Film Rescue International™
Film Rescue International™
Virtually without exception, we can process any and all expired photographic film ever manufactured. We have kept careful records and have a database of over 800 unique film brands and types of film within the brand. This allows us to track how specific films respond using different approaches to developing.
Offering old film processing has its challenges. One of the biggest challenges we have is how to offer color processing to our clients. The possible options and variablility of results from all the different types of color film we receive means there is no easy solution. The importance of color results also varies from person to person.
To greatly simplify, color film has two essential components – a light sensitive silver layer that captures the image in B&W and color dye layers to create the color image. During a normal color process, once the silver has served it’s useful purpose it is bleached from the film, leaving behind only the color dye image. As film ages, the color dye image deteriorates more quickly than the B&W silver image. By not removing the silver content from expired film during the initial process, we are doing the safest possible process for your film. We then digitize those B&W images. Because of our decades of record keeping on literally hundreds of different types of film and how they respond in different processes, we have a high enough success rate to be able to guarantee we will salvage something recognizable from your expired film when processed as we recommend – the safest possible process – or you don’t pay.*
If you choose, once the B&W images are scanned and we have a digital security copy, we can do a further chemical process called “film acceleration” that will reveal the color image or what is left of the color image. We may have success in B&W but have fewer or no images turn out in color after acceleration.
Most newer expired color films (5 to 20 years past their expiry date) can yield a color image that may well be more desirable than B&W. In these cases, for those clients that are willing to take some risk, we do offer a direct to color option. Color films that are older or have been stored poorly (e.g in an attic) will typically yield a clearer B&W image — often far clearer; there may be little or no viable color image left. This is the risk of going straight to color.. Digital colorization can produce more satisfactory results.
There are two approaches we can take to produce color images from color film developed into B&W negative. There is a chemical approach called “film acceleration” where we actually redevelop your film into color. This produces variable results: from nearly perfect color to very distressed and skewed color. You may still order digital colorization for images from a film that has been chemically accelerated.
Alternately, there is a digital approach using Photoshop’s A.I. software to colorize images. Film Rescue goes beyond this by adding a good dose of hands on work to make the images more acceptable. These colorized images are much more akin in their look to hand tinted postcards and photographs than they are to a true color photo but they definitely can have their own special charm and character. The color of objects won’t necessarily match real world colors… grandpa’s blue car may end up looking green. Highly distressed B&W images won’t colorize very well.
Keep in mind that many clients are happy to simply stick with B&W processing if color isn’t the goal.
Here are some samples. Two Kodak films from the same client both from the early 1990s.
While both of these pictures are from separate Kodak films from early 1990s shot by the same client, the end results in color were very different. This shows just how unpredictable color processing of expired color film can be. This is why we recommend the safest possible process (B&W negative) and scanning of all color film before proceeding to color (if requested).
After scanning each picture on your film, whether B&W versions or color, all are brought into Photoshop for hands-on correction by one of our technicians. This is a very important step which greatly improves the picture quality well beyond what would be possible with conventional photo finishing. This is included in the base price of your film processing. Doing high quality digital captures and Photoshopping those files means we’re often pulling recognizable images from film that appears blank upon casual visual inspection, making very poor quality negatives acceptable or improving poor quality images to higher quality images.
The following samples are from small format 126 film that are in the first case, very poor quality and in the second, extremely poor quality negative. These are not representative of our average results at FRI but only to demonstrate how Photoshop will improve distressed images. Had these negatives been developed in the original process designed for the film, they would both likely have been totally blank.
Prices and billing are in US dollars with one exception: Film Rescue Europe orders are billed in Euros**
When applicable, VAT, GST and/or PST will be added to European and Canadian orders.
**Film Rescue Europe orders must be sent to and returned through the Netherlands location.
This is a gallery service where your images are delivered to you in an online gallery and can be download to your computer from there. The downloadable image included in your gallery is large enough in resolution to better than fill a standard 1080p computer screen and enough for most practical purposes.
In your gallery you will also have options such as ordering prints, further Photoshop restoration with higher resolution files, and digital colorization (not included in the base price).
Please don’t miss our options once you have your gallery further down on this page.
Please scroll up to see a complete explanation of this. To summarize, the safest possible process renders a B&W negative. You can choose later to have images brought into color after you see how they have turned out in B&W.
This choice should be reserved for newer expired color film (nothing pre-2000) that hasn’t been stored in hot or suspect conditions.
This is not an ordinary color processing service. First, we’re using a special AN-6 high contrast color film developer manufactured exclusively for us in Italy. Second, our service differs from a conventional film processing service in that all images are brought into Photoshop to be improved after scanning. With color compromised film, this makes a world of difference more often than not.
We charge for direct to color processing regardless of results.
If you have requested the safest possible process on your order form, you’ll be able to see how the images have turned out in B&W in the online image gallery, after the scanning and Photoshop work is complete and you’ve paid the base processing fee of 18.00 USD and the per image charge of 1.00 USD each. At this point you can contact us by email to discuss how worthwhile accelerating any of the rolls to color may be and we can make a decision together as to what to do. Full price is charged again.
NOTE: The film acceleration step won’t be done on the same processing cycle as the initial safest possible process.
We charge for film acceleration regardless of results.
These are your order options in the gallery, per image, on a pick and choose basis:
| Full Resolution Digital File With Additional Photoshopping (size info)
When you order the full resolution file, the image is again opened in Photoshop and we give the image additional attention. This generally only achieves a small improvement but with some images that require localized work to the image, there can be bigger improvements (such as with edge fogging i.e darker edges than the center of the picture, fairly common in very expired film). These corrections are more time consuming than a general correction that affects the entire image. |
2.25 USD |
| Colorize B&W Image(size info)
We first open the full size image and do the same additional Photoshopping that we would if you only ordered the “Full Resolution Digital File” described above. Then we use Photoshop’s A.I. colorization software, followed by our human touch to significantly improve the A.I. interpretation of the image. The look of these is more akin to a hand tinted B&W photo than to a picture actually shot on color film. Digitall colorization is not the same as chemical film acceleration. |
5.75 USD |
| 4×4 to 4×7 traditional style print (large border on glossy paper) ** | 0.45 USD |
| 5×5 to 5×8.5 traditional style print (large border on glossy paper)** | 0.70 USD |
| ** at this time prints aren’t available for clients outside of USA and Canada |
We fully understand the importance of a film original as an archival record but, most likely, decades expired films being developed now wouldn’t qualify. Our primary concern in developing these films is to salvage an image and we don’t in anyway guarantee image permanence with our processes. In fact, we know some processes will fade quickly; this is why we must be sure to digitize these soon after development. Also, many of the negatives we’re producing are either very dense, very low contrast or both. We’re skilled at capturing everything possible from these types of films; they will not be rescanned easily or duplicated in any way. Other than for sentimental reasons, having your negatives returned is unnecessary.
| Within USA and Canada | 15.00 *** |
| Film Rescue Europe | link * |
| All others | Contact Us |
***Shipping charges may be higher for exceptionally heavy, large, or fragile orders.
Payment is made online through an encrypted secure payment portal provided by Stripe or Paypal. We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and Paypal. Sorry, absolutely no checks or money orders.
If you have requested our Safest Possible Process, there is no charge if your film turns out blank. On completion of the work, if we we’ve had success, you’ll be billed the processing and per image fee. Upon payment you’ll get immediate access to your gallery and you can download your images from there.
If you have requested either “Direct to Color” or “Accelerate to Color after safest possible process” you’ll be billed the processing fee before we begin work. These are not guaranteed services and we won’t be left in the position of trying to collect payment from clients for film that turns out blank. Once work is complete, if we’ve had success, you’ll be billed the per image fee; upon payment you’ll get immediate access to your gallery and you can download your images from there.
What is the Gallery? The gallery is where you can view your images either in “thumbnail view” or larger in the “order view”. In “thumbnail view” you can directly download individual images, add to favorites for ease of ordering or share images to social media. In “order view” you will see the bigger and you’ll have the option to place an order for prints, additional Photoshopping with a large download, as well as colorization on a pick and choose basis. Galleries remain active for one year. Your digital files are stored indefinitely on LTO tape drives unless they’re specifically requested to be removed.
Images can be downloaded directly from the gallery one picture at a time. Should you have a larger order, we’re happy to deliver them to you via Dropbox upon request. S&H charge will be added to print orders (available only in USA and Canada).
Film is processed in regular cycles. Unlike a conventional processing lab that may do one or two large volume processes in-house, we have 12 small-volume processes. We need to process in batches, mixing fresh chemistry and preparing for each process before moving to the next. Only after all the processing is complete does the negative scanning begin. Once that step is complete, the film acceleration is done as applicable. Once the accelerated films are scanned, the digital enhancement work is done and the image galleries created. Finally, approximately 7-8 weeks after the cycle cutoff date, the galleries are ready to upload. If you place an order after previewing your images, it may take 2-4 weeks to complete.
Work for the next cycle must be received by:
When we are deciding whether to scan or not scan a client’s film we are doing this upon visual inspection of the processed negative. Often times it is difficult to tell what the end quality will be without scanning and enhancing the negative. We therefore will continue with scanning and enhancing any film that we see anything on, whether that be a person, animal, scenery or other object. We do not want to be put into the position of trying to make a subjective determination of what may or may not be important to a person. What is one person’s “trash” is another’s treasure. Really terrible quality films will still be charged for; however, entire blank films will not be charged if you’ve requested the safest possible process i.e. you won’t have to pay for absolutely nothing if your film is unexposed, improperly exposed or completely age fogged and nothing can be salvaged.
When we digitize your film, we are using a high bit depth DSLR for B&W images because we’re often dealing with film that is too dense to scan with a conventional scanner. A quality DSLR is a fine tool for capturing B&W film images, however, it isn’t for capturing color images so for our color images we’re using a Fuji SP3000 lab scanner and for medium and large format we’re using a Creo iQsmart 3. If you order high resolution versions of your pictures from your gallery we will supply you files that are from 2400 to 3600 pixels on the short dimension of the frame. Plenty of resolution for all practical purposes.
Our prints emulate the look of the past with wide borders and glossy paper. The short dimension of the frame will be 4, 5 or 8 inches depending on what size you order. Keep in mind, with vintage film there are many different aspect ratios. Some print onto square paper, some are modest rectangles and some are wide rectangles.
We don’t offer a “process only” service. Too often in the past, we had “process only” films returned to us that a client was unable to scan due to the condition of the film. We, however, were able to get images from the exact same negatives. We now scan all film and provide an online image gallery. You aren’t obligated to download the images from your gallery or order anything from the gallery.
All we deal with is expired film and we have the experience, the equipment and the techniques to salvage image from extremely poor quality negatives:
Example of an image that was over looked by the client after he closely inspected his negative. 
If your negative is in very poor condition after processing, we are very good at salvaging something from them. This customer did not want our on-line previews and simply asked that we copy all of the pictures to CD. Upon receiving his order back and not having access immediately to a computer to view his CD, he inspected the negatives and couldn’t find any images. Not understanding why he was being charged for blank film when Film Rescue doesn’t charge for blank film he called with his concern. We opened our archive folder of his images and while the quality was quite poor we had in fact managed to salvage 13 fully recognizable very old pictures from a roll of film the customer could only see with close inspection, as being entirely blank. Many thanks to Mr. Berg of Seattle Washington for letting us use this picture and tell his story.