Frequently Asked Questions

What is the turnaround time for film development?

Our turnaround times vary based on workload both in the lab and in store. We appreciate your patience and work hard to complete your orders as quickly as we can.

This is why we give a general indication upon drop-off based on our workload at the time. We aim to return your film to you within one working week. 

Can my old slides or negatives be reprinted or digitised?

They can indeed! See a full breakdown of these services: slide pricing and negative pricing.

How will I know when my order is ready for pick-up?

If you opt for a digital and print with your order then as soon as you receive your digital files, that is your notification that your prints are ready for you. If you place an order just for printing, then we will arrange a time for collection with you at drop-off or offer to call you as soon as it is ready.

How will I receive my digital scans?

Your digital files will be emailed to you using WeTransfer. 

WeTransfer is a classic file sharing service designed for sending files via download links. We use this site because it allows us to send files at their full original size to you! It does not compromise the quality of your images (i.e., no file compression) and is compatible with both phones and desktops.

WeTransfer is free to use and does not require you to download or install any apps, though you are welcome to do so.

If you have never used WeTransfer before, check that the transfers do not get filtered into your spam folder!

What do I do if I haven’t received my digital scans?

If the email has not arrived by the end of the day we advised, please check the following.

Since we use a third-party application to safely deliver your files to you, please ensure you have checked that our email from WeTransfer has not been flagged as spam in your mailbox. If you still do not see an email from us, doublecheck on your receipt that your email address is correct. If you find an error, please give us a call and we will quickly fix this up for you.

There might also be the possibility that we have been overwhelmed in-store and have not managed to get to your order yet. We will endeavour to fulfil all orders as quickly as we can and thank you for your patience and understanding! 

Where are the rest of my photos?

If you receive your transfer and think you might be short, please check whether we have left a lab note in the message to explain your missing frames or wait until you have had a chance to look at your negatives because they will explain the whole story.

We carefully examine your negatives to ensure we have scanned every frame that exists, even if it is extremely underexposed/overexposed. We do our very best to provide you with the full length of images captured on your roll, so if you are a few frames short, this means that there were blank gaps. These can be caused by simply not finishing the roll or having taken shots that were far too underexposed to form an exposure, the later being very common with disposable cameras used indoors without flash.

Film is light sensitive, so it largely depends on the photographer to ensure that the conditions for taking a photo are going to result in an exposure on the negative. This means following the recommendations on your camera regarding the use of flash, flash distance and even focusing distance to maximise every shot. If you do not use the flash or it does not fire in a low light scenario, then you may not be capturing any information onto the negative (film needs light to record detail – if it does not have any/enough, there will be nothing for it to record).

With any roll of film, there is no guarantee that you will get the number of photos the roll indicates as this depends on a number of things: loading, camera quirks/faults, user error in opening the back of the camera and fogging parts of the roll, winding the roll back early, underexposure, etc. So, with a disposable camera, whilst you have the potential to take 27 photos, this does not necessarily mean that you will end up with 27 photos.

Can I request scanning after I’ve had my film printed?

Yes! As long as you have your negatives, we can scan your film for you. Once the negatives have been cut, this does occur a slightly higher fee compared to having it done at the time of printing.

What happens if my roll is blank?

In the unfortunate case that your roll ends up being blank, we retain the development cost as this is an irreversible service – but any printing or scanning fees are credited back to you.

SEE MORE ABOUT OUR CREDIT SYSTEM FOR FILM DEVELOPMENT IN OUR FULL TERMS AND CONDITIONS. 

How do I know if a roll of film has been used?

Short answer. You can’t. Film requires a chemical process to reveal the images on your negatives. A good practice to adopt is to ensure you wind the film completely back into the canister once it has been used (a lot of point and shoot cameras will not do so). Just twist until the tongue disappears back into the canister and you will know you have used it.

A fresh roll of film will then be identifiable since it will have the tongue out ready for loading.

 

How long will you keep my prints/negatives?

We have limited storage space so the maximum amount of time we can hold onto your order is 3 months. After that time, they may be discarded to make room for new orders.

If you are unable to collect within this time frame, please give us a call to arrange an alternative pick-up time or postage.