The new thing in dental xrays eliminates the photographic film and processing. It works like a digital camera, and the images are available immediately. For this kind of operation, there are no material costs... once you pay for the equipment (a multi-thousand $ investment) the only costs are the operator's time.

If there were demand for high volume xrays (for collector chips, for example), there's no reason the per chip cost couldn't be as little as the cost of a photo... maybe $5 or so.

I could envision a pro setting up at a convention and providing you with ink-jet copies of your chip viewed with X-rays for a few dollars. Likewise, for a photographer who sets up and gives you hi-res color prints of your chips on the spot. A chance for an budding business venture?