But recently, processors have noticed a resurgence in business.
Technology has advanced to the point where the digital age has superseded film, and many printing businesses are closing because photographers are keeping their photos on computers or iPhones rather than printing them.
The most recent to close is BigPhoto on the corner of Stuart St and Moray Pl.
Former store manager Hannah Duncan said she had noticed a major decline in the number of people having photos printed in Dunedin during the past five years, and the competition among outlets that still did print photos was intense.
"There are a lot of websites which offer to print your photos at very low prices and it is a hugely competitive market out there."
Miss Duncan said competition and the decline in people having films processed were the biggest contributors to the store's downfall.
But some Dunedin photo-processing stores have noted a resurgence recently in the number of people coming in to print their family snaps.
Harvey Norman Photo Centre operator Angela Treymane said the number of digital photos printed at the Dunedin store had increased from 10,000 prints per month four years ago, to more than 100,000 prints per month.
Jonathan's Photo Warehouse printer and senior salesman Russell Drew said photographers were beginning to realise storing their photos on computers, memory sticks, cards or disks was not as rewarding as having them on show.
"They go through a period of putting their photos on computer and then they find they never get around to looking at them again.
"Now, we are finding they are starting to miss having photos on the coffee table.
So there's been a resurgence of people coming to get photos printed," he said.
Prolab owner Angela Haig-McAuliffe said she knew of four processing businesses in Dunedin that had closed in the past 18 months because of the situation caused by advancing technology.
But the recent economic recession which gripped New Zealand businesses was also a major contributor, she said.
"Our businesses have taken a double hit."
Mrs Haig-McAuliffe said the future looked positive, though.
She, too, had noticed a resurgence in photo printing.
Technology had allowed people to take many more photos but they were not placing much emphasis on storing them as a printed media.
"Photographers need to bear in mind that there's no substitute for printed photos.
"We had a customer come in last week with photos on a memory card which was corrupted. Now the pictures can't be taken off the card.
"I've also had some of my photos on a CD lost because the computer won't read the images any more. Some people have lost wedding and family photos.
"We've noticed an increase in people printing photos because they are starting to realise computers aren't a good way to archive pictures."
The downside of the advance in digital technology was the declining number of stores in Otago that were still able to process film.
Prolab and Jonathan's Photo Warehouse are the only two stores left in Dunedin that can print photos from film.
Only about 10% of the photos they processed were from film, Mrs Haig-McAuliffe said.
It was a trend reflected all over Otago.
Of the processors listed in the Yellow Pages, just seven still print photos from film.
When film processing was still popular, there used to be seven stores in Queenstown, three in Frankton, seven in Wanaka and eight in Oamaru that processed film.
Mr Drew said in the 1990s, most of his "bread and butter" income was from processing film.
But those were days owners of photo-processing shops were unlikely to see again, he said.
