Where can I send 10 year old film for processing

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Jet1

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Hi

I am a newbie here having just found your forum so please be gentle. I have been looking through the forum but so far I haven't found an answer but I amy have missed it as I am not a technical person. From what I had read so far you all seen a very knowledgeable group of people.

Following the death of my other half I have been tidying out and I have found 2 rolls of 35mm film which I think were from our holiday in 2005 which I had totally forgotten about. As they contain pictures of my late partner what are the chances of getting any images from the films and where would be a good place to send them for processing.

Also would prints be better or a CD and then look to see if any are worthwhile printing. I see some sites offer CD with different size files. Is it better to have the larger files or not. I have an old version photoshop elements on my computer, and would it be possible to manipulate the images when I get the CD. I haven't really used Photoshop for much as it was brought for a project that never happened.

Given the sentimental value of the films I am willing to pay a bit extra to ensure the films are given more attention. Can anyone suggest possible places to send my films to please.

Thanks for reading this and I hope you will be able to help me.
 
Welcome to the forum :) Sorry to hear that your visit is down to such sad circumstances.

Given how valuable these film rolls are to you, I think I would send them to Peak imaging. It might be worth ringing them first and discussing it with them first to check, but I'd have thought that you should be able to get decent images from the film, providing it hasn't been stored somewhere too hot! Prices and turn around times will depend on what film type it is, and this should be printed on the rolls, chances are it's C41 (colour negative) E6 (slide film) or B&W (black and white).

You could get these films scanned and sent back on a CD, and then pick the best ones to have printed once you've tinkered with them in Photoshop. I think that's what I'd do.
 
As Carl said, sort of - a lab with whom some sort of dialogue is possible for the development, rather than one who'll just bash it through their production line. Then unless they're slide films which you can hold up to the window & assess directly, either a contact print sheet or a low-res cd for assessment purposes. Step by step ...
 
Even if kept in a warmish place like a drawer somewhere there is still a strong chance of getting images off the film. You should have every confidence (though of course it's not guaranteed). Peak is a good choice. UK Film Lab is another.

It's easiest to get scans at the time of developing. If you're not much into photography, I'd suggest getting process, scan and print. The prints will give you an idea what the pics are as soon as you open the envelope, and the scans (on CD or download) will give you options as to what you do with them. Be aware though that the scan sizes are determined by the print sizes in that case, and the small scans that correspond to 6*4" prints are really quite small (roughly 1200*1800 pixels... although that is big enough for email and web use, should you want that). You can always get better scans and bigger prints later...
 
Welcome to the forum.

One of the chaps from Peak is a member of this forum @RumpFace and I'm sure he will be able to give you some advice. I see no reason why the rolls shouldn't be ok.

Andy
 
C41 should be ok, same with bw. E6 though is a different matter. What film is it?
 
Thanks for all your replies. Sounds like there is some hope.

The films are process C41 They are Jessops 400 35mm with process dates of 2006 and 2008 so I am guessing the photos were take in 2005. They have been kept in a draw in my living room.

I am wondering if it would be best just to get a good quality scan and then decide which I would like printed. I say this as I already have lots of photos accumulated over the years just lying in boxes and not on display. I have had a digital camera since 2007 and only rarely have any been printed, only recently the special ones of my partner.

From what you are saying is it the case of the larger the jpeg file the better? I see that Peak Imaging do scans from 6.2 to38.8 Mb jpegs. Would a larger jpeg file give me a better print, even a 6x4 one and would a larger file size be better if I want to photoshop it later. Sorry for all the questions.

Hopefully @RumpFace will be along shortly and able to advise.
 
I would think that 6.2mb would be perfectly ok for 6x4 prints.

Andy
 
Get them in. I think they'll be ok but there's only one way to find out.
 
Jet1 said:
From what you are saying is it the case of the larger the jpeg file the better? I see that Peak Imaging do scans from 6.2 to38.8 Mb jpegs. Would a larger jpeg file give me a better print, even a 6x4 one and would a larger file size be better if I want to photoshop it later. Sorry for all the questions.
Click to expand...

Just remember those sizes are NOT the size of the JPEG files (unless I'm very wrong). They're the size of the file opened in Photoshop, with 24 bits (3 bytes) per pixel, so divide the size by 3 to get the number of pixels... 2 mp to 13mp in the examples above. 2 mp is good for 6*4 inch prints or a little larger, 13 mp should print 12*10 if my maths is correct, and in practice would possibly give a decent print somewhat larger if the camera and exposure etc worked well. Larger file sizes also give you more room to straighten and crop, which can make all the difference between a so-so or even fairly rubbish shot and a really nice one to treasure.

Personally, I almost never get the smallest scans, usually go for the middle ones (I've never forked out for the large ones). But these are significant to you and that could easily make you choose differently. Good luck.
 
I hope you get some good luck recovering these images, and of course hope there's a pleasant surprise in there of memories past. Hope you can keep us updated on whether you were successful. Wish you the best of luck :)
 
Absolutely please come back to us on the results :-)
 
I reckon there will be some significant 'Latent Image Regression' on a 400 ASA film 10 years old -- I bet the results will be 'thin negs' with a green colour cast. If I was doing that film i would increase the C41 Colour Development time from 3 mins 15 secs to 3 mins 45 secs at least.
 
There might be odd colour imbalances that the scans won't compensate for - in which case you could just accept that, or if you're into some Photoshopping, convert to monochrome ...
 
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