FAQ

How does this all work?

We work on a drop off and pay later system.

Firstly, fill in our order form located HERE.

All that’s left is to get your film to us. You can either:

  • Drop off to our shopfront at 77 Torrisdale Street, G42 8PW (24/7)

  • Drop off at one of our drop points around Glasgow (scroll down for locations)

  • Post your film to us

For those dropping off at the lab or drop points, envelopes are provided for your film — you must write your name and phone number on the envelope so we can match your physical to your digital order.

If you’re mailing us film you MUST include your name and number in your parcel. Just jot it down on any old scrap of paper!

You’ll receive a confirmation email when your film’s in the lab, then an email with a payment link when your order’s ready.

After payment, we’ll automatically email a Dropbox link with your scans. Easy peasy!

Please check your junk/spam/promotions folder if you don’t see a payment request and/or image delivery email from us.



I’m not in Glasgow, can I post my film to you?

Absolutely you can. Just fill out an order, pop your name and phone number in a parcel with your film, and post it off to us at:

Gulabi Photo Ltd.

77 Torrisdale Street

Glasgow

G42 8PW

Be sure to use a padded bag, and we recommend sending via a tracked service. If you select to have your negatives posted back to you, we’ll include a free return label for your next order!

How long does it take?

Our current turnarounds from us getting your film in the lab are:

  • 1-2 days for the majority of C41/colour film

  • ±7 working days for black and white film

  • ±7 working days for cine/ECN2 film

Damaged film, obsolete formats, and optional extras add extra time to turnarounds.



Wait, no prints?

We don’t feel that printing every image from a roll of film is economical or environmentally friendly. For that reason all of your images are transferred to you digitally via Dropbox, at a resolution suitable for printing if you wish to do so.

We can however facilitate traditional darkroom and giclée printing through our friends at Gelatin if high quality, bespoke prints are what you’re after!


You’re only open 4 days?

We are open to the public Wednesday to Saturday, 10AM to 4PM. However, we process film 6 days a week so we can focus on getting your orders done, and keeping up a fast service.

We kindly ask you don’t try to enter the lab outside of our opening hours.

Do you develop disposable cameras?

We certainly offer disposable camera developing. Bring the whole camera to us; don’t try to get the film out yourself, they can sometimes give you a wee electric shock!

Do you process ECN2?

Yes, we sure do! Due to the nature of ECN2 cine films and the unviability of small scale processing, we outsource to a professional cine lab, and scan the negatives in-house. Films are processed in true ECN2 chemistry. Turnarounds are ±7 working days from us receiving the film.


I’ve had a disaster and lost all my scans, do you have a backup copy?

You’re in luck! We keep an archive of all customer scans in our on-site backup server. We can retrieve all your order for a fee. Simply purchase this item and wait for a Dropbox link!

What if my film is blank?

We know this awful feeling! We charge £2 per blank C41/colour roll to cover chemicals and labour. For black and white and ECN2 films, we charge for the full developing service (£10) due to the time and labour involved.


Where can I drop off my film?

You can bring your film directly to the lab, or to one of our drop off points around the city. Drop off points are collected every Tuesday morning at approximately 10am. Ensure your film is at the drop points by Monday evening to avoid delays. Please check the opening hours of the drop off locations before visiting.

  • DRAW Art Store (De Courcy’s Arcade, 1st Floor, 5-21 Cresswell Ln, G12 8AA)

Please note: the drop off point at Stills is transported to Glasgow on Thursday evening.

Gulabi? What kind of name is that?

Gulabi is the romanisation of the Hindi-Urdu word for the colour pink (Hindi गुलाबी, Urdu گلابی).


How long do you keep negatives for?

We hold negatives for 6 months from the order completion date before destroying them securely. If you selected “I don’t need my negatives” we hold the negatives for 14 days before destroying them. Please see here for details on negative storage and collection.

Do you process E6?

Unfortunately we don’t. We can cross process E6 film in C41 chemicals, but please be aware that results are quite wild and unpredictable!

I’ve souped my film, can you process it?

We don’t process any film that’s been souped or altered in any way due to the risk of contaminating our chemicals.

What equipment do you use?

We use a Fujifilm FP363SC with genuine Fujifilm CN16 chemicals for colour.

For black and white, we use a Analogico Dev.a with Ilford chemicals. LC-29 or ID-11 is used for most processes, with the exception of high-speed/heavily pushed film for which we use Ilford Microphen. Rare and obscure film is processed with Rodinal.

We do our scanning on specialised film scanners. We currently have 6 Fujifilm SP500s, a Fujifilm SP3000, and a Noritsu HS1800.

For critical and reproduction work of 35mm, 120 and 4x5, we use an Imacon Flextight Precision II.



Argh, I need my film processed YESTERDAY!

We offer a rapid turnaround service, with scans being delivered within 24 hours of us receiving your film. There is a 50% order surcharge added to your invoice.