give a discount on scanning if the roll is blank
You can find more details and comparisons developing your 110 film at Walmart, CVS, or Walgreens by visiting this guide.
Option 2: Dwayne’s Photo
Another option for inexpensively developing film is to have your film mailed to an online lab for processing. Online labs generally all can develop 110 film in both color and black & white (among many other formats and kinds).
You will find a wide range of prices from these stores because most of them process film in bulk so they don’t have to charge as much as drugstores. Online labs generally won’t include prints in the overall price of processing (like Walgreens, Walmart, or CVS) but you have the option to get high-quality scans and your film negatives returned to you if you wish.
Another nice thing about labs that can develop mail in store or through the mail is their services can be customized. You just want your film developed and not scans or prints? They can do that! You want film developed and you want a higher-resolution scan than standard? They can do it!
See this article for tips on how to safely and securely send film through the mail to an online film lab like Dwayne’s Photo.
How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Roll of 110 Film at Dwayne’s Photo?
One of the cheaper options for online lab development of 110 film is Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, KS. Dwayne’s Photo charges $20 to develop a roll of 110 film with scans and return shipping ($15 + $5 and +$.50 for additional rolls of film for return shipping of the film negatives). Black & white 110 film costs $22 to process with scans and return shipping ($2 more than color) and $23 for slide film with scans and return shipping ($18 + $5 and +$0.50 for additional rolls of film).
Online Film Developer | Cost for Film Development with Scans | Cost for Film Development Only (no scans) | Cost for Prints | Return Shipping Included? | How Long? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$15 for color; $17 for b&w; $18 for slide film (unmounted) | $10 for color; $12 for b&w; $13 for slide film (unmounted) | Set of 4×6 inch prints cost $4; A set of 5×7 inch prints cost $7 | No, flat $5 + $.50 for each additional film roll | 1 – 2 weeks |
Something to consider when using mail-in film processing labs for 110 film is the price of shipping film to and back from the store, which will add to the overall price. Dwayne’s Photo only charges $5 (+ $.50 per additional roll) for return shipping but doesn’t provide free shipping to the store like other online film processing labs.
See this article for more details about the services offered at Dwayne’s Photo.
How To Process A Roll of 110 Film at Dwayne’s Photo?
The process to order 110 film development at Dwayne’s Photo is very easy. You have two options to order film development: online form or using the downloadable and printable ordering form.
To use the online form:
- Go the services web page of Dwayne’s Photo website
- Choose the type of film you want to process from the different categories
- Use the dropdown menu to choose scanning options, if you want prints and your print options, if you want to pull or push your film
- Click “Add to Cart” button to add your selection to the cart
- Change the number of rolls you wish to develop of that type or click the “Continue Shopping” button to add more film formats to process
- Click “Proceed to Checkout” when you are ready to complete your order by following the steps
- Attach shipping label to a padded mailing envelope or box (don’t use a paper envelope) and tape it closed.
- Insert this form, payment, film and drop it off at a mailbox
To use the film processing order form:
- Go to this webpage to download the film processing order form
- Click the correct film processing order form to download it
- Fill out the form as necessary and print the ordering form
- Attach shipping label to a padded mailing envelope or box (don’t use a paper envelope) using tape
- Insert the ordering form, payment, film, tape it closed, and drop it off at a mailbox
Once your order is received and processed, you will also receive the digital scans in your email if you chose that option with your order and Dwayne’s Photo will send you an email notifying your order has been shipped.
What is the Turnaround Time for Processing A Roll of 110 Film at Dwayne’s Photo?
The turnaround time at Dwayne’s Photo to process 110 film can be up to 12 days but is usually faster than this. With online labs you will get your scans faster than you will receive your negatives and/or prints. If your film is taking longer than expected, you can contact them at (620) 421-3940 on Monday – Friday 8am-5pm and they will check on your order.
Dwayne’s Photo Compared to Other Online Film Labs
Dwayne’s Photo is one of the cheaper online options to get your 110 film developed online at $15 for color 110 film, $17 for black & white 110 film, and $18 for slide 110 film including scans. Below you can see a chart that lists out 3 other options, if they offer development without scans, their prices, and if they offer free shipping to and from the facility.
One of the biggest factors of price for online labs is the shipping cost. It is interesting to note that some places provide free shipping to the facility (like The Darkroom) while others provide free shipping to the store and return shipping in the overall price (like Old School Photo Lab).
Film Developer | Cost for Film Development with Scans | Cost for Film Development Only (no scans) | Cost for Prints | Return Shipping Included? | How Long? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$17 with standard-sized scans (1024 x 1270 at 3.75MB) | N/A | A set of 4×6 inch glossy prints is $8; $14 for true black & white prints | No, a flat $5.95 | 1 – 2 weeks | |
$15 for color; $17 for b&w; $18 for slide film (unmounted) | $10 for color; $12 for b&w; $13 for slide film (unmounted) | Set of 4×6 inch prints cost $4; A set of 5×7 inch prints cost $7 | No, flat $5 + $.50 for each additional film roll | 1 – 2 weeks | |
$26 for color: $27 for b&w; $28 for slide film | $16 for color: $17 for b&w; $18 for slide film | A set of 4×5 inch prints cost $6 more | Yes, price includes free shipping there to facility and back | 2 – 3 weeks | |
Only color 110 with single set of 4×6 in prints for $19.99 | N/A | Price includes a set of 4×6 prints | No | 2 – 3 weeks |
Like Dwayne’s Photos, the online labs list above offer more than just 110 film such as disposable camera development and offer prints. Most of these labs listed can develop other film formats like Medium Format, sheet film, APS (advantix), slide film, 35mm color and black & white film, 126, disc film, movie film, etc. Some of the major benefits to using an online film lab is the options for processing that are available, most of these labs are small enough that you can talk to an employee to get a bulk discount on development, and quality customer service.
Read this article for more detailed information about the online labs lists above as well as other online labs available.
Pros and Cons for Developing A Roll of Film By An Online Lab Like Dwayne’s Photo
Pros:
- Generally faster turnaround time than Walmart (less than 12 days)
- Receive your scans faster online
- Competitive pricing
- Can do both color and black & white 110 film plus other film formats
- Easy mail-in process that can be completed online
- High-quality scans of your negatives
- Will get negatives back (also with low cost return shipping)
- Good and knowledgeable customer service
- Bulk pricing available
- More convenient than drug stores because you don’t have to travel to a physical location (other than the post office)
- Will give a discount on scanning if the roll is blank
Cons:
- Can be slightly more expensive than drug stores like Walmart, Walgreens, or CVS because of shipping cost
- Have to pay to send your film to the facility through the mail
In Summary
Where you develop your film all depends on what you value. If you want your 110 film developed for the cheapest price but don’t care about getting your negatives back, mediocre prints and scans, or the long turnaround time, then go to Walmart.
Professional online labs like Dwayne’s Photo make up for their shipping and processing time by their high-quality scans and development. Unlike Walmart, you will receive your the scans within a few days before you receive your the negatives and prints since they send it electronically through email, if you chose those options. Overall, Walmart is the cheapest place to get your 110 film but they do not produce the same quality images or return your negatives as an online film processing lab like Dwayne’s Photo and the cost is about the same.
