How much does slides normally cost?

[dguy]

So I had 15 35mm slides made to send to a school. I never had to make slides before so I had no idea how much it would cost, but I was prepare to pay like 40 bucks or whatever. Well it cost me 78 dollars!!! That's like way more than the school application and mailing combine. Something is got to be wrong with it.

Did I get ripped off or what? Does anyone know? Because my behind is tingly.

[unknown_epiphany]

dude it cost me like 70 bucks myself. so i am kinda guessing that seems like the going rate. unless we both got ripped off which would be weird but might make sense. i went to wilmington delaware to do it so i doubt we went to the same place lol.

[CaptainInsano]

So I had 15 35mm slides made to send to a school. I never had to make slides before so I had no idea how much it would cost, but I was prepare to pay like 40 bucks or whatever. Well it cost me 78 dollars!!! That's like way more than the school application and mailing combine. Something is got to be wrong with it.

Did I get ripped off or what? Does anyone know? Because my behind is tingly.

yeah, that sounds about right. infact, i think u got a good deal. most places charge $10 for 1 slide. 15 slides would have ran you around $150 bucks.

However, now that you got the slides made, you won't have to pay to that much again! making a copy of a slide from a slide only costs $1. So it's good if you're applying to multiple schools which require slides.

[dguy]

"However, now that you got the slides made, you won't have to pay to have those slides made again! making a copy of a slide from a slide only costs $1."

REally, and I was about to send my one and only copies to the damn school. God damn them, learn how to use a computer already!!!

thanks for the replies.

[Elwell]

That sounds about right. Most places charge between $5-10 for the first slide, because each piece has to be positioned, lit, etc. If you're getting more than one copy of each piece the price drops off rapidly because then it's just a matter of hitting the shutter more times. If you know how many you're going to need it's better to have them shot in multiples rather than getting the slide duped because the quality declines with every generation.

[ArtEdGradStudent]

I'm probably going to sound unprofessional here, but this is what I did - Buy yourself a decent, low end SLR camera and a basic zoom lense and a tripod. I got a Nikon with all this for around 400 after rebate. You may go digital, but then you have to have your pictures converted at a store, and who knows how it'll turn out.

So then buy some slide film, get a piece of black construction paper, and take your own damn slides. For the 75 you spent, that's the camera lense right there. Try to get decent, even lighting. You don't need fancy equipment. Just make sure it's well centered, and if you can't zoom all the way in on a small work, show an even amount of black background - but honestly, I find it's better to just zoom in so much you can't see the borders of your work. No one will ever know the difference. Also make sure to focus :P

Afterwards you still have the camera, which you can use to practice photography and build a collection of photos for painting ideas.

I made my own slides and got accepted to 3 out of 4 grad schools two years back. Then I had a show of pastels and oil paintings based on my photos and made $550. Doesn't quite make up for all the film and art supplies, but you get the idea. Honestly, when I was in high school I spent a similar amount on "professional" slides, and they came out crappy anyway.

[Storyboard Dave]

Depending on how fast you need the slides I've also heard that you can send them to places that offer these services online and get them at a possibly better price.

http://www.dwaynesphoto.com/film_processing_and_printing_services.htm
http://www.e6slidefilmprocessing.com/?src=overture
http://photosfast.com/index.php/Transparencies%20(Slides)%2035mm,%20120,%20&%20sheet%20film/471

I know that some places still WANT slides, but dangnabbit I wish they would let you send JPGs, TIFFs or PDFs instead. Get with technology already.

(Sorry about the rant)

[dguy]

Thanks for the advice Dave, but hopefully I will never have to make slides again (wishful thinking).

But what bothers me the most about the whole thing is that it is already incredibly expensive to be an art student already, and it's not like we get huge salaries when we graduate, so school should try their best to make it easier for us financially. I mean forcing students to pay for slides when there is an infinitely better and cheaper alternative is just ridiculous. It's like they don't like for us to have money for frivolous thing like food.

[Storyboard Dave]

Thanks for the advice Dave, but hopefully I will never have to make slides again (wishful thinking).

But what bothers me the most about the whole thing is that it is already incredibly expensive to be an art student already, and it's not like we get huge salaries when we graduate, so school should try their best to make it easier for us financially. I mean forcing students to pay for slides when there is an infinitely better and cheaper alternative is just ridiculous. It's like they don't like for us to have money for frivolous thing like food.

Keep hoping & a'praying. Right now with technology being what it is and the ease of use to make PDFs (on practically any Adobe program), I can honestly start seeing slides being ever so slowly being merged out in the field.

I know exactly what you mean about the costs of slides and even beyond the cost is the headache of trying to find a photo lab that still does this sort of thing. Lord help you if you live in a small town!

With my students, I'm all about doing assignments that are inexpensively done. I never understood design instructors that make their students do 24" x 36" poster assignments- the only people it does good are the service bureaus that make money on it. That monstrous poster will never physically make it in a portfolio any more so why make the studnet blow big cash like that?? :nohope:

It's tough enough being in school trying to do your darndest without having to run around town trying to get this sort of stuff done! It's an older form of preserving the image that's slowly fading but in your case obviously not fast enough.

(And yes there is a part of me that misses old school technology like this and develop & print photogrpahy)

[Arty4ever]

Here's a few other places to get slides...

http://gammatech.com

http://slides.com

;)

[ArtEdGradStudent]

Well, part of the reason schools are demanding about slides and formats is that most art programs, both undergrad and grad, don't require GRE's. There's no LSAT for grad school art, so there's no way to filter out the dumbasses. So they come up with these hair-brained, ridiculously complex requirements for slides already in slide trays, of a certain design number no longer being sold, with just large enough a returnable SASE (self addressed stamped envelope). Just look online at the portfolio requirements to apply to Yale or MIT. You have to be a MENSA member to figure it out.

All I can say is, whatever art you do, you'll always wants slides of it, whether digital or not (you could put together powerpoint slide shows). You'll need it to get jobs and art shows. It's a sad part of being an artist.

[WhizBang]

Well, part of the reason schools are demanding about slides and formats is that most art programs, both undergrad and grad, don't require GRE's. There's no LSAT for grad school art, so there's no way to filter out the dumbasses. So they come up with these hair-brained, ridiculously complex requirements for slides already in slide trays, of a certain design number no longer being sold, with just large enough a returnable SASE (self addressed stamped envelope). Just look online at the portfolio requirements to apply to Yale or MIT. You have to be a MENSA member to figure it out.

All I can say is, whatever art you do, you'll always wants slides of it, whether digital or not (you could put together powerpoint slide shows). You'll need it to get jobs and art shows. It's a sad part of being an artist.

Huh? Powerpoint slide show? Powerpoint is digital and not an actual physical slide (film + carrier) to what was being discussed. I think you've got the terminology wrong here.

I know of so many places more than willing to take digital formats now. Slides are becoming so passe. They're bulky, often loaded wrong in slide carousels and are a helluva lot more expensive to ship back. I'm hoping slides go out the way of the dinosaur.

Find out IF you need the slides done FIRST. If not, don't even waste the time, money & effort to getting slides done.