Demystifying Film Developing: A Beginner's GuideUpdated a year ago

Demystifying Film Developing at Rewind Photo Lab: A Beginner's Guide

Film developing can be a mysterious process for those who are new to it, but it's an essential step in the journey of bringing your analog images to life. At Rewind Photo Lab, we've developed countless rolls of film and have perfected our process to produce consistent, high-quality results. In this beginner's guide, we'll take you through the steps we take to develop film and give you a better understanding of what happens to your film once it's in our hands.

Step 1: Receiving Your Film

When you bring your film to Rewind Photo Lab, our friendly staff will greet you and take your film for processing. We accept all types of film, including color negative, black and white, and slide film. We'll ask you a few questions about your preferences and what type of processing you'd like. Once we have your film, we label it with your name and order details to ensure it stays organised throughout the processing.

Step 2: Preparing Your Film for Processing

Before we begin developing your film, we carefully inspect it for any signs of damage or issues. We also ensure that the film is properly loaded onto the developing reels. Once everything looks good, we transfer the film to the developing machines in a light-tight environment.

Noritsu V30 C41 Film Processor

Step 3: Developing Your Film

At Rewind Photo Lab, we take pride in our film developing process. We process film using roller transport machines made by Noritsu, a film machine company from Japan. The film is spliced and attached to a leader card, which is then fed through the roller transport machine. This ensures that the film moves through each chemical with consistent timing and agitation, leading to even and accurate development.

We use high-quality chemicals, carefully following manufacturer recommendations and established protocols. Our team monitors our chemistry daily and checks for any deviations using control strips by Kodak. This allows us to maintain the integrity of the chemicals and ensure that they are providing optimal results.

Noritsu HS-1800 Film Scanner
Step 4: Scanning and Printing

Post-development, we use the Noritsu HS-1800 scanner to digitise your film. This device meticulously captures your images, maintaining their unique qualities.

After scanning, we scrutinise each image on our workstations to ensure quality. If everything is up to our standards, we proceed to upload your images to a secure online platform. You'll then receive an email with a unique link, allowing you to access, download, and share your photos conveniently.

For those wanting physical prints, we offer 6x4" photos printed on a Fujifilm C-Type printer. Each print is thoughtfully packaged for protection.

Step 5: Returning Your Film to You

Once your film has been processed and we've created digital scans or prints, we'll let you know that your order is ready. You can pick up your film from our shop or we can mail it to you for a small fee.

We hope this guide has demystified the process of film developing at Rewind Photo Lab. If you have any further questions or would like to bring your film in for processing, don't hesitate to contact us. We're here to help you get the most out of your analog photography experience.