FAQs

Services & Files

• What's the difference between Pro Scanning and Max Scanning?

  Both services use professional Hasselblad equipment and deliver exhibition-quality results.

  Pro Scanning uses a Hasselblad medium-format camera capture system and is offered at two resolution tiers, giving you flexibility on price and file size.

  Max Scanning uses the Hasselblad FlexTight X5 virtual drum scanner — the highest-fidelity workflow we offer, ideal for exhibition prints, archival masters, and the most demanding professional work.

  See our comparison chart on the Pro Scanning page for resolutions, file sizes, and recommended use cases for each tier.

• What film formats and scanning resolutions (DPI) do you offer?

  We scan everything from 35mm up to 11×14 large format film. Please refer to our comparison chart on the Pro Scanning page for the complete list of supported formats and the DPI we offer for each.

• What files will I receive?

  The standard files our customers receive are 16-bit (48-bit RGB) TIFFs in ProPhoto RGB color space. Upon request, we can also send the RAW files our scanners produce (e.g. .fff files from the Hasselblad FlexTight X5 for our Max Scanning service). If you prefer to do your own inversion for negatives, we can send the original positive files as well.

  For specifics on file sizes per format, see our comparison chart, and use our print size calculator to see how large you'll be able to print your scans.

• How will I receive the scanned files?

  Our default delivery option is a download link valid for 30 days, included in the price. If you'd prefer, you can also purchase an optional USB thumb drive — useful if you have a large number of photos.

Shipping

• Where do you ship?

  We currently ship within the 48 contiguous United States and Canada. If you live in Alaska, Hawaii, or have an APO/FPO address, please contact us — we may be able to accommodate you on a case-by-case basis.

  We're working to launch official support for the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Singapore, and Hong Kong soon. In the meantime, we can often accommodate orders from these regions on a custom basis — just contact us for details. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified when we officially launch in your country (and get a $20 promo code).

• How do I send my photos to you, and can I use my own shipping?

  To ensure consistent service for all our customers, we issue a pre-paid mailing label to everyone sending photos in. This fee is included in your checkout cost. Orders over $99 receive free two-way shipping; orders under $99 use our flat-rate shipping. We don't accept self-shipped packages, since our intake workflow is built around our labels.

• How should I pack my film, slides, or sheet film to mail out?

  For optimal protection during shipping, place film strips and mounted slides in protective sleeves or archival pages, then sandwich them between rigid cardboard before sealing in a padded envelope. Large format sheet film can be safely transported in its original boxes.

• Do I get my original photos and negatives back?

  Yes, absolutely. Once the scanning process is complete, we carefully package your original media and ship it back to you.

Quality & Safety

• What if something happens to my photos?

  We are very careful in handling our customers' photos because we know how valuable they are, and we have an exceptional safety record. However, please be aware that in the unlikely event of damage or loss, as per industry standard, our liability is limited to the value of your scanning service. Full details are in our Terms of Service.

• Do you scan damaged or faded film?

  Yes. While most of our work is for professional photographers shooting on well-preserved modern film, we can also scan film that has faded, shifted in color, or suffered minor physical damage. Results depend on the condition of the original — please contact us with details (and photos if possible) before placing your order so we can advise on what's achievable.

• Can you do color correction, dust removal, or retouching?

  Dust removal is available as an add-on at checkout. For color correction, scratch repair, major retouching, or other custom post-processing work, please contact us — we handle these on a project basis and are happy to provide a quote.

• Do I need to organize or clean my film/photos before sending?

  You do not need to clean them; our scanners have dust-removal technologies. However, we appreciate it if you can group your media by format or size, and remove photos from heavy albums or frames to ensure the safest transport and fastest processing.

• What if I'm not satisfied with the quality of the scans?

  We strive for the highest quality results. If you spot a technical issue with a scan, please contact us within 7 days of receiving your download link. We're happy to review the files and perform a free re-scan if there was a technical error on our end. Full details on the claims process are in our Terms of Service.

Pricing & Clients

• Why is your pricing significantly lower than other labs using the same equipment?

  Most labs charge a premium for drum and high-end medium-format scanning ($35–$100+ per frame) because they treat it as a bespoke, low-volume service. We've optimized our workflow specifically for high-volume digitization. By running our Hasselblad FlexTight and medium-format capture systems continuously with a streamlined process, we deliver the same exhibition-quality results at far more accessible price points.

• Do you offer volume discounts?

  Yes. Our prices are already among the lowest in the industry for this caliber of equipment, and they scale down further with volume. For example, our prices start at $17.99 for the first frame and drop to $5.99 per frame when you scan an entire roll with us. For very large jobs, please contact us for a custom quote.

• Do you take corporate or institutional clients?

  Yes — we regularly work with companies and institutions, including universities, museums, and media companies, to digitize archival collections. We can efficiently accommodate requirements like metadata insertion and caption transcription. Please refer to our Archival Scanning page or contact us directly for a quote.

Privacy & Payment

• Who owns the copyright to my scanned images, and how do you handle privacy?

  You retain 100% ownership and copyright of all your images. We treat your photos as confidential — we will never share, publish, or use your images for marketing or any other purpose without your explicit written permission. Files are stored on encrypted infrastructure during processing, and access is limited to the team members handling your order. For full details, see our Privacy Policy.

• What payment methods do you accept?

  We accept all major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal. Payment is processed securely at the time of checkout.