You’ve probably noticed that – unlike most photo labs in the world – we don’t offer a ‘Scans + Prints’ option on our lab development pages. And there is a very good reason for that!
The minilab process most in-use today was created at the back end of last century, when scanning computers and software made it very cheap for businesses to print images at the same time as they scanned the negatives. This was a really exciting innovation at the time, as it meant you could get cheap – and fast – prints of your film photography from the local high street store!
However it also meant that, as a customer, you had to choose whether you wanted an envelope of prints before you’d seen whether your photos had come out as desired. You also couldn’t pick-and-choose which images to print, it was everything or nothing. Definitely not ideal but the best that the 90s could offer.
Over the past two decades the quality of scans and the ability for labs to deliver your scans electronically has improved dramatically – and yet the default setting was still to ask folks whether or not they wanted prints upfront?
It didn’t make sense to us, so we’ve built something new. We won’t ask you to purchase prints until after you’ve seen the scans, but you’ll still receive the exciting packet of prints back with your negatives 🎉
So how does Analogue Wonderland print from my negatives?
1. Order film development and scans through Analogue Wonderland as usual: 35mm, 120, disposables or 110; colour, slide, or B&W.
2. After the lab has received and processed your images you will receive a link to view your scans inside your secure Customer Account
3. Review all your images, select which ones you’d like to be printed… and that’s it!
*If you order prints within a week of receiving the scans then they will be sent at no extra postage cost (via a unique discount code). However your scans will remain in your Customer Account for easy re-order at any time, with a flat £2 delivery fee.
This means that if you decide to get prints later – or maybe you love a print so much you want a couple of extra copies – then it’s super easy to log in and order more.
The system in action!
What are the benefits?
♻️ Better for the environment. Only print the photos you want! No waste of ink, energy, paper, or shipping costs.
🖼️ Higher quality prints. The editing team have the opportunity to fine-tune the colour, contrast and crop of the image BEFORE sending it to the printer
👍🏼 Just as convenient. No requirement to download, change, and re-upload the images. Simply select your favourites directly from the online photo album!
Most importantly we hope that this change encourages photographers to generate more prints of the images that they’re proud of – spreading the joy of analogue image-making without unnecessary waste!
What are the costs?
It depends on the size of the prints and the volume ordered.
Individual prints start at £0.25 for a single 6×4” but the more you choose the lower the cost:
This means that if you DO want the whole set of 36 images printed in 6×4” then it will only cost you just £5.40.
The discount also works if you mix-and-match across different sizes and finishes – and even across different rolls of film and albums inside your Photos section.
How does the free shipping for recent scans work?
Whenever you receive your scans you will get an unique discount code in the same email. This will give you FREE shipping on any prints ordered within the next week – dispatched in the same envelope as your negatives.
If you don’t want prints at the time then that’s obviously not a problem – the code will expire after a week and your negatives will be shipped back to you as usual.
Happy Shooting and enjoy your photography!
– the full AW team
Read the full article here
