Prints from 35mm b&w negatives

[Nick67GT]

I’ve discovered a couple of canisters of 35mm black & white negatives whilst clearing out my FILs place and I thought that it would be a nice surprise for my wife to have them printed off and put in an album.



The last time I did this, I couldn’t find anyone who could print them in the traditional manner, only by taking a digital photo of a projected image. The results were disappointing to say the least, with hardly any of the contrasts normally associated with a good quality black & white print.

It’s a few years since I got rid of my photographic developing / printing gear (how I regret that now!) so I’m wondering if any members on the forum have means to make prints or do this type of photography as a hobby.

Obviously I’ll pay the going rate for time / consumables etc or follow up any recommendations from others who have come across someone who offers a good service.

Thanks.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Afaik you can buy negative scanners.

Think @Kayos mentioned it before.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I've scanned negs in the past [35mm and 6 x 6] and had decent results, but I'm not equipped for mass scanning/printing. If you only wanted a few done, I could help with that.

@Nick67GT like you, I sometimes regret getting rid of my gear, but a move to a smaller house meant..

 

[Blue Chips]

There are film scanners that you can buy, which is a good way to go if you have a LOT of images to do. Many flatbed scanners can also scan negatives and slides, although for best results a dedicated film scanner would probably work best.

However, a more cost-effective approach for a smaller number of images would be to send the negatives to an imaging service that can make digital files and prints directly from negatives, slides, etc., using high-resolution digital film scanners. Just search online for terms like "prints from negatives" or "prints from slides" or "prints from film" or "digital film scanning," etc. You can probably just mail the negatives to them.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

^^ This is probably to best/easiest way to go about it, and relatively inexpensive.

 

[Nick67GT]

Good advice.

I’ve actually found a place about 3 miles away who offer a print service. £1.55 a frame, so I’ll have go through them and decide which ones are the best candidates.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Good advice.

I’ve actually found a place about 3 miles away who offer a print service. £1.55 a frame, so I’ll have go through them and decide which ones are the best candidates.

Do you get the digital files with that.

Probably worth getting them all scanned and then cherry pick what you want printed

 

[a111r]

I once found similar.
There was a very good reason why they hadn't been printed and put into an album...

 

[Nick67GT]

I once found similar.
There was a very good reason why they hadn't been printed and put into an album...

Ooops

Haven't looked at them that closely yet...

 

[Kayos]

The cheap film scanners are well, cheap for a reason, I have scanned and printed many hundreds of black and white negatives, with better results than I could have achieved using traditional methods

 

[Seadog]

I bought a slide scanner, medium priced. It was rubbish.

 

[pedrobedro]

Our old scanner had a slide attachment in the lid and it got reasonable results which you could put through photoplus or whatever image program you use and improve no end. Unfortunately it was no longer supported by Windows after 7.

 

[Nick67GT]

The cheap film scanners are well, cheap for a reason, I have scanned and printed many hundreds of black and white negatives, with better results than I could have achieved using traditional methods

I looked at some reviews for cheap scanners on YouTube and you’re right - the results were carp.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Unfortunately it was no longer supported by Windows after 7.

My Epson won't work with anything later than XP [no drivers available] yet it's capable of scanning negs/slides up to 10 x 8. Means I have to keep an old laptop for when I want to scan anything - bloody Epson/Microsoft.

 

[zx9]

My Epson won't work with anything later than XP [no drivers available] yet it's capable of scanning negs/slides up to 10 x 8. Means I have to keep an old laptop for when I want to scan anything - bloody Epson/Microsoft.

You need VueScan, I love it Kayos hates it, can't please everyone.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

You need VueScan, I love it Kayos hates it, can't please everyone.

Cheers, I've bookmarked it and will do some reading.

 

[Kayos]

You need VueScan, I love it Kayos hates it, can't please everyone.

Ive tried, I really want to like it but I just can't get on with it.