FAQ
harvey film lab is an indie film lab based in southern california that is dedicated to accessible 35mm and 120 film development. we currently only offer color C-41 and black & white. keep in mind that we have extended turnaround times for B+W rolls as the process is more involved, as well as for bulk orders (8+ rolls); 1-5 days on top of the estimated current turnaround time. WE DO NOT PUSH FILM!
our pickup schedule varies, but we have a calendar on our homepage displaying showing our future dates for mail pickups. we typically send emails to customers indicating that their film was received the same day as these pickups, as long as the mandatory information was provided in the package. please keep in mind this plugin is glitchy — we have more frequent updates on our instagram page!
you can opt to have your negatives shipped back to you at checkout (you will see it as a shipping option after putting in your address, you do not need to leave a note in the "special instructions" box); all negatives are sent tracked via USPS. 35mm negatives are cut and sleeved in strips of 4, while 120 negatives are sent in a continuous sleeve, uncut. if you do not opt for your negatives back, they will be discarded immediately after scanning. we cannot change this once your order has been placed. this is stated very clearly on the checkout page -- clicking anything OTHER than "return negatives/prints by mail" will result in your negatives being discarded.
of course, just know that we will not be responding to any inquiries, responding to "received" emails, or sending out scans in that timeframe. any film that is sent in that timeframe will be processed AFTER we return. if you have sent in film before the hiatus date (and have gotten an email from us indicating it was received) and it is “due” during the timeframe, the length of the hiatus date will be added onto the turnaround time (ex: 10 biz day turnaround and 4 day hiatus = please allow for ~14 biz days for your scans to be sent). please email us for clarification if need be.
yes we do. one disposable counts as one roll of 35mm film. no need to take the film out of the disposable when shipping it out; it'll protect the roll in transit and we'll be able to recycle it properly!
yes. regardless of how old the film is, we can develop it as long as it is 35mm or 120 C-41 or B+W film (no Kodachrome, E6, APS, 110 film, etc.). you do not need to email in advance about it, it is treated like any other film we receive. keep in mind, there may be color shifts, increased grain, dark images, etc. as a result of expiration / heat damage from improper storage -- we cannot guarantee optimal results with expired film.
we do not provide shipping labels -- the cost of film development covers development and scanning only. you must ship your film on your own terms.
as stated in the descriptions of our purchase links, we send automated emails containing any shipping information AFTER purchase (may take 10-20 minutes). if an email is not sent in that timeframe, please let us know -- be sure to check your spam folders.
we do at no extra charge! however, we can only do half-frame when either basic or premium scans are ordered. if you purchase demo scans and send in half-frame, we will charge you an additional fee.
basic scans will be more than enough for social media purposes. however, if you plan on printing or want the highest resolution possible, premium scans are great. our demo scans are more geared towards rolls that you may be unsure about (light leaks, expired film, etc.) and want a cheaper alternative. please note that they are significantly smaller in resolution as compared to our other services. although they are technically sufficient enough for sharing on social media and printing small sizes, they are ultimately a low-resolution file. we do not do basic color and density adjustments for our demo scans. basically -- opt for basic or premium scans for most situations!
the address that all the film is sent to is not our own residential address, and we pick up mail from there 1-2 times a week. however, if you're worried about your film potentially being lost, feel free to shoot us an email. we will send an email indicating that your film is received once it is in our possession. if you did not include your information on the exterior + interior of your package and we are not able to identify you, we will not send you a received email or scans. we do have a pickup schedule available on the homepage of our website for reference! please take into consideration that we are not responsible for any packages that are damaged/lost in transit/delivery.
unfortunately, since we are a really small indie lab, we don’t offer refunds on blank rolls. it still takes time to process your film whether or not it comes out blank. we also do not process refunds for orders that are placed and not sent. please only purchase from the website when you have film that is ready to send and ship. thanks for understanding! see our full refund policy on the bottom of our site.
an email with your film scans will be sent to the contact information provided at checkout. please check your spam folder / trash bin! all emails will be sent directly from our file transfer service, WeTransfer. it is not our responsibility if you do not download your scans before the link expires. we are not in control if the email goes into your spam/junk folders. we send all scans in our designated turnaround time so if they are "late" then they are most likely in your spam folder. if you plan on reaching out, don't wait when your link has most likely already expired as we can't recover your images.
before contacting us, please check your inbox along with your junk/spam folder for an email from WeTransfer. also, keep in mind that our turnaround times are in business days, which does not include weekends or holidays. we very rarely send scans out late as we update our turnaround times depending on our workload and keep careful track of all the rolls we receive. if you're sure the full turnaround time has passed and you did not receive an email from WeTransfer to the address you provided at checkout, feel free to send us an email for an update regarding your order. unprecedented delays may come up; HFL is only operated by one person, but we try our best to keep up with demand and appreciate your patience.
it is very important to keep your negatives. film negatives are the original form of your photograph, and if you lose your digital files, you can always have your negatives rescanned. i opt for yes. we send your negatives back through USPS, and they are sleeved and cut into strips of four.
please send us an email in advance before sending any explicit content. regarding nudity -- if you can provide proof of age, we may be able to handle your film; however, handling explicit content at HFL is on a case-by-case basis. this is mostly for legal purposes, but understand that it is fair for us to expect customers to get our consent before sending in unsolicited explicit content. if explicit content is sent with no prior warning we will not send these images back to you.
generally, no. we sometimes accept souped film on a case by case basis; for example, if you accidentally left a roll of film in the washing machine. however, we ask that you please email us about any potential souped film beforehand, or else you run the risk of damaging our chemistry and equipment. anybody who sends in souped film or any wet film without warning will be charged the cost of chemistry + damage to any of our tools.
we are only able to reply to requests through email that do not already have an answer that is stated on our FAQ. repeated requests WILL be ignored because constantly responding to these messages delay productivity and lead to increased turnaround times for all customers. keep this into consideration as we are a one-person lab.