Scratches on Scans from Costco

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Yuphorix

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Hi all,

So, I got back my first test film (Fuji 400) taken with my new Voigtlander R3m sporting a 40mm nokton. The film was developed at my local Costco and I got 5x7 prints along with a CD with all the scans in them.

After looking at the 5x7 prints and going through all the digital JPEG scans, I saw a very obvious line along each scan (and some prints), almost at the exact spot in every photo. The line is not completely smooth, but the location seems to be consistent although not identical in each picture. Here is an attached with an example of the white line.

Do you guys think this was caused by the camera scratching the film, or the scanning process? I looked at the negatives and could not find those lines or scratches, but you obviously can't see alot of the details of a negative through the naked eye.

scratch.jpg
 
I don't know how your Costco compares to the Costcos in the Seattle area, but this was the reason that I stopped using Costco two years ago. Watching how they worked over the processed film, showed the reason. The rack they hung the film in was sized for 24 exposure rolls, 36 exposure rolls piled up on the floor. When they sleeved the film, it was pulled across all sorts of surfaces (including corners). The prints and scans supplied generally showed no evidence of scratches, but they were there after pickup. When you drop your film off, hang around a bit and see how they are handling others.
 
I'm somewhat familiar with Costco processing. The first place to start is with the manager. My local Costco photo manager is greatly interested in producing a high quality product. I've known him since 1998 and he has been very responsive to issues brought to his attention. Just last week he was on the phone with Fuji for ninety minutes straightening out my scanning to DVD issue. All resolved. Be friendly, get to know your manager. They can be a good resource.

I should add that I do work in a a couple of Costcos, but I do not work for Costco.
 
Since the scratch is continuous and very, very straight it occurred when the film was being very accurately guided across the offending object that caused the scratch. This rules out any mishandling of loose film (overly short hanger letting film bunch up on the floor, ...). The film sleever can be ruled out because this operation occurred after the scans.

The scratch occurred, most likely, in one of three places:

1. In camera - either dirt/grit in the felt lip of the cassette or on the pressure plate. The latter would only scratch the base side, never the emulsion side. It is nearly impossible for cameras to scratch the emulsion side. Where is the scratch?

2. In the film processor - 99.9%+ of the times this happens in a minilab it is the result of improper handling of the cassette after exposure and before delivery to the lab that results in dirt/grit getting into the felt lip of the cassette. Minilabs extract the film through the felt lip and if it has become dirty after, or before, exposure the dirt can scratch the film. Film that is to be processed in a minilab should always be returned to the container is was sold in when removed from the camera.

3. In the scanner - a dirty or faulty scanner could scratch the film.
 
Since it is horizontal and continuous, I suspect a speck of dust or dirt in your camera's film gate. It's not uncommon. Do another roll and see if you get the same results.
 
Thanks for everyones responses! I had Costco rescan the images, and I got far less of these lines this time around. I did look at the negatives again and on a few of them, I was able to identify the scratches that made the lines. However, this is after taking the negatives in and out of the holder to look at them, probably generating scratches of my own. I'm beginning to think that my particular Costco is not very consistent in their development and scanning process.

But, to further test things out, I shot another test roll and had it developed and scanned at Wolf Cameras. The scans came out clean with a few specs of dust, but mostly acceptable. The only downside to Wolf Cameras is that they scanned everything at 1,700 x 1,110 which is not really high resolution. So, I guess I can settle with Wolf Cameras scans for now, and continue taking shots until I find a better shop to develop/scan or until I get the equipment to develop/scan myself.
 
on their job sheet make sure they don't tick the boxes, "scratch film to buggery" and "shred sprocket holes to oblivion" and you should be okay 😉
 
Yeah, there are probably more options if I go with online shops, but I think it's quite limited in terms of actual shops in my local area.
 
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