Next Day Air for exposed film

Bill DiPietra · November 9, 2014

Hi everyone. I will be sending at least one 400ft. roll of 7219 to FotoKem on Monday and I'd like to get it out there as fast as possible so that I can get it back all the faster.

I'm sure we've all seen the Kodak warnings when you purchase film: "WARNING: X-Rays from Next Day Air May Damage Film." I'd just like to know if anyone has experienced any such problems. I'm in the middle of a shoot and ruined film is the last thing I need.

Thanks.

Jeff L'Heureux · November 9, 2014

I would personally ship it FedEx ground across the country before risking putting it on a plane, and once its developed then I'd overnight it. The extra wait would be worth the security of knowing it won't come near an x-ray at an airport by any chance.

If you're worried about developing the footage quickly, I kept cans of exposed 16mm in my fridge for over 6 months before developing them, and there was no difference between that footage and other footage that was developed the day after it was shot.

Bill DiPietra · November 9, 2014

I would personally ship it FedEx ground across the country before risking putting it on a plane, and once its developed then I'd overnight it. The extra wait would be worth the security of knowing it won't come near an x-ray at an airport by any chance.

If you're worried about developing the footage quickly, I kept cans of exposed 16mm in my fridge for over 6 months before developing them, and there was no difference between that footage and other footage that was developed the day after it was shot.

It's not a question of a difference in quality between shooting & developing. I simply need to see the results as soon as possible. Yes, going ground initially is always ideal, but it takes too long if you need results back quickly.

I've sent film out there using UPS 2-day delivery before, so my question was really if there is any difference in the processes that are used at the airports when using Next Day Air (if anyone knows.) If not, Next Day should be as safe as 2-day, no?

Stuart Brereton · November 9, 2014

A single X ray is unlikely to be a problem, it's repeated exposure that causes the damage.

Chris Elardo · November 10, 2014

Is there a particular reason you have to send it to Fotokem? There are plenty of labs closer to you...

Kenny N Suleimanagich · November 10, 2014

I've shipped next-day with the DO NOT XRAY stickers and had no issues. According to a FedEx rep on the phone they don't x-ray. I would call Kodak and see what they ship with for next-day

Chris Elardo · November 10, 2014

Same here. I've sent all my film Fed Ex from Arizona to Colorlab in Maryland several times with the appropriate labels and have never had any issues at all.

David Cunningham · November 10, 2014

Ditto... USPS Priority Mail all the time without issue.

Bill DiPietra · November 10, 2014

Ditto... USPS Priority Mail all the time without issue.

Thanks guys. I spoke to the gentleman at my local UPS outlet and he said that since I've sent it 3-Day Select before and had no issues, it should be fine since Next Day Air uses exactly the same process. So I went with it (and the box was covered in "Do Not X-Ray" labels.)

Thanks again!

Bill DiPietra · November 10, 2014

Is there a particular reason you have to send it to Fotokem? There are plenty of labs closer to you...

Hi Chris. This is true, but I decided to give FotoKem a try a while ago and I got hooked with their quality & customer service. Pretty much the same prices (for film processing & printing at least) as labs on the East Coast.

Karl Lee · November 24, 2014

If it makes you feel any better, Bill, just keep in mind that Kodak offers UPS air services for delivery of raw stock (my last couple of orders have been shipped UPS 2nd day air), so I'd say that if Kodak deems UPS air service safe for delivery of their raw stock, then you should be ok. I doubt Kodak film shipments get any preferential treatment once they're picked up and in transit, so putting some type of "DO NOT X-RAY" indication on the box, just as Kodak applies the sticker, should be sufficient.

FYI, Kodak has posted a .pdf of their x-ray label which is available for anyone to download and print. You can download it here.

Incidentally, tomorrow I'm sending off some S16 for processing and transfer which passed through airport carry-on x-ray twice...once on the way out, and once on the way back home. Judging from the information I gathered from a few other threads prior to my trip, I should be ok, as apparently the carry-on x-rays aren't as powerful as the carry-on x-ray machines, but the "what if" is still in the back of my mind :)

On a related note, does anyone know if FedEx and UPS x-ray their air cargo? I'd imagine that USPS deliveries might be a little more susceptible to x-ray since USPS uses passenger airlines to transport some of their mail, but since FedEx and UPS have their own fleet of cargo planes, I'd be interested to know if they do x-ray their air cargo.

Bill DiPietra · November 24, 2014

If it makes you feel any better, Bill, just keep in mind that Kodak offers UPS air services for delivery of raw stock (my last couple of orders have been shipped UPS 2nd day air), so I'd say that if Kodak deems UPS air service safe for delivery of their raw stock, then you should be ok. I doubt Kodak film shipments get any preferential treatment once they're picked up and in transit, so putting some type of "DO NOT X-RAY" indication on the box, just as Kodak applies the sticker, should be sufficient.

FYI, Kodak has posted a .pdf of their x-ray label which is available for anyone to download and print. You can download it here.

Incidentally, tomorrow I'm sending off some S16 for processing and transfer which passed through airport carry-on x-ray twice...once on the way out, and once on the way back home. Judging from the information I gathered from a few other threads prior to my trip, I should be ok, as apparently the carry-on x-rays aren't as powerful as the carry-on x-ray machines, but the "what if" is still in the back of my mind :)

On a related note, does anyone know if FedEx and UPS x-ray their air cargo? I'd imagine that USPS deliveries might be a little more susceptible to x-ray since USPS uses passenger airlines to transport some of their mail, but since FedEx and UPS have their own fleet of cargo planes, I'd be interested to know if they do x-ray their air cargo.

On the Kodak website, Kodak states that, as far as they know, UPS & FedEx do not x-ray. With that said, I spoke to a rep at my local UPS store and asked this exact question. He said he believes they do ever since a UPS cargo plane exploded last year. He was about to call when I asked if they use the same process for 3-day select and he said they do. I'd used that service before and it came back fine so I went with Next Day.

Everything came back fine this time too.