Contact Sheet From 35mm negatives

[Submariner1]

Hi!

I have approximately 50 rolls of processed negatives from the last 30 years that I never printed and I am wondering if anyone knows of a cost-effective way to make contact sheets from the film. Are there film processing labs that still produce contact sheets without scanning the film? I would prefer that since labs in my area charge $8/roll to scan then I would need to arrange and print....any help here would be appreciated. I do not own any film processing equipment so I would like to just mail my negatives to a lab and have them do the work.

Thanks

Andre

 

[480sparky]

Ask the lab you send your negs to.

 

[vimwiz]

Colour or Black and White? If the latter, you can make contact sheets fairly easily at home. (Colour is a lot more compliated though, do not reccomend trying that yourself.)

For 50 rolls of black and white, thats probably the best way - labs charge a fortune.

Btw nearly all labs will scan - virtually none print optochemically any more

 

[Josh66]

If all you want to do is see which ones are worth printing, you could buy a light table for a pretty reasonable price.

Porta-Trace / Gagne 10 x 12" Light Box 1012-2C B&H Photo

 

[vimwiz]

If all you want to do is see which ones are worth printing, you could buy a light table for a pretty reasonable price.

Porta-Trace / Gagne 10 x 12" Light Box 1012-2C B&H Photo

Yeah, a lupe is cheap too (I use a lupe to check the grain and focus on negs i process)

 

[KmH]

Or you could get a loupe. lol

SE Photographer Loupe, 7/8" DIA Lens, Power 15X

 

[compur]

Hi!

I have approximately 50 rolls of processed negatives from the last 30 years that I never printed and I am wondering if anyone knows of a cost-effective way to make contact sheets from the film. Are there film processing labs that still produce contact sheets without scanning the film? I would prefer that since labs in my area charge $8/roll to scan then I would need to arrange and print....any help here would be appreciated. I do not own any film processing equipment so I would like to just mail my negatives to a lab and have them do the work.

Thanks

Andre

Your question isn't completely clear to me but, yes, there are labs that can print traditional (i.e., non-digital) contact sheets but they aren't cheap.

The most cost effective way would probably be to get them scanned. Or, you could buy/borrow a scanner and do it yourself.