Q: I am not local, do you accept work by mail, UPS, or FEDEX?
A: We certainly do. We ask that you please use a carrier that allows tracking and insurability.

Q: Do you have pre-paid mailers?
A: No we do not. Pack your job in a container that will allow for some rough handling in route to us. Over the years we have seen some pretty abused packages arrive, but the contents were fine. You can download some helpful order forms, for black & white print orders (PDF) or for digital print orders (PDF).

Q: Can you make black and white prints from color negatives?
A: Yes we can. Although to get the best black and white print, there is nothing like a well exposed black and white negative. There is no extra charge to print a black and white from a color negative.

Q: Do you accept negatives in "crop cards"?
A: We recommend the negative either sleeved in a glassine or print file. If a negative is received in a "crop card", we must remove it to use it in our enlargers. This causes excessive handling and adds time to your order. If critical cropping is required, please mark up a proof, or describe how you would like it cropped in detail (often only a few words are needed). You can download a helpful order form for black & white print orders (PDF).

Q: What paper surface is recommended for hand coloring?
A: We suggest satin surface for RC prints, and flat matte for fiber-based prints. We need to know prior to starting the prints if it will be hand colored, so that we will adjust our printing to compensate.

Q: What ISOs do you suggest for current black and white films?
A: That's a big question that needs to be discussed with one of our technicians prior to the shoot. Please contact us.

Q: Can you ship my completed job back to me?
A: Yes we can. We ship via UPS, FEDEX, local messenger, or US MAIL. Shipping charges will be added to your job invoice unless you provide us with your valid shipper account number. Our current preferred shipping method is UPS Ground, for a flat rate of $10.50.

Q: What is a gelatin silver print?
A: This term refers to traditionally made black and white prints, with a suspension of silver salts in a gelatin base, exposed to light, and then developed in chemistry. Prints can be either resin-coated or fiber-based, but this term more commonly refers to fiber-based prints.

Q: I have some old black and white negatives--what should I do with them?
A: We're happy to work with old negatives, and are one of the few labs in the area who can readily do so. If you have a lot of them, you can have contact sheets made of your negatives to see what you've got, and then choose which to enlarge. We can work with negatives of many discontinued formats in addition to current ones, and we can also make contact prints from glass plate negatives.

Q: I have an old family picture that's damaged--can you fix it?
A: While we can't fix your original, we can do a repair digitally after scanning (digitizing) the original. For more information about your particular circumstances, please give us a call to arrange an estimate in person so we can give you individual attention. Go to our digital retouching section

Q: Can you print on other paper or use special paper developer?
A: We'd be happy to talk with you about your needs on a case-by-case basis. It depends on a lot of factors including cost to you, timeline, and our workload already in-house.

Q: What forms of payment do you take?
A: We accept all major credit cards, checks, cash, PayPal, or pre-approved NET30 accounts.