Newbie Question - How to get film to the lab?

tomfrh · Mar 25, 2015

Hi,

I'm about to expose my first few sheets of 4x5 film. I bought a 20 pack of velvia film.

What's an easy way to get it back to the lab? What can I store it in? Can I use that foil that it came in to get the first few sheets to the lab? Can I simply give them the film holders?

Are there any other common materials you can use?

Any tips would be good thanks!

Cheers,
Tom

paul_c5x4 · Mar 25, 2015

The usual way to ship undeveloped film is to bag it and ship in an old box - It is unfortunate that suppliers don't sell empty film boxes for this purpose... Ilford, Foma, and a few others, pack their film inside black plastic bags and then use a triple box to keep the contents away from the light. An appeal to another LF shooter local to you may elicit an empty box or two (if you were in the UK, I'd have sent you one).

If the lab is local to you and you have a good relationship with them, taking the holders down there is one option. Using a black plastic bag & box that was used for small paper (say 5x7 or postcard size) would be OK, just tape the box up and warn the lab about the way it is packaged.

BrianShaw · Mar 25, 2015

If the lab is local you can give them your film holders. Make sure you specify in writing that your film holders are to be returned and mark them clearly with your name

Best way, though, is to transfer the film from your holders into an empty 3-part film box. Ask your lab if the have any or ask here. Mark the box with your name and ask lab to return

At some point you'll use enough film to have extra boxes

I also mark the box with film type and quantities when sending to the lab. Better to be specific than to have them wondering

Jeff Searust · Mar 25, 2015

If you are going to a lab that does 4x5 then they probably regularly have people dropping off film holders with film in them.

As someone who works in a store with a lab, usually the people dropping off holders with exposed film are students. The holders just get rubber banded to their order. Not a problem at all. Later when you have a couple empty boxes you can use those, and the lab will return the boxes to you.

Not sure about Sydney, but Bond Colour in Melbourne is a good lab to do this.

tomfrh · Mar 25, 2015

Thanks for the advice.

I was in the lab today and they said holders are fine and that pros sometimes drop off great stacks of holders, though not so much anymore....

Enrico Scotece · Mar 26, 2015

Tomfrh,
I process large format at the my lab in Sydney (www.thinknegative.com.au) and have people drop the holders to me and I reload if they wish me to do so. I also provide a three way box for those who need to load/unload in the field. I have stacks. Any questions, flick me a line..
See this, published today: http://largeformatphotography.com.au/2015/03/26/show-darkroom-9-enrico-scotece/
or http://fotofilmic.com/film-spots-06-think-negative-darkroomstudio-sydney-australia/
Cheers, Enrico

John Koehrer · Mar 26, 2015

Take Enrico up on his offer of the box. It allows you to still wander off & shoot with your holders rather than waiting for them to come back from the lab.
Probably not more than a day or three though.

M Carter · Mar 26, 2015

When I shot E6 4x5 for a living, I had about 100 empty boxes. When I first started, the lab always returned the film in an empty 50-sheet box - you can end up with quite a collection.

I'd check with the pro labs nearby and see if they have some empties.

The empties are a great way to manage film, too - if you're doing a lot of shots and brackets, you can put a tab of tape on each side of each holder, and mark the exposure bracket (f22, f 22.5, f 22 3/4, whatever - E6 used some narrow brackets in the pre-scanning days). In the dark room, you stick the sheet in an empty box, close it, and stick the tape on the box. This is if you run a couple sheets at a time to determine your best brackets and which might need a push or pull. Again, more germane to color work, but there may be some ideas there for managing your undeveloped film.

tomfrh · Mar 29, 2015

Enrico Scotece said:
Tomfrh,
I process large format at the my lab in Sydney (www.thinknegative.com.au) and have people drop the holders to me and I reload if they wish me to do so. I also provide a three way box for those who need to load/unload in the field. I have stacks. Any questions, flick me a line..
See this, published today: http://largeformatphotography.com.au/2015/03/26/show-darkroom-9-enrico-scotece/
or http://fotofilmic.com/film-spots-06-think-negative-darkroomstudio-sydney-australia/
Cheers, Enrico

I have it covered now, but thanks for the offer, Enrico!

bluez · Mar 29, 2015

Is it ok to put several film sheets in a box? Lets say 4 sheets of 4x5 velvia.

BrianShaw · Mar 29, 2015

Yes. Some people pad them to keep them from rubbing. I've never had problem with scratches even when not padding. But I always put a rubber band around the boxes in case they get dropped.

BrianShaw · Mar 29, 2015

I would not mix types of film in the same box though

Axle · Mar 30, 2015

Ilford Boxes are hands down the best, because not only are they the three box type, Ilford packages their film in nice bags. If you're concerned about scratches, you can get some interleaves from the Ilford Ortho Copy Plus films when you finish off the box, or just save them as you load up the film.

Keep film types seperated. So all your C-41 film in it's own box, all the E-6 in it's own box, and separate all the B&W films by type as well.

Write your name and address on the box as well as the film type on it, make sure the lab sends you the box back! Put two rubber bands around the boxes and mark them clearly that the boxes contained exposed and undeveloped film. And finally, send them using those nice padded envelopes.

RalphLambrecht · Mar 30, 2015

tomfrh said:
Hi,

I'm about to expose my first few sheets of 4x5 film. I bought a 20 pack of velvia film.

What's an easy way to get it back to the lab? What can I store it in? Can I use that foil that it came in to get the first few sheets to the lab? Can I simply give them the film holders?

Are there any other common materials you can use?

Any tips would be good thanks!

Cheers,
Tom

Iusually use an empty box from previously used filma friendly lab may give you a couple.

Newbie Question - How to get film to the lab?

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