SCANNING
SCANNING
You’ll receive a download link by email.
Upon unzipping the file you’ll find a folder with your name and project description on it. Inside it the Malvarrosa wizards will have labeled each roll according to their film stock in separate folders, named the photos after the project name and rotated your images to the correct orientation.
Oh, and needless to say if you took the time to number the rolls we’ll definitely deliver them in the order you specified free of charge 😉
Once your rolls arrive at Malvarrosa headquarters you’ll receive a welcome email confirming that everything is going according to plan and we will start working on them.
Upon payment reception our 6 business day countdown will start, after the completion of which…voilà: premium Malvarrosa scans all over your screen <3
We use the legendary Fuji Frontier SP3000 scanners.
These are incredible top-of-the-line Japanese 1990s gems that bring out the whole color palette, dynamic range and earth-shattering skin tones that make us love film.
Each frame is individually color-corrected in an all-manual artisan-like process which is a true labor of love.
At Malvarrosa we’re all experienced film photographers and have ample experience in film scanning and personalized customer service for the best film photographers in the world.
Film’s incredible latitude and malleability allows for all the interpretative gradients that go from (so to speak) correct objective standards to totally personalized and unique scans.
That’s why we believe it’s extremely important that the same member of the Malvarrosa crew that will take care of your scans will be in charge of providing technical feedback regarding each order. In our experience this constant two-way communication with the same Malvarrosa member has proven to be essential in obtaining 100% guaranteed satisfaction premium quality scans.
Let’s build a relationship!
All scans come in printer-ready resolution (300 ppi) and you can choose from the three possible sizes we offer according to the amount of detail you need or how big you wanna print.
M size is approximately 2400 x 3600 pixels, which works great for 20 x 30 cms (roughly A4)
L size is approximately 3000 x 4200 pixels, which prints up to 30 x 42 cms (roughly A3)
XL size is approximately 3500 x 4700 pixels and is used for special large print projects.
It should be noted that since Frontier SP3000 are meant to be hooked up to a printer the scan size actually varies from one film format to another.
Drop us a line if you are really interested in knowing more about the actual scan ratios that Fuji worked out, though we can’t promise that you won’t end up with a headache after our explanation 😛
Awesome! That’s precisely what we’re specialized in. Can’t wait to start building a relationship.
Please email us some of your favorite images (yours or otherwise) at magic@malvarrosafilmlab.com letting us know exactly what you love about each image in terms of contrast, brightness, skin tones, warmth/coldness, etc.
Also each and every link to your favorite websites, IG accounts or Pinterest boards that you send us will be thoroughly checked by our color nerds in order to get as close as humanly possible to the look you dreamed when you clicked that shutter-release button.
As of today (launching date being march 2019) the Malvarrosa team, in observance of our strict loyalty to our artisan-inspired philosophy, has decided to postpone a possible rush fee for faster scans.
The team is currently working in optimizing some steps of our magic sprinkling process, but at this very moment we won’t risk not providing 100% premium scans in exchange for one or two days earlier turnaround.
Needless to say we’ll keep you updated whenever we’re ready to give you perfect premium scans with shorter turnarounds, ‘cause we know how much you (or your clients) need to see those beautiful images ^_^
Definitely! Just tick the TIFF code on our online order managing platform and add an extra 50% to the regular cost and you’ll be all set.
Oh, and a classic question. Regarding bits: as you probably know the Fuji Frontier SP3000s are absolutely classic gems and hence only deliver the older 8 bit TIFF files. Still pretty great if you really need that extra detail and malleability.
DEVELOPING
At Malvarrosa we offer color, black & white, slide and motion picture film developing brought to you using only the freshest daily-checked chemicals and state-of-the-art dip & dunk technology.
As the source of every possible detail that your work will convey the actual negative is of the utmost importance. Our daily quality controls ensure that the incredible properties that make us love film will stay consistent through every roll and every project.
Our dip & dunk processing guarantees that your precious film will never come into contact with anything other than fresh chemicals or our loving gloved hands. That’s right, that means no rollers can ever scratch your negatives plus you can benefit from time-based pushing (more info on the next question).
Precisely because we are seasoned and passionate film photographers we know you deserve only the best developing.
Literally your film just needs to stay inside our developing time for longer (or shorter in case of the less frequent pulling) for each step you decide to push. That slightly alters the logistics and working routines at the lab, hence the extra fee, which is a set amount for pushing-pulling in each type of processing regardless of how many steps you choose. Yup, we charge the same for that Fuji 400H +1 as we do for a Fuji 400H +3 😉
Some labs use temperature pushing, meaning that an extra degree Celsius is added for each step pushed, which is a method that neither Fuji nor Kodak’s official services vouch for in the case of color processing and that can be rather trial-and-error-like.
Instead we use the official pushing time tables provided by the best film vendors and just let those beautiful negatives of yours soak for a little longer in our magic-generating chemicals.
Yup. You name it: 110, 120, 220, half-frame, 35mm…
If you have a super rare film format make sure you email us and we’ll work it out.
Yeah, we know. Most of the times all those letters and numbers don’t really help in clarifying the processing that actually takes place, but there’s some serious science going on behind the scenes, hence all the technical babble.
Still, here’s a little walkthrough:
C41 = color negative processing. Yeah, the ones with the orange negatives mask.
E6 = slide film. Literally why we find “slide show” on our iPhoto galleries or PowerPoint presentations, since individually mounted slides used to be displayed in anything from the average family living room to top colleges around the world by means of slide projectors. No orange mask on these babies, meaning the slide reflects the actual color of the scene you shot. Only drawback is that you’ll have to meter like a freakin’ boss, since latitude is way narrower than C41’s.
BW or B&W = short for black and white. Easy peasy.
ECN-2 = motion picture color film. This is literally the film used for most Hollywood movies that you love. It’s relatively easy to get in bulk if you know how to spool it into 35mm canister and there’s also some small retailers that carry it. The film has an opaque dark layer on it meant for halo minimization called “rem jet” that needs to be removed before processing. The chemical process is thus a little more convoluted and pricy, but if you’re reading this we guess you really love this film or wanna give it a try, so go for it!
SHIPPING
We recommend using small cardboard boxes and tightly placing the film rolls inside them.
Some clients use foam, bubble-warp or newspaper so that your film rolls are not dancing around the box all along. Foamed envelopes also work really well.
Just make sure to include some candy and/or chocolate if you really need the special Malvarrosa care pack hahaha.
Regular mail is totally fine, but in our experience private couriers are unbelievably reliable and quite fast from most parts of the world.
Just make sure that whichever shipping method you choose gives you a tracking number. It makes the whole process so much easier.
Meh… A completely marginal event in our experience.
If you wanna be extra careful about it you can even download a “Film. Please do not X-ray” banner here and stick it onto your package, but really… no big deal.
For your convenience we store your cut and sleeved negatives for a year, cutting in on those unnecessary shipping costs of getting your negs back each and every time if you don’t actually need them.
After a year goes by we’ll email you regarding your preferred address and shipping method and off they go! Oh, and if you really need those negatives right after we scan them let us know and we’ll ship them immediately.
No big deal here. We work with film photographers from all over the world on a daily basis.
If you wanna make things easier just make sure that on the customs declaration that you usually need to fill in for the shipping you declare something like 20€. It’s film you shot, so the value need not be the money that the rolls would have cost on the market, and it just makes it so much easier to clear through customs.
Even in the unlikely event of a random customs check we usually get a hold of the package pretty easily, and if any time is lost in customs we’ll make sure we compensate you in shorter turn around time for your scans.
PAYMENT
Regardless of your choice of payment method you’ll only get charged once your film arrives at Malvarrosa HQs and we check that the rolls that arrive match exactly what your order summary says.
Only then will you receive your bill and payment order. Easy, huh?
We work with most credit card companies, PayPal and bank transfer.
If you choose bank transfer as your payment method it will speed things up a lot (meaning you getting your scans earlier) if you send us an email with a copy of your bank’s receipt of the transfer. That way we can start working on your scans right away regardless of how many days the transaction actually takes to become effective.
Many clients love PayPal so we decided to offer that option even though credit card and bank transfer are way more convenient for us.
PayPal charges the recipient a 4% fee for every transaction, so the PayPal fee will be added to the total cost of your order on the final step of the process if you choose this payment method.
MISCELLANEOUS
Usually it’s no big deal, but there’s some common sense stuff that will make things so much easier for you.
Just remember: don’t place your film rolls in your check-in luggage, ‘cause that’s the one that gets scanned really hard by airport security before they go into the plane.
Always carry them in your carry-on luggage, because those X-ray scanners won’t do any harm to your rolls.
Of course, if you still wanna get extra cautious you can try to get your film hand-checked, but then make sure you arrive a couple hours earlier to the airport. But really, go for the carry-on luggage and you’ll be fine.
Hmmmm the three most common options:
a) Did you take into consideration while estimating your turnaround time that weekends and national holidays don’t count as workdays?
b) Have you checked your payment date? As you know turnaround starts counting from the next day after your payment is done.
c) Have you checked your SPAM folder? Pretty lame, but if you’re a first time client our beautiful email with all those gorgeous scans and loving personalized feedbacks might be lying on your SPAM folder unopened.
If neither of the previous options apply please drop us a line. Chances are you’ll receive your scans in a couple hours. We know how painful the wait can be… but it’s sooooo worth it 😉
So IVA is the 21% added value tax we have here in Spain. Good news for many of you is that if you´re a professional working inside Europe and have a VAT number by just including it while you place your order you won’t be charged for it.
If you’re from outside the European Union you don’t even need a VAT number to get rid of Spanish IVA, just indicate your current residence.
For Spanish clients (but why would you be reading the FAQs in English?!) you’ll get IVA charged but we can include your CIF or NIF number on the receipt in case you wanna deduct it later in your trimonthly tax returns.
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