Frequently Asked Questions

Packing & Shipping

Q) How should my I package my film before I ship it to the lab?

A) Film cans should be packed flat (not on their sides), and empty space should be filled to prevent movement during transport. For added protection for unexposed film, "DO NOT X-RAY" stickers should be placed on the outer packaging. Hard drives should always be wrapped in bubble wrap. 

Q) What else should I put in the box?

A) It's very important to include contact and project information with your shipment. We receive many jobs each day and have several employees who handle incoming shipments. We suggest printing our drop-off form and enclosing it with your materials.

Q) What carriers and services do you recommend?

A) Any service with reliable tracking; FedEx, UPS, DHL, and the USPS. If you need a quick turnaround, we recommend that you ship FedEx Priority Overnight or UPS Next Day Air AM. Any other shipment method may not be received under afternoon, and could delay your project by a full day. We are happy to coordinate courier service, contact us for details.

Processing

Q) What formats do you process?

A) We have 16mm & 35mm processors for color negative, B&W negative, color positive, & B&W positive films. We also offer Super 8mm Color and B&W processing. We do not process reversal stocks as reversal (see below).

Q) Do you process reversal film?

A) We do not offer reversal film processing.  However we do cross-process reversal as negative, most commonly Kodak's 7266 16mm B&W reversal stock.

Q) How often do you run the processors?

A) We run 16mm color negative and positive every day, Monday through Friday. We run 16mm B&W every day (M-F), alternating back and forth between negative and positive processing. Super 8 and 35mm runs are made daily depending on current need.

Q) Do you offer bleach bypass (skip bleach) processing?

A) We no longer offer this as part of our regular services. If you have a special project that requires bleach bypass, contact us for a quote.

Workprints

Q) Do you offer 16mm double perf workprints?

A) We only can make single perf prints as Kodak no longer offers double perf print stock.

Q) What is the turnaround time for workprints?

A) Normal processing and workprinting 16mm color negative takes one to two days in the lab. An additional one to two days can be added for special processing, B&W film, and/or 35mm film.

Transfers & Scans

Q) At what resolution do you scan film?

A) We offer scans up to 6.5K. We also offer HDR scans. 

Q) What formats can you scan?

A) 16mm & Super-16, 35mm, 8mm & Super-8, 28mm, 17.5mm, and 9.5mm.  We also scan still 35mm negatives and slides.

Q) What scanners do you use?

A) We choose the best scanner for your job.  We have one DFT 4K Spirit Data Cine Scanners, two 6.5K LaserGraphics ScanStation, a Kinetta Archival Scanner, and other custom scanning options.

Q) Do you offer wet gate transfers?

A) Yes. We have a liquid gate setup for several of our scanners, which can help reduce scratches and dirt. Contact us for a quote.

Q) Do you offer keycode reading?

A) Yes, we do. However it is often very difficult to pick up keycode on film that was loaded from daylight spools. The image area that contains the keycode information often gets fogged during the handling and loading of daylight spools.  If keycode is necessary to your workflow, handle and load your film in complete darkness.

Q) What file types do you provide?

A) Our house standards and most often requested files are ProRes4444, DPX, and DNxHR.  Archival requests generally include an uncompressed file (DPX, 10-bit uncompressed Quicktime, JPEG2000, FFV1) and a smaller file for access purposes (ProRes Proxy, h.264 Quicktime or .mp4).