Do You Need Your Film Negatives Back? Our 30-Day Collection Rule

Do you need your film negatives back? If you might ever want a better scan, a big print or a backup, yes. If you're happy with your scans, no. Either way, if you've asked to collect them from the lab, we hold them for 30 days after your order is finished, then they're safely destroyed.

That last bit is the part people miss. So here's the whole thing, plainly.

Why Your Negatives Matter

Your negatives are the photograph. The scan is one reading of it.

Keep them and you can:

• Get a higher resolution scan later, if a frame turns out to be the one you want to print big
• Have prints made straight from the film
• Rescue a picture if you lose your files, your phone or your hard drive
• Hold them up to the light in 20 years, which is half the fun

Stored somewhere cool, dry and dark, in proper sleeves, negatives last a lifetime. Files on a laptop often don't.

When You Don't Need Them

Plenty of people don't want them back, and that's fine.

If you're happy with your scans, you're not planning to print big, and you've no room for a box of sleeves, you don't need them. Choose dispose when you order and we'll destroy them safely once your scans are done. No reminders, no clutter, nothing to collect.

If you post your film to us and ask for your negatives back, we post them back. None of the collection rules below apply to you.

Collecting From the Lab: The 30-Day Rule

If you choose to collect your negatives in person, we keep them for 30 days from the day your order is completed. After that, they're safely destroyed.

Once your order is finished, collecting them is your responsibility. We'll email you a reminder about two weeks in, and again a few days before they go, with the option to have them posted back to you or to tell us we can get rid of them.

That applies to everything, rescans included. If you've brought old negatives in to be scanned again, the same 30 days apply once the job is done.

Why We Can't Keep Them Longer

I hate destroying negatives. They're the raw image of something you chose to photograph.

But this is a small lab, and every order that comes in needs somewhere to live while we work on it. Shelves full of uncollected negatives mean less room for the film people are dropping off today. Thirty days is a fair amount of time, and the reminders give you two chances to sort it.

No, I Can't Hold Them Until Your Next Roll

The one I hear most is "I'll grab them next time I drop a roll off". That's great if next time is within the 30 days. If it's five days after they were due, they've very likely already gone.

And I can't make an exception for one person. If I hold yours, I have to hold everyone's, and there simply isn't the space. Same rule for everybody. It's the only way it works.

The Short Version

• Want them? Choose collect and pick them up within 30 days, or choose post back
• Don't want them? Choose dispose and we'll take care of it
• Can't make it in? Answer the reminder email and we'll post them to you

If you're not sure, keep them. You can always throw negatives away later. You can't get them back once they're gone.

Any questions, have a look at our FAQ, or send us your film and pick what you'd like done with your negatives when you order.