The lab trashed my negs!

[iMacfan]

Hi,

I've just got back a roll of XP-2 from the high street lab which I always use, and find pretty good usually. However, this time while the enprints are fine (though they put borders on them which I specifically asked them not to), they have trashed the negatives. This is particularly bad as ICE does not work for B&W negs. Every strip has dust, specks, scratches going along the length of the film and fingerprints which I could ID the technician from. OK, they probably are salvagable, but absolutely no care whatsoever has been taken in handling them, and that really annoys me.

So, what should I do? Is there any way they can clean the negs to improve them? Do I risk having to wear a coat and dark glasses every time I walk into the shop?

David

 

[digitalox]

I had some slides come back one with time and a few had some gook or something on them. What I gathered from talking to some photogs at the local photo store is that there is nothing you can put on your neg that won't affect it. Even the special cleaners will have an effect on them, however slight. Maybe just some canned air for the dust specks, and a lint free lens cloth or paper for the fingerprints.

I think ICE may also still help you, because its still C-41 film.

 

[iMacfan]

Thanks - I'll try the lens cloth option. Unfortunately, the scanner software disables ICE when you set it to B&W and I'm not savvy enough to scan in colour or anything else. A roll of superia done on Friday is much better - I think the lesson is not to get film processed on a Sunday!

David

 

[o0dano0o]

if all else fails, you can rewash the negatives on your own

 

[digitalox]

true, probably the safest bet.

 

[Nikon Bob]

David

I use a Minolta 5400 scanner and with C41 B&W film I scan it as a colour negative with ICE on and then convert it to B&W in Photo Shop Elements 2.0. You might be able to salvage your XP2 negs.

Bob

 

[stymie]

if all else fails, you can rewash the negatives on your own

Being new to photography, what would be the best way to go about this?

TIA,

David

 

[GeneW]

As Bob says, ICE works fine on C-41 B&W negs. There are no silver halide particles to confuse ICE -- it's the same stuff as colour film essentially. Scan as col and either simply desaturate to B&W (most image viewers have this option), or use Photoshop or equivalent.

No excuses for your lab though -- it was similar experiences that sent me back to developing my own traditional B&W film.

Gene

 

[digitalox]

I would give them a good toungue lashing myself.

 

[o0dano0o]

Being new to photography, what would be the best way to go about this?

TIA,

David

since I imagine they cut the negatives, and that you may not develop on your own, you don't need to go out and get a developing tank.

probably the easiest way to do this is get a tupperware container long enough for the negatives to fit into. then get some photoflo, which is a wetting agent to get rid of water spots. this however can be simplified too if you have some jetdry sitting around in your kitchen.

put a little jetdry/photoflo in the container, add some water, and give the negatives a good bath. then hang them up to dry. you can just put up a string as a make shift clothesline, and hang them up with pins. some people do this in the bathroom after the shower has been on in order to reduce dust.

i hope that helps a little.

 

[stymie]

Sounds very managable dano - thanks!

 

[o0dano0o]

no worries - if you have any other developing questions or anything, don't hesitate to ask

 

[fraley]

David,

I just got a roll back from the drugstore. One big scratch the length of the roll. Very frustrating! I sent a companion roll to the semi-pro shop, to do a comparison. Guess I got my comparison! This is the one thing tempting about digital, no one to scratch my negs. I've also thought of developing my own traditional b&w, as Gene says above. If you have a pro developing shop you might want to price their recovery charges.

 

[stymie]

Sorry to hear about that Fraley - must be frustrating.

I tend to get my processing done at Ritz Camera here in Philadelphia. So far, just from eyeballing negatives held up to the light, I have not noticed any major scratches or other damage. It will be interesting to see what happens when I start scanning, but I am hoping for the best.

 

[bmattock]

May I suggest not having prints made. I have found that it is the act of printing the negs that puts scratches on them, and it hasn't mattered if I had a pro lab do the work or a local 1-hour shop. If I ask them to develop and cut and sleeve them, but nothing else, I get a lot fewer scratches. And it costs less. If I want to make prints, I upload them to Walmart (should be something similar in England) and print out just the ones I want after scanning/cleaning/cropping, etc. Works a treat and saves money.

I would urge you to at least try it once. You'll be shocked at the difference.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Bubba]

It seems that most damage occurs when they make the prints. Since, I always scan my negatives and slides, I ask for processing only. They tend to come back in much better shape. Then I scan, touch-up in photoshop, and have them printed. I once watched the guy at the local drugstore walk from one end of the photo area to the other end dragging a handful of negatives across the ground behind him. I also watched a tech at the local walmart dust the counter with a rag and then use the same rag to clean several strips of negatives.

Good luck with your negatives. Hopefully you can still salvage some in scanning.

 

[Bubba]

That's funny, Bill. You beat me to the punch on the reply about printing.

 

[fraley]

Thanks Bill, good advice. I do just get my negs developed & scanned now, no prints. I print from the scanned CD. It's usually okay, but the last two times at the drug store they've scratched the roll. stymie, I'll try Ritz for a lower cost solution. The quality lab is more reliable, with 50+ rolls they've only scratched one that I noticed. Just gets expensive and it's not as conveniently located. There's a third place I've tried, they also do B&W (hard to find places that do). They're okay, got defensive though when I pointed out a scanning problem. Anyway, I'm going to talk to the manager at the drug store even if I don't use them again, just to let them know there's a problem.

 

[bmattock]

Bubba, it's funny. I've been offering this hard-won advice for some time - some people do it, most don't. Whatever, people can make their own minds up. But what surprises me is the people who insist that printing the negs does NOT cause the damage, that I can't possibly be right, that I should threaten to sue the photo shop, yell at the manager, find another pro shop (try theirs, for example), and so on. But they won't TRY my advice, so they have no basis for comparison. They're just stuck in a rut and refuse to see the answer when it stares them in the face.

I don't usually go around saying that I know better than anyone else, but on this topic, I've tried having prints made at a variety of places - pro and semi-pro and mail-order pro and so on - it always ends the same way - scratched negs. Go without prints, and you can have them done almost anywhere and they come back scratchless MOST of the time. Sometimes I still get wrecked negs - but very rarely. I have found a local Walgreens - get a 10% 'pro' discount and it costs like $2 a roll. I know one employee there who does a terrible job - I avoid her and leave surreptitiously if I see she is working. The rest are fine.

Anyway, I don't mean to rant. I just can't figure out why people won't try this and give themselves a break, but continue to complain about their scratched negs. I just don't get it. It's like I told people that their prints will come out better if they clean their lenses and they line up to tell me that lenses work better with dirt on them. Whatever.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[bmattock]

Thanks Bill, good advice. I do just get my negs developed & scanned now, no prints. I print from the scanned CD. It's usually okay, but the last two times at the drug store they've scratched the roll. stymie, I'll try Ritz for a lower cost solution. The quality lab is more reliable, with 50+ rolls they've only scratched one that I noticed. Just gets expensive and it's not as conveniently located. There's a third place I've tried, they also do B&W (hard to find places that do). They're okay, got defensive though when I pointed out a scanning problem. Anyway, I'm going to talk to the manager at the drug store even if I don't use them again, just to let them know there's a problem.

Well, in most of the 1-hour places I know of, the machine that does the scans is the same machine that makes the prints - the negs get loaded and dragged through, and then either prints are made and scans are done or just the scans or just the negs - but the same machine, same path for the negs, same scratches. Frankly, I've never had a CD made that didn't disappoint me. Terrible, terrible problems. Plus, the scan rate is too low, and the cost is too high.

I bought my Scan Dual IV with the math that it would soon pay for itself in terms of costs saved in prints not made, scan CDs not created. That has turned out to be true. I've recouped - even more. And the scans I make myself are so superior to the wretched CD's I've had made commercially - not even a comparison.

I'm very happy with what I've done - it works great for me. I will admit that it takes time to make my scans - but I just scan reload the negative carrier as it ejects and I'm working on other things. It works just fine.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks