First, are any 'release-print' labs ISO9000 approved? (For anyone who might not know, ISO9000 is a quality control process.)

Second, (It's kind of hard to describe what I'm looking for here, but) I guess I'm looking for a 'number.' Let's say that I feel that a print is not quite right. Maybe it's too jumpy, weave-y, colors not quite right, etc. Not obviously bad, just a tiny bit beyond what I think is acceptable. Equal to, or below this 'number,' and I have the right to ask for a replacement print. And I'm thinking of a number that most labs would go by, not what SMPTE has in their standards.

I mean, if you call and ask for a replacement print saying it has too much jitter, the lab is probably just going to say, "It's your projector." (In fairness, if they gave one to eveybody who asked, they would need to print twice as many!) Example: If I pre-measure the jitter on my projectors with the magenta RP40, then compaire that with a release print, is that a valid test?

I'm looking for a quantitative way to reject a print, that can be done at the theaters.

While jitter and weave is fairly easy, I have no idea how to test for color quality in theaters. I've seen a 3-color temperture meter (a Tektronix,) and it was about the most exotic peice of equipment I ever saw- not for the everyday user.

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Many Kodak manufacturing facilities have already been ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certified. Likewise, film laboratories may have applied for certification, or already be certified --- you will have to ask the particular laboratory about the status of their certification.

To supplement ISO certification, and particular to the motion-picture industry, Kodak has developed a quality assurance program known as Imagecare (TM). Similar to ISO 9000, the Kodak Imagecare Program requires laboratories to standardize and document their procedures, monitor and control their processes, and be able to demonstrate that they are following the procedures and checklists they have documented. The Imagecare Program is being rolled out in selected regions worldwide. Information about the Kodak Imagecare Program is at:
http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/motion/support/imagecare/index.shtml

Stan D. in Ridgefield CT prints many of SMPTE's test films. Kodak supplies the film as "Special Order", which must be specially perforated to much tighter tolerances than normal SMPTE standards. So sometimes it takes extra time and effort to meet Stan's requirements.