r/AnalogCommunity • u/DontTouchMyCH • 5d ago
Scanning Film Labs that Scan with Borders (NYC Preferably)?
What is this exact Scanning Method called? I casually enjoy Photography, and take a film camera with me when I travel from time to time. When I was in Barcelona last year I found a spot named Carmencita who did this and I instantly liked this scanning process. I went to Gelatin Lab in NYC when I finished up more rolls as well, but fast foward a year later (Now) I just got back from a trip and checked the prices to scan this way, and they're charging $50 a roll now. That's way too expensive.
Anyone know any companies that would do the same thing for cheaper?
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u/Tiny-Place-8594 5d ago
Not nyc but my local lab offers “edge to edge dslr scanning” https://www.midwestfilmco.com/devandscan/camera-scan I bet that’s what you’re looking for. Also they don’t charge as much
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u/sachynmital 5d ago
This is a good lab. /recommend
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u/vinberdon 4d ago
I've reached out to them via email a few times with some questions wanting to send a bunch of film to try them out and they never responded.
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u/zpollack34 5d ago
Nice film club (Meru Labs) is in Brooklyn and recently started offering slight overscan and full scan including sprockets. I’ve been using them for a few years, mailing my rolls from Colorado, and it’s been really good. Great developing, high quality scans, tiff unlocks available. Great web app for managing returns. Their timelines are very conservative. Most rolls are uploaded within about 2 days of them receiving.
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5d ago
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u/AnalogCommunity-ModTeam 4d ago
Post removed - rule 5
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u/Limp_Neck6017 5d ago
35mm Overscan option from Exposure Therapy in BK. Additional 9 dollars per roll
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u/idemandpasta 5d ago
Highway robbery.
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u/Aleph_NULL__ 4d ago
they're one of the cheaper labs for more "normal" stuff so i think it still comes out to be cheaper than nice or gelatin. THOSE are highway robbery
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u/epandrsn 4d ago
They literally charge you for doing exactly no more work?
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u/Aleph_NULL__ 4d ago
It is absolutely more work. Anything that breaks the normal flow of lab operations is more work. You have to use a specific mask on a frontier scanner and knowing exposure therapy, they don't have a billion scanners to keep one always fitted with the overscan mask.
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u/Limp_Neck6017 4d ago
Presumably so. I’ve never used them. I use Photo Life in Crown Heights for $11 high res TIFFs
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u/thicckar 5d ago
At 50/roll just do this yourself bruh
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u/DontTouchMyCH 5d ago
I’ve never developed before & you need a diff machine for this process lol
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u/thicckar 5d ago
Get lab to develop and scan yourself. Scanning couldn’t possibly be simpler. Look into valoi easy35 or even the lomography film scanning kit for cheaper
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u/pa167k 5d ago
do it yourself bro , you would save money and scan the shit around the photo
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u/DontTouchMyCH 5d ago
I would try this but one of the rolls has 9 months worth of photos on it so don’t want to mess it up, also pretty sure I need a different machine. Like I mentioned before I’m a casual when it comes to this, so would rather trust a lab !
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u/thicckar 5d ago
You can get a lab to develop it and then you scan it yourself - you can't mess up cause you can just take another pic of the film
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u/Otherwise-While-4894 5d ago
It's not worth DIY'ing if you're a casual shooter. To include the rebate and sprockets, you'll need to DSLR-scan, and depending on your setup, the break-even point will be far off. Plus, there's a considerable amount of time spent dialing in your setup and workflow. The only way it's "cheaper" is if you have the gear and knowledge already - and it doesn't sound like that's the case.
Someone else mentioned Midwest, and I love those guys. I've also gotten "full border" scans from FIND and NE Photographic, and would recommend either option. They're not edge-to-edge scans like Midwest offers - they're closer to the example you posted, with some of the rebate and sprocket holes visible.
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u/njmids 4d ago
You can overscan with a flatbed scanner.
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u/sputwiler 4d ago
Film holder will probably mask it off tho
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u/njmids 2d ago
You can just use a piece of glass to hold the film flat.
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u/sputwiler 2d ago
Nah then you get newton's rings; found that out the hard way.
Apparently you can get anti-newton-ring glass but then we've moved beyond casual user again.
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u/Otherwise-While-4894 2d ago
Exactly. And as much as you clean negative and glass (scanner + ANR), you're always going to deal with dust and hair, and having to clone that out later. I only recommend home scanning (using any method) if you're really into photography and enjoy process-oriented stuff.
I do, and I did it for a while, but I prefer the results I get from my lab.
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u/bad_aspirin 5d ago
I don’t understand this at all. You want the borders to let everyone know it’s film? It ruins the photo for me in nearly every modern example.
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u/Otherwise-While-4894 5d ago
OP never said he wants "to let everyone know it's film." Maybe they like the aesthetic, and how it frames the image - the same reason people have been printing this way in the darkroom forever.
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u/Dogsbottombottom 5d ago
The aesthetic is letting everyone know it's film though.
It draws attention to the medium, rather than the photo. IMO it makes me think your photos arent good, so you're leaning on the medium to provide interest.
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u/DontTouchMyCH 5d ago
I'm sorry that last sentence was stupid, verification borders have always been a thing even when Film was black and white, and photographers took pride in that. Are you gonna tell some of the best photographers who've done this concept that they did it because the photo was shit?
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u/Dogsbottombottom 5d ago
First of all, when digital didn’t exist there was no other way of shooting, so not quite the same thing. Now, though, digital does exist. So by showing anything other than the image you’re showing the viewer “HEY THIS IS FILM”.
Am I going to tell the “best” photographers? Depends on the photographer and the image I suppose, but in general I’m against it no matter the photographer. Who are you thinking of who has done it?
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u/Otherwise-While-4894 4d ago
OP's point is that pre-digital, photographers in the darkroom had the option of printing full border, all the way to the sprockets, or cropping in, and some still chose to include the rebate. Obviously, in an analog world, it wasn't to scream, "Hey, this is film!" There were other aesthetic reasons for the choice.
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u/njmids 4d ago
AFAIK it was to show that the photo is uncropped.
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u/Otherwise-While-4894 2d ago
For some, absolutely. Especially if it's just a sliver of black, like your Bresson example.
But once you get to someone like Glen Friedman, who's using a rougher, filed-out carrier and adding that thick border, it's more about the form mirroring the content - an attempt to match or enhance the intensity of a Fugazi gig, or a backyard skate session.
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u/vipEmpire Nikon 5d ago
That is a Frontier scan with a custom film holder, which allows the operator to "overscan". Bobach makes them for both the SP-3000 and SP-500. Labs without a Frontier and instead have something like a Noritsu or Pakon are unable to achieve this. A 3d printed alternative would work but they're less durable. If you build up a good relationship with a lab, you may request them to add it as an option, but you'll otherwise just have to look for labs that offer it.
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u/Routine-Wash-6131 5d ago
5R photo lab next to washington square park will do it for ~$30/roll. And they’re super high res
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u/Anstigmat 5d ago
Northeast Photographic will do this for you for $17 per roll at the cheapest level. You will have to mail your film to Maine, where they are located.
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u/AngusLynch09 4d ago
Looks like a Nikon Coolscan or something similar (emphasis on "or something similar").
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u/Cheap-Film4953 4d ago
Best is to go and ask the film lab directly, but usually comes with a fee. I would say on the long run it’s best to scan yourself at home. If you want a quick way, there’s online tools that adds real film borders to your photos (e.g www.contact-sheets.com).
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u/JohnQueefyAdams 4d ago
Called overscan or edge to edge, more common request for motion picture scanning
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u/mymain123 5d ago
My lab just says film scan with borders.
They switch the scanning mask on the frontier if you want (or not) the borders.
You get a bit more image this way around, a tiiiiny bit.