I shoot film and my print is digital...'

Nikon 2 · Jun 15, 2023

When I send my 35mm film to a lab for processing the end results is a digital image!
What’s wrong with this picture...?

Sirius Glass · Jun 15, 2023

Nikon 2 said:
When I send my 35mm film to a lab for processing the end results is a digital image!
What’s wrong with this picture...?

Some dastardly photo finishers do not tell the customer before hand that they throw out the film. Talk to them to see if you can get your film back. If not get the manager a piece of your mind and offer them you finger.

brbo · Jun 15, 2023

That's one funny lab. Send them a digital picture, maybe they will send you back a roll of film.

Roger Cole · Jun 15, 2023

Sirius Glass said:
Some dastardly photo finishers do not tell the customer before hand that they throw out the film. Talk to them to see if you can get your film back. If not get the manager a piece of your mind and offer them you finger.

While I've heard of negatives not being returned I don't think the OP meant that, just that he gets back scans or prints that are made digitally from scans.

Sirius Glass · Jun 15, 2023

Roger Cole said:
While I've heard of negatives not being returned I don't think the OP meant that, just that he gets back scans or prints that are made digitally from scans.

Most places that return the film now only make digital prints. One needs to ask first.

bags27 · Jun 15, 2023

It's called hybrid photography.

I shoot film, develop it, and then scan it. I've stopped printing digitally, and if I really love one, I'll send the negative to be professionally drummed scanned and printed large. I tell myself it still looks different than straight digital photography. At least I'm having way more fun than I used to when I shot digitally.

2024 is my year to do wet printing myself.

MattKing · Jun 15, 2023

If the scanned file is good, digital colour prints can be very good. I have a preference for digital prints on to colour photographic paper (RA-4), but even inkjet colour prints can be good.
Automated, moderate to high volume labs can be much more efficient with a digital print workflow, which in turn can help keep costs down.
I have labs that will do custom, optical prints from negatives, but that is very labour intensive, and very pricy.
What has mostly disappeared is the optical machine print workflow - high volumes using machines that print optically. Trust me - the results from them varied between very good, and extremely mediocre. The quality results came from skilled operators who had the authority to take reasonable amounts of time to do the work.
I did that (mostly) for a time during my youth.

Nikon 2 · Jun 15, 2023

Blue Moon Camera and Machine is developing (printing) my film optically instead of digital scanning.
Total cost with shipping…!

brbo · Jun 15, 2023

Developing film optically...?!

One hell of a lab...!

Nikon 2 · Jun 15, 2023

Without shipping…!

Nikon 2 · Jun 15, 2023

brbo said:
Developing film optically...?!

One hell of a lab...!

About $15 more than the previous lab costs…!

MattKing · Jun 15, 2023

I believe you mean printing your negatives optically .
The film is developed chemically!
Based on what I've read here, Blue Moon does quality work. But it is the care and attention they put into it that makes the most difference, not their choice of workflow.
And they are working with legacy equipment that is of a type that isn't being made anymore.

pentaxuser · Jun 15, 2023

I suppose that you could argue that a digital camera's memory card comes close to being developed optically the instant you press the trigger

pentaxuser

Nikon 2 · Jun 15, 2023

brbo said:
Developing film optically...?!

One hell of a lab...!

Printing film optically…!

Nikon 2 · Jun 15, 2023

brbo said:
That's one funny lab. Send them a digital picture, maybe they will send you back a roll of film.

That’s an extra cost…!

foc · Jun 15, 2023

Normally a lab can print a negative optically (Colour enlarger) and it would be a custom print and be priced accordingly.

I see from the Blue Moon website they state, in the Color MinilabPrints section, that they print "Analog, optical prints on color RA-4 paper"

If that is the case then they must be using very old equipment, the last of the optical minilabs was around the mid-1990s, that's 28 years ago !!

Fair play to them if they can keep a 28 year old machine and its software running.

faberryman · Jun 15, 2023

You might send a film negative in and get a C-print back in the mail, and never know that the film processor scanned your film and sent the digital files to a Noritsu machine which used said digital files to make C-prints. If you want your prints handled a certain way, it is best to ask in advance.

Chan Tran · Jun 15, 2023

brbo said:
That's one funny lab. Send them a digital picture, maybe they will send you back a roll of film.

It's not funny. Labs have been doing that for a long time now. Very few labs print your negative optically today. Most labs did scan then print. And no they don't give you film if you give them digital pictures (sure slides can be made from digital files but none would offer that service).

Nikon 2 · Jun 15, 2023

Chan Tran said:
It's not funny. Labs have been doing that for a long time now. Very few labs print your negative optically today. Most labs did scan then print. And no they don't give you film if you give them digital pictures (sure slides can be made from digital files but none would offer that service).

Just found out that Blue Moon Camera and Machine prints negatives optically, and that’s a positive...!

koraks · Jun 16, 2023

Nikon 2 said:
Just found out that Blue Moon Camera and Machine prints negatives optically, and that’s a positive...!

Not really. The paper they use is optimized for digital, so if they print optically (which I doubt btw), you're getting sub-par colors. You'd get technically better prints from a lab that scans your film and outputs to a digital C-print unit.

Keep in mind that some businesses will liberally play with words to make something seem different than it is. "Optical printing" may just as well mean "exposing RA4 paper with digitally modulated RGB lasers/LEDs". It's still an optical process! Just from a digital original intermediate. And as said, that's what the paper is made for anyway, so it might as well be used properly.

PS: I did check the Blue Moon website and they do insist on using antiquated technology for printing on modern papers. All this shows is that modern film photographers find it more important that old technology is used than that their prints come out right. Which I can't blame them for - I'm in the same boat.

Still, you want good C-prints, start with a digital file.

faberryman · Jun 16, 2023

koraks said:
Still, you want good C-prints, start with a digital file.

Sort of depends on the quality of the scanner and its operator.

koraks · Jun 16, 2023

faberryman said:
Sort of depends on the quality of the scanner and its operator.

Or the digital camera. But sure, yeah. On the other hand: with an optical print as made by an old-fashioned analog minilab, the colors are guaranteed to come out wrong on today's papers. With a digital minilab, it just depends on calibration of the lab and competence in digital image creation. There's at least a chance of getting it right. Not so with a pure analog print.

Nikon 2 · Jun 16, 2023

All my prints were developed by Process One until now when I will send my first roll to Blue Moon Camera. I’ll share the results on which looks more natural...!

Sirius Glass · Jun 16, 2023

If you do an internet search for photo finishers who do film developing and optical printing in Hollywood California, there are still may small custom places that still do that work and would like the business.

Nikon 2 · Jun 16, 2023

Sirius Glass said:
Some dastardly photo finishers do not tell the customer before hand that they throw out the film. Talk to them to see if you can get your film back. If not get the manager a piece of your mind and offer them you finger.

Process One always send the negatives back...!

I shoot film and my print is digital...'

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