FAQ's
At filmprocessing.co.uk we try to make things easier for you, so here are a whole host of questions that we get asked regularly.
If you can’t find the answer your looking for, just send us a message
FREE RETURN DELIVERY WITH ALL PROCESSING ORDERS
HOW DO I SEND MY ORDER TO YOU
Once you have placed your order, the next thing to do is send it to us.
To send your order to us we recommend;
- Place your items into. a bubbled jiffy envelope or plastic packaging (we recommend not to use a paper envelope as films may escape).
- Include your name & #order number inside
- Send your package to Filmprocessing.co.uk, 21 Cornwall Street, Plymouth, Devon. PL1 1NW
- If you are sending us a film or disposable camera, Royal Mail class these as small parcels. If you are sending us pre-processed negatives this may not be required
We would recommend checking with your local post office before sending if you are unsure.
DO YOU DELIVER OUTSIDE THE UK?
At this time we can only offer delivery within the UK, sorry!
WILL MY ORDER BE TRACKED?
If your order includes purchased films from our online store, or your film production order is sent out as a small parcel it will be tracked. smaller items that are classed as small or large letters won’t be tracked.
POSTAGE COSTS
For orders that are for the processing of films, the customer pays to get the films to us. We pay the return postage to you.
For orders that include the buying of film, orders over £40 are free, for orders that are less than £40 there will be a £3 2nd class postage charge. For 1st class postage it is a £4 charge.
CAN I ORDER ONLINE?
Yes, you can! Shop our selection of film and film processing services. We also offer free delivery on all orders over £40.
CAN I PAY BY CHEQUE?
We do offer a cheque pament service via a downloadable order form, found here
Cheques are made payable to my photo
WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN I CHOOSE 'NO PRINTS REQUIRED' or 'NO DIGITAL SCANS REQUIRED'?
When ordering there is a range of options so you can tailor your order to exactly what you want.
If you choose prints, in most cases you have a few options.
Sometimes you do not want any prints, so select ‘No prints required’
If you choose digital scans, you have 3 or 4 options to choose.
Sometimes you do not want any digital scans, so select “No digital scans required”
When ordering, if you select ‘No prints required’ & ‘No digital scans required’ you will only have your negatives processed & returned.
WHAT IS SPLIT / HALF FRAMES
Split & half frames are produced on your camera if you have a speciality camera.
The recent revival of the film coincided with the manufacturing of half-frame cameras, for example, the Kodak h35 half-frame camera where an image will be shot using only half of a frame, enabling you to have 72 shots on a 36exp film.
If you wish to have your images split in half as you took each shot, we can scan them individually, this will incur an extra £4 charge, if you wish for them to be two half frames into one image, leave as ‘no’
ORDERING COLOUR & BLACK AND WHITE PRODUCTION
If you order contains colour and black & white on the same order, we will process the colour first. and the black & white film.
We will then ship together once the order is complete
WHAT FILM DO YOU SELL
We sell lots of film from all of the top brands, in fact we have almost 100 different types of film to choose from!
We sell 35mm film, 120 & 110 film in a range of colour & black & white.
CAN I HAVE MY NEGATIVES UNCUT
We are absolutely happy to leave your negatives uncut for an easier home-scanning experience!
However, to send your negatives in a film tub will be classed as a small parcel and will incur a postage fee of £3
WHAT FILM TYPES DO YOU PROCESS
We process C-41 colour and black and white films.
C-41 Colour, formats include 35mm, APS, 120, 110 & 126, plus disposable camera developing.
Black & white film, formats include 35mm, APS, 120, 110 & 126, plus disposable cameras.
ECN-2 in both 35mm & 120.
Souped/wet films.
DO YOU PROCESS E6 SLIDE FILM
E6 Slide film requires a specific process which we are unable to do, however, we can cross-process.
Cross-process is a process that we can provide but we do recommend you research the results so you are aware that this will incur a colour shift as the film will be processed in different chemicals than intended
HOW LONG DO YOU STORE MY IMAGES
In most cases, our systems store digital images for up to 30 days.
This may differ when only prints have been ordered. If your order is processed only we have no image records of your film.
DO YOU PUSH / PULL BLACK & WHITE FILM
We can push & and pull black and white films, please specify the ISO the film was shot at, or how many push / pull stops.
CAN YOU PRINT MY APS FILM IN PANORAMIC
We are only able to print your APS film as a 6×4, either in gloss or matte.
Any panoramic images will incur some cropping to your images
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCAN RESOLUTIONS
In most cases, we offer 3 or four scan resolutions, which are best suited to you depending on what you wish you do with them;
Standard – A well-proportioned entry-level resolution, perfect for social media, viewing and printing up to 8×6″ size
Medium – Perfect for limited editing and printing up to A3, a great size for an archiving resolution
High – Photography students / keen editors & for prints beyond 20×30″, this resolution will produce large files, but still be a manageable size
TIFF – This is a professional standard scan as the TIFF files will store more data which will allow more flexibility to edit
HOW LONG WILL MY FILM PROCESSING TAKE?
In most cases c41 colour 35mm films are processed & despatched sameday, 110 & 126 may take a few days longer.
We batch our black & white & ECN-2 and usually estimate 7-10 days in production, as we process these by hand.
For souped film we will assess this on an individual basis dependant if the film is requires drying before processing, we usually estimate 10-14 days.
HOW WILL YOU CUT MY NEGATIVES
Due to the size of sleeving we use to package orders we must cut your negatives to fit certain specifications. At your request we can leave your negatives uncut, and are more than happy to do this, by doing so, we must enclose the rolls in a plastic tub which dramatically increases their size for postage. Royal Mail class these items as Small Parcels, which isn’t covered in our free shipping option for letters & large letters. These items carry an additional cost of £3 to ship. If you choose this option, please get in touch and we will send an invoice to cover the cost of this additional postage.
35mm film:
35mm film is cut into strips of 4.
120mm film:
Is cut one of 2 ways depending on the format of your camera.
6×4.5 films are cut into strips of 3.
6×6, 6×7 & 6×9 films are cut into strips of 2.
126 & 110 film:
films are cut and packaged into the 35mm sleeving, these are cut into 6 per sleeve
WHAT PAPER DO YOU PRINT ON?
We print onto Fuji Crystal Archive silver-halide paper. We offer both glossy or Lustre as a option when ordering, the lustre option is matte on the order form as its more commonly known.
BLANK FILM
It is always disappointing when you’ve sent a roll of film off for processing, only to find that it came back unexposed / blank.
Let’s look at the reasons as to why this might have happened.
Probably the most common cause of unexposed films will be because the film may not be advancing within the camera. If using a manual 35mm camera a good indicator of checking that the film is advancing when the back door is closed, is to visually watch the rewind crank on your camera as you turn the advance wheel. The rewind crank should spin as you advance the film.
Severe Under exposure can also cause a film to be blank, because the images will be so feint that the scanner will not be able to pick up any detail. This can often be the case if taking indoor photos without using flash and there not being enough available light to expose the subject accurately.
Another issue could of course be a camera shutter malfunction, when it does not open on taking the photo, therefore not exposing the film to light, most cameras make a nice click when the shutter opens so if you don’t hear this sound then this may be the cause and need to be checked by a camera repair specialist.
We operate a partial refund policy for blank films charging only for the processing, we refund the difference for the services requested for the blank /unexposed film.
UNDEREXPOSED
Underexposed film occurs when light exposes the negative for too short a time to record a well-defined image in film scans, meaning not enough light reaches the film on exposure.
Some reasons for too little light reaching the film can occur if the speed of the film was set too high on the camera, the shutter too fast or the aperture too small. Perhaps the flash did not fire when taking an indoor picture or taken at dusk when the light is low. Of course, there’s always a chance that the light meter being used either handheld or within the camera may not be working correctly, it’s always a good idea to check the batteries if you have consistent underexposure throughout the film.
As a result of under exposed negatives your scans will appear dark, faded, grainy, and have very low contrast. In fact, the negative film itself may appear faint and almost see-through. Have a look at our blog post on underexposed vs overexposed photos to see how these images visually look.
OVEREXPOSED
Overexposed negatives occur when light exposes the film for too long resulting in negatives that will look too dark.
Some reasons for too much light reaching the film could be that the film speed may have been set too low, shutter speed too slow, or the aperture too wide. Alternatively, it could be that the light meter being used either handheld or within the camera may not be working correctly, it’s always a good idea to check the batteries if you have consistent overexposure throughout the film. Another potential issue could be that the shutter is sticking open for longer than it should be and may need a camera repair specialist to check its accuracy.
For some photographers, minor amounts of overexposure can be an intentional stylistic decision that increases saturation and contrast. However, extreme overexposure will give you increased grain, low contrast, and dull, grey highlights.
PART USED
It is always disappointing if you send a film off for development, only to receive half the images back that you took. 😣
Here are a few of the potential reasons that this may have occurred.
- The film was intentionally/ unintentionally rewound and removed before finishing the film.
- Improper loading of the camera, where the film fails to take up initially on the winding mechanism.
- Lens cap left on the lens in error on some exposures
- Mechanical Issue, the shutter fails to open when taking the photo, this may occur partway through the film or be intermittent.
- Extreme underexposure, which can occur when taking photos at night without flash, or incorrect exposure setting. See our section for underexposure
PARTIAL FOGGING
Partial Fogging appear as bursts of white or red/orange/yellow colour on your scans, often in a streak pattern and is often referred to as light leaks. Some people will deliberately create the effect that light leaks give and there are even stocks of film that you can buy that come pre light-leaked for all sorts of cool effects. However, they can be a nuisance when unplanned and unwanted. In which case, it’s good to know what may have caused them.
A lot of things can cause partial fogging, but the most common perpetrators are accidentally opening the back of the camera whilst the film is loaded, if just the first part of the film shows partial fogging but the rest of the film is fine, then this normally occurs if there were problems when loading the film in the camera.
Another potential issue is failing light seals within the camera, most cameras particularly 35mm keep the light out by using foam seals, however overtime these naturally deteriorate, and light can seep into the back of the camera and cause partial fogging on film which we call light leaks.
Partial fogging can also occur on the film edges of 120 roll film, this occurs when the film is wound too loosely onto the spool after exposure and the film and backing paper extend beyond the width of the spool ends.
FOGGING
A completely fogged roll of film appears totally black, without any visible markings on the edge of the film (this is true in colour and black and white films, but the opposite is true in slide film which when fogged is totally clear).
If the film is fogged edge to edge or close to it and there are no visible images, then the back door of the camera was opened prior to the film being rewound into its cannister inadvertently, and the exposure to light causes fogging.
We operate a partial refund policy for completely fogged films that have no scannable images, charging only for the processing, we will refund the difference for the services requested for the fogged film.
EXPIRED FILM
We always recommend getting old films developed otherwise you will always be left wondering! When we receive older film, whilst we will do our utmost to provide the best results possible, due to the age of the film, you can expect the colour to have deteriorated somewhat over time – there would be no knowing of the exact results until it has been processed.
It is worth noting that we are only able to process C-41 / black and white / ECN-2 films. There are some older films that require different chemicals (such as C-22 and CNS) that we are unfortunately unable to process. If you are unsure of what chemistry your film needs for processing feel free to send us some pictures of the film and we will do our best to work this out for you!
It is worth noting that if your old film turns out to be blank or there are no scannable images that we operate a partial refund policy charging only for the processing. This means, if the film came out blank, we would action a refund for the difference for any services requested with your order.
DOUBLE/MULTIPLE EXPOSURE
Double or multiple exposure on a roll of film is a photographic technique where two or more exposures are made on a single frame, creating a single image with combined elements from each exposure. This can be done intentionally for artistic effects or accidentally.
Accidental double exposure can happen if an already exposed but unprocessed film is reloaded into the camera. It may also occur due to a winding fault in the camera, where the mechanism fails to advance the film by a full frame, causing overlapping exposures. Additionally, if the film is not properly loaded and does not advance with the winding mechanism, multiple shots can be taken on a single frame.
WHAT DO OUR CUSTOMERS THINK?
We measure success through the voices of those we serve—see what our clients are saying.
I tried FilmProcessing after a dissapointing experience at another photo shop which almost put me off photography, and honestly I have yet to have any complaint with anything they've done.
Sending film rolls in is extremely easy, I do mine wholly by post with their printed form, because that's just the routine I have, but you can submit the order online (and you do get a LOT more options for types of film such as souped film etc) and post it; I assume most people do it the latter way.
Turnaround time for colour C-41 film development and return is usually around 3 working days from postage, sometimes a bit quicker depending on your order, B/W film was about 10 days, but given the way B/W is developed this is a pretty decent turnaround.
All of my orders so far are requested to have 6x4 gloss prints with all the photos digitized to CD and at no point has their packaging been a problem, there is very clearly a lot of care that goes into it (even the CD has its own inlay card telling you what's on it), the prints are, again, a really good quality and the negatives have always returned in a nice plastic sleeve with no damage. The scans themselves have always come out great, with no real concern regarding quality or colouring,
Plus, it's a local Plymouth business which is great for me as I live in the area and its nice to support something local, but even if it wasn't, I'd probrably still be using them as regularly as I do now.
