FAQ's

+ What are your prices?

Detailed pricing can be found on our Send Film page.
Popular specs in JPEG format are below. Push, TIFF, RUSH, and other special requests are subject to additional charge.

C41 MEDIUM:
35mm or 120 Process & Scan: $21

C41 XL:
120 Process & Scan: $26
35mm Process & Scan: $27

C41 PROCESS ONLY: $11
B&W PROCESS ONLY: $13

RUSH C41 XL
35mm - $41/roll
120 - $38/roll

RUSH C41 MEDIUM
35mm - $37/roll
120 - $36/roll

Our processes are clean & archival. For process only use our paper order form. Read on for more info.

+ Info on rush orders.

RUSH orders are available most weeks of the year, unless the website banner says otherwise. Exceptions sometimes include days immediately before holiday closures.

Please visit our Rush Orders page for more info.

Rush orders are available for C41 and B&W only.

+ Negative returns & negative storage.

You can now pre-pay for your negative returns or Cut & Sleeve services to reduce emails from the lab.

Unless you have pre-paid, in which case you will receive your returns much more quickly, negative returns are billed separately between 30-60 days after order fulfillment. You will receive an email with instructions and a separate shipping invoice when your returns are being prepared. We may store your negatives for up to 60 days before returning them (return time varies by season).

No film will ever be discarded without a shipping notification email first being sent. Unpaid invoices will cause your film to be marked as "abandoned." Abandoned film will be placed in deep storage for up to 3 months after the date of the unpaid shipping invoice and is thereafter subject to disposal.

Please remember to pay your shipping invoices, or your returns will not be sent! If you select "Dispose of my negatives" at checkout, your film may be discarded as quickly as 72 hours after order fulfillment.

Returns are a flat fee system. Small boxes (1-2 orders) are $10. Large boxes $13. Cut & Sleeve returns are the same depending on size.

+ Can you develop disposable cameras?

Yes, we develop disposables! You can also open the camera and remove the film if you want to save money on shipping – just YouTube it.

+ E6 processing.

E6 is officially available and processed in-house at Negative Lab. For now it is box speed only. This service is catering to pros, therefore scans are available in medium and XL only.

E6 film is cumbersome and expensive for a small lab to process and is subject to extended turnarounds up to 15 business days. This could change depending on the demand for E6 processing. It has taken us a long time to roll out this service, we appreciate your patience!

+ How to calculate estimated turnaround times.

TURNAROUND TIMES ARE NOT GUARANTEED UNLESS YOU PLACE A RUSH ORDER. Turnarounds are estimated in # of business days after receiving your film.

**Business days are M-F and exclude all public holidays. Any additional closures will be posted on the website banner. **

We begin counting turnarounds the day AFTER you receive confirmation that the lab has received your film. You may then count every day thereafter, excluding weekends and holidays. Turnarounds may vary from as short as 2-3 business days to as long as 10 business days.

We are always doing everything we can to keep turnarounds as quick as possible. We love scan day as much as you do!

+ How long does the lab store scans on Dropbox?

Completed orders are stored on our Dropbox for 10 days. They may be deleted at any time after that. We do not back up ANY orders, so please remember to download your scans. Negatives marked for disposal may be discarded as quickly as 72 hours after order fulfillment.

+ Archival services.

In an effort to cut down on waste we have discontinued minilab style continuous sleeves. If you absolutely require them they are available for $2.00/roll.

Or you can try our professional cut & sleeve services for $2.50/roll 35mm, $2.00/roll 120. No minimum roll count.

We hand-cut and use industry-standard PrintFile archival negative sleeves. 35mm is cut into strips of six – we never use cheap 4-frame automatic minilab sleevers. Negatives will be ready for contact printing or archiving in binders.

+ Can you scan my negatives that have already been developed? / Do you offer develop only?

Scan Only prices for uncut rolls: XL $22 Medium $16 (B&W $17) Small $13 (B&W $14)

Scan Only for cut rolls is regular Process & Scan pricing.

Develop Only is $11/roll. Please use our paper order form for Scan Only or Develop Only orders.

+ How to send your film in the mail.

The safest way to ship your film is in a box. It is extremely rare, but we have seen a few rolls get lost in transit over the years due to improper packing. Standard, well-taped boxes are always safer than bubble mailers or flat rate Priority Mail boxes.

If you choose to send in a bubble mailer, remember to add tape. You can save some money if you pack the film yourself — just hang on to the boxes next time you order something online.

Save your tracking number so you can confirm that your film has arrived safely even before we send out our film-received email. Sending of this email is sometimes delayed by one business day.

We are not responsible for film that is lost in transit or incorrectly addressed.

Negative Lab
19528 Ventura Blvd. #583
Tarzana, CA, 91356
United States

Don't be afraid to send your film in the mail! We've never seen film get lost due to the fault of the mail carrier.

+ What scanner do you use? What are your scan sizes?

We use the Fuji Frontier SP3000 and Noritsu HS1800. These are both industry-standard lab scanners.

**Small scans are recommended for social media or web only. **

Noritsu Small Scan Sizes:
135 (35mm) - 2048x1358
6x4.5 - 2048x1572
6x7 - 2048x1635
6x6 - 2048x2048

Noritsu Medium Scan Sizes:
135 (35mm) - 3088x2048
645 - 2668x2048
6x7 - 2565x2048
6x6 - 2565x2565

Noritsu XL Scan Sizes:
135 (35mm) - 6774x4492
645 - 5028x3859
6x7 - 6298x5028
6x6 - 5028x5028.

Frontier Small Scan Sizes:
135 (35mm) - 1818x1228
645 - 1629x1228
6x6 - 1629x1629

Frontier Medium Scan Sizes:
135 (35mm) - 3637x2433
645 - 2433x1830
6x6 - 2433x2433

Frontier XL Scan Sizes:
135 (35mm) - 5444x3649
645 - 4842x3649
6x7 - 4251x3649
6x6 - 3637x3637.

+ Noritsu vs. Frontier

There are many resources out there for those who want to discover more about film scanners. We recommend doing your own research and trying out both scanners, preferably with the same negatives.

In our experience the main advantage of the Noritsu scanner is that it is more modern than the Frontier. This allows for larger scan sizes and more flexibility with saving shadows & highlights – which is especially helpful on negatives with a high tonal range between shadows and highlights (i.e. shaded subject with heavily backlit background). If you've ever felt that your scans are lacking in highlight information on the Frontier, you might want to try Noritsu on your next batch.

Check out this post on our Twitter for some comparison images. Differences in color balance can be attributed to the fact that we color correct everything manually. There doesn't seem to be any inherent difference in color "temperature" between the two scanners, despite the fact that this is often claimed when comparing the two scanners.

Negative Lab never uses any automatic color correction on our scanners. The Frontier is notoriously terrible at guessing the correct color balance; because we started as a lab with the SP3000, we have built our workflow around the fact that we never use the Frontier's "auto" (Full Correction) setting. The Noritsu has slightly better color correction algorithms, but we always dial in fine corrections by hand.

Machines are helpful tools but poor decision makers – the magic of good color correction is always in the hands of the scanning technician, not the scanner.

+ Info on black borders.

35mm Perf scans are discontinued. They are available with custom invoicing on single frames.

120 frame edges are available on the Noritsu at no extra charge.

Full Frame (black borders) are available on 35mm with the Frontier only. Full Frame is similar to the look that you'd get in the darkroom with a filed negative carrier to allow for black borders.

All black border scans are subject to periodic misalignment in the film scanner. We can't always offer rescans on misaligned frames, especially when due to light leaks in-camera.

+ Can you process motion picture film (ECN-2)?

WE DO NOT PROCESS ECN-2 FILM. If you accidentally send film we don't process, we're not responsible for rush shipping your undeveloped rolls back to you.

+ What chemistry do you use?

B&W film is processed archivally on our Jobo or in hand tanks using a one-shot Clayton F76 system. F76 is a great developer comparable to D76, but far more suitable for lab use.

C-41 is processed archivally (which includes a final wash) using Champion C-41 chemistry on our Jobo film processor.

We process both B&W and C-41 for archival permanence, unlike many labs that use one-hour style machines. In rotary process, similar to dip and dunk, nothing ever touches your film, reducing the risk of damage.

+ Can you scan my old family photos or my grandparents' negatives?

Yes, assuming they are negatives or slides. We do not currently offer a print-scanning service (maybe in the future). Family photo archives require a custom quote – so we ask that you inquire via email or phone to arrange for in-person dropoff. If you are out of state, we can try to give you a rough estimate over the phone before you mail out to us.

+ Terms of Service

LIMIT OF LIABILITY: Submitting any film, slide, negative or digital media to Negative Lab for processing, scanning, printing or other handling constitutes an AGREEMENT by you that any damages or loss by our company, subsidiary, or agents, even due to negligence or other fault of our company, subsidiary, or agents, will only entitle you to replacement with a like amount of processing/scanning. Except for such replacement, the acceptance of the film, slide, negative or digital media is without other warranty or liability, and recovery for any incidental or consequential damages is excluded.

Please be certain to include our mailbox number, the lab name, and your return address. Incorrectly addressed boxes run the risk of being lost in transit – we are not responsible for film that is lost in transit.

FILM SENT WITHOUT AN ORDER FORM OR A RETURN ADDRESS IS SUBJECT TO DISPOSAL AFTER ORDER FULFILLMENT. Negative Lab accepts no responsibility for film that is lost in transit, even due to negligence or other fault of our company. Any loss of film by a third party will only entitle you to a refund for unrendered services in the case of film that is lost on its way to the lab, or a refund for shipping charges in the case of film that is lost on its way back to you.

COMPLETED ORDERS ARE STORED ON OUR DROPBOX FOR 10 DAYS. They may be deleted at any time after that. We do not back up ANY orders, so please remember to download your scans. NEGATIVES MARKED FOR DISPOSAL MAY BE DISCARDED AS QUICKLY AS 72 HOURS AFTER ORDER FULFILLMENT.