Is it possible to tell if 35mm film has been printed?

Question

Is there a way to find out if Kodak 200 Gold canisters have been printed (like Advantix)? Or maybe, they just didn't return the canisters – only negatives?

Answer 1

Answering the literal question, while not likely what was wanted, may be interesting as well: pulling negatives through an enlarger may leave tiny abrasion tracks near the perforations which occur after the negative has been fixated. It's not a surefire criterion (and depends on the equipment used), but there is some correlation. More of a forensic extra criterion than anything you'd want to really depend on.

Answer 2

Or maybe, they just didn't return the canisters- only negatives?

It's very rare, but some labs did put the 35mm negatives back in the cassette after processing. You'd have to have marked the cassette or fish out the leader to see if it had been developed. You could go your entire life without ever seeing a 35mm cassette with developed film inside. (I've seen two. Those who state it doesn't happen have likely seen none.)

The usual practice is to cut the negatives into strips with four frames, which are returned along with the prints, unless the customer requests otherwise. So you can almost always assume that film in a 35mm cassette has not been developed.

Is there a way to find out if Kodak 200 Gold canisters have been printed (like the Advantix)?

If you have the prints, you know the negatives had been printed. Otherwise, there's no way to know.

Commercial labs generally provide prints when developing film, unless the customer requests otherwise. So unless you request "develop only", commercially processed negatives were most likely printed.

pulling negatives through an enlarger may leave tiny abrasion tracks near the perforations which occur after the negative has been fixated. – user85420

Such abrasions may not be different from what would be expected from pulling film through an automated developer or scanner carrier. While you may be able to tell that the film had been pulled through something, you still won't know whether it had been printed. It could have been put in an enlarger then removed without having been printed.

Answer 3

Semantics. Beth i believe you mean to say - Is it possible to tell if 35mm film has been developed ? ( see note at end of answer )

I have rolls of 35mm film in the freezer that have been exposed but not developed, the film has been rewound back into the canister. Because i know that i always rewind my film back completely i know that is has been exposed and because it is in the canister it has not been developed. Some have the leader out but have notes stating to what frame it was exposed.

There are times when i may be in the middle of a roll of film and i want to use a different ASA film but i am not done with the roll that is currently in my camera. I rewind the film so that the leader is still out of the canister, i then write a note stating the roll was exposed to frame 19 and tape it to the canister or put in the container with the canister so when i want to continue shooting that roll of film i know i need to load the film and then, with the lens cap on and in a dark room fire the shutter until i get to frame 21. I can then shoot the rest of the roll.

Some cameras that have auto or motorized rewind that have the option to set the rewind function to rewind the film but leave the leader out as if it were a new roll.

Hypothetical situation: You shoot a roll of film and the camera is set to rewind the film but leave the leader out. You then put the roll in your camera bag but forget to note on it that it was exposed. Two weeks later you go to take some photos and you reach in your bag and pull out that roll of film you already shot but its leader is still out and you do not know if it was exposed or not. There is no way you can know if it was exposed just by looking at the canister. If you want to know for sure so that you do not double expose over something important You can do a clip test. In the darkroom ( in complete darkness ) pull out about 7 inches of the film and cut it off, wind it onto a real and develop as normal. If it was shot there should be some kind of image on it. If it as not shot it will have no image and be clear with no indication of frame borders.

I have negatives that i have made prints from dozens of times and there is no way to know if prints have been made from them by just looking at them. Unless you can see the prints ( or notes that say you printed from a negative ) there is no way to know if a print has been made from any kind of negative as the negative is not altered in any way by making a print from it.

Answer 4

Is there a way to find out if the Kodak 200 Gold canisters have been printed (like the Advantix)?

Kodak Gold is a 35mm film that is treated differently than APS films. Whereas APS film starts in the can, is exposed, rewound into the can, processed, put back into the can, then returned to you...

35mm film starts in the can, is exposed, rewound into the can, the can is then discarded in processing and you get the developed negs back with any prints that you ordered.

If you have a can of Kodak Gold that still has the film leader sticking out, it's probable that it has never been exposed. That being said, it's still possible. As you don't know the history, you should treat this as if it has been exposed. There's no harm and very little cash lost in processing it.

If the film is fully in the can, it has been exposed but not processed. It wouldn't hurt to get it processed now but keep in mind that film deteriorates over time. Some films hold onto the latent image very well...and others, not so much. You can get these processed but don't expect miracles.

If you're holding developed negatives, then they've been processed. There is no way to know whether or not prints were made along with the development. The SOP for department store processing would have been to create 4"x6" prints for every frame...but many labs offer the buyer the ability to select what they want (which includes not getting any prints at all).

Answer 5

Kodak Gold 200 is regular 35mm film. If it was developed the canister, alternately called a cartridge or cassette, would not normally have been returned. It would certainly not have any developed film inside. Negative strips would have been packaged flat, usually trimmed to about 4 frames per strip, and placed in either a paper envelope or in clear plastic sleeves.

If you have 35mm film still in the cartridge, it is either unexposed, undeveloped, or a combination of both (part of the roll may have been shot, then removed with the intent to go back later and expose the rest). If there is no leader sticking out, it is most likely exposed but not developed. If there is a leader sticking out, it's less clear, as some cameras/photographers took care not to wind the leader all the way back into the film cartridge when rewinding a roll.

The only way to find out if film has been exposed is to develop it. Of course if it was unexposed, once it has been developed it is no longer usable.