shipping film

[Kurt M.]

Hi all,
in my excitement about someone coming to visit me in Europe, so of course, I went crazy buying film (sheet and roll film)...turns out, that one should not put film into the checked baggage, and the film may be too much to carry on.
So, my question is, how safe is it to send film via UPS/USPS/Fedex?
i know that BHphoto sends film and other stuff internationally, maybe they have an arrangement that their boxes are NOT xrayed?
anyone have some experience with shipping film?
thanks

Kurt

[eddie]

i ship it all over the world. no problem.

[Kurt M.]

Hi Eddie, do you take any precautions, or none at all?
the film I plan to ship is either iso 25 to 400 (most b/w)

thanks for the comforting news!

[Joanna Carter]

How do you think Fuji film, made in Japan, gets to the US, the UK and Europe?

[Patrick Dixon]

They use diplomatic bags and it passes through customs without checks or x-ray.

[eddie]

Hi Eddie, do you take any precautions, or none at all?
the film I plan to ship is either iso 25 to 400 (most b/w)

thanks for the comforting news!


i just ship it. i have send exposed film to my lab in thailand, they process it scan it and send it back. no worries i have done this with several hundred rolls of 120.

i have shipping various film up to 800 asa color and 1600 B&W to and from many placing in SE Asia, europe, china, peru, USA and canada. never had a problem.

i even had some in my checked bags on 4 different flights adn they came out fine (do not risk it. they may have not x rayed my bag. it happened for various reasons)
eddie

[David Woods]

I receive film from overseas all the time, never had an issue, if B&H or Bagder or any other seller thought there would be a claim, I am sure they would not sell.
David

[ki6mf]

checked baggage is x rayed by the strongest X Ray machines hand carry with a request for hand inspection is the best solution other than purchase film locally. if you shoot B&W and use Ilford you have been able to contact them in the past and arrange for shipment to a retail outlet at your destination. In the USA/Canada buy locally and if possible ship via ground transportation well in advance.

[rguinter]

I ship my film ahead of time by UPS ground transportation whenever possible. But I have not shipped internationally. I have purchased film from sellers in Europe and they ship to me with "Photography Film. Do Not X-ray" stickers on the package. So far no problems with this method either.

When travelling by airline I carry-on film and ask for hand inspection. So far only Toronto airport has refused. In that case I put it all in a separate plastic container and send it through the x-ray. So far no problems with that either. I do not put the film in with my MF and LF cameras. These items attract a lot of attention and get extended x-ray by the operator.

So far I've been lucky and no damages. Bob G.

[rguinter]

P.S. Once a film has gone through the security x-ray scanner once, I do not take it again on subsequent flights. I mark the package x-rayed, put it back in my refrigerator, and then use it only for local work. So I have not had any film x-rayed more than once. Bob G.

[Greg Blank]

The most verifiably bad way of shipping is the USPS, they xray from point to point looking for and hoping to kill Anthrax.

If you ship UPS ground you risk getting the film heat exposed rather than xrayed. The best ways to ship are air service. Between countries I have no experience. Cross country "USA" Fedex using the company account 3 day I have no issues.



Hi all,
in my excitement about someone coming to visit me in Europe, so of course, I went crazy buying film (sheet and roll film)...turns out, that one should not put film into the checked baggage, and the film may be too much to carry on.
So, my question is, how safe is it to send film via UPS/USPS/Fedex?
i know that BHphoto sends film and other stuff internationally, maybe they have an arrangement that their boxes are NOT xrayed?
anyone have some experience with shipping film?
thanks

Kurt

[Filmnut]

I've heard conflicting stories about this, some have said that air mail only is x-rayed if it is air mailed, but not if its' surface. I really don't know, but I have bought and sold film and always shipped Post Office, and to date, I've not had a problem.
Keith

[Kurt M.]

thank you all for your replies! I will ask my friend to bring part of the film in a separate bag to be visual inspected, and send some of the other by fedex/ups. the film is coming to the Netherlands (from the US). I may be able to send some via diplomatic mail, but more than likely not
thanks again!

[Kurt M.]

thank you all for your replies! I will ask my friend to bring part of the film in a separate bag to be visual inspected, and send some of the other by fedex/ups. the film is coming to the Netherlands (from the US). I may be able to send some via diplomatic mail, but more than likely not
thanks again!

[GPS]

In this thread and similar ones, one can see the generation renewal on this forum. The newcomers think that their questions are original ones while the old timers know, that this has been discussed ad nauseum in former threads.
Kurt, a quick check in the archives of this forum will give you answers to your heart delight...

[Patrick Dixon]

And aviation security and scanning technology has remained identical since the dawn of photography ...

[Kurt M.]

Hi GPS,
no, I didn't think that my question had not been asked before. HOwever, i was seeing so much conflicting info (some say never ship, some say always ship...) and I thought I would ask people for their experience, but you are right, I should have checked

[GPS]

No harm is done, Kurt, but often you get richer answers from the archive as people who answered it once don't care to enter into discussions about the same topic again.

[Steve Gledhill]

How do you think Fuji film, made in Japan, gets to the US, the UK and Europe?

Joanna,

Whilst manufacturers shipments of film are obviously not xrayed, the same cannot be said with any certainty of packages shipped by the the likes of us. In a previous post on this http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showpost.php?p=297462&postcount=40 I referred to being told by the shipper that they would not guarantee my package would not be xrayed. The reasons for that should be obvious to all.

General experience may well indicate that it's safe to send film by regular post - but that's no guarantee it won't be xrayed. You have to make a personal assessment of the risk and weigh that against the cost and disappointment and distress if all your film is ruined. Personally, I take mine as carry on which is so far so good - but that too has some risk. But whilst it's in my possession - it won't get "lost in the post".

[GPS]

How do you think Fuji film, made in Japan, gets to the US, the UK and Europe?

...the UK and Europe?? How Brittish...:)

[Joanna Carter]

...the UK and Europe?? How Brittish...:)
Britain is in the position of having signed the European treaty but not joining the Euro currency. We have only, theoretically, been "European" since 1973 but, in that time, we have not adopted the Euro, have not adopted metric measures and, still think that all other Europeans should speak English and serve egg and chips in all their cafés and drink until we fall down drunk. Not my personal view, as I intend to move to a more "civilised" part of Europe in a couple of years.

Oh, and we still insist on driving on the other side of the road :)

[GPS]

...
Not my personal view, as I intend to move to a more "civilised" part of Europe in a couple of years.

...

Mais bien sûr, Le Languedoc vous attend...:)

[Joanna Carter]

Mais bien sûr, Le Languedoc vous attend...:)
Tu habites là, ou tu le connais ?

[GPS]

Je le connais - avec sa flore des orchidées sauvages...

[Dirk Rösler]

How do you think Fuji film, made in Japan, gets to the US, the UK and Europe?

Well, not shipped in small packages via the postal service I'd think. Probably not even by air.

[ki6mf]

I did mistakenly ship HP5 B&W in baggage and shot some test film compared to non X Rayed film. Same ISO development times exposure etc. The edge of the X Ray exposed film was 1-2 stops denser than non X Rayed film. I did not check with a densitometer and the difference was clear. Not a scientific test and it did show what issues will occur!

[Dirk Rösler]

Baggage is not "shipping" and we know by now to not put film in checked baggage. I have shipped hundreds, perhaps thousands of ASA 1600 films without issues. There are 100 other, more likely ways to ruin your film… :)

[Greg Blank]

Yes they would send via Ocean vessel or Cargo Airplane either or, with special considerations made in advance. Whoever is thier distributer is making arrangements for sure.



Well, not shipped in small packages via the postal service I'd think. Probably not even by air.

[Wallace_Billingham]

Yes they would send via Ocean vessel or Cargo Airplane either or, with special considerations made in advance. Whoever is thier distributer is making arrangements for sure.

Ilford and Fuji ship all over the world via ship in Refer Cargo Containers so the film stays cold.

This is also the vast majority of goods move around the world. You load up a Cargo Container at your plant, it gets trucked to a port or travels there via rail, then gets loaded on a ship.

[FedexLina]

Hello! This is Fedex Lina. We would be happy to help you with your film shipping needs. May I suggest to go to our website to see if there are any restrictions in sending film out of the country: click
fedex.com
click business solutions tab
click FedEx Global Trade Manager tab
click country profiles tab
click go tab
click origin country
click destination country
This will help you confirm film is available to be delivered to this country. Or you may contact our helpful International customer service at 1 800 247 4747 for additional information. I hope this information is helpful.
Everyone have a wonderful & safe vacation!

[ki6mf]

You can also contact Ilford and see who has film locally. Their web site for this is located here http://www.ilfordphoto.com/wheretobuy/buyilfordsretail.asp

If you ship UPS Ground its not X Rayed though it is checked via sensor, mechanical and canine. I ofter ship un exposed and exposed film with no problem, You can always ask for a hand inspection and carry on film for the trip. Allow extra time for this. I recommend unopened factory sealed cartons of film. then if at all possible process locally

[rguinter]

In this thread and similar ones, one can see the generation renewal on this forum. The newcomers think that their questions are original ones while the old timers know, that this has been discussed ad nauseum in former threads.
Kurt, a quick check in the archives of this forum will give you answers to your heart delight...

Personally I wouldn't be so quick to criticize. Even though a question seems to have been asked before.

Conditions do change without notice and sometimes require rethinking the subject and updated answers.

Another poster suggested that x-ray technology has not changed in airport security since the advent of the machines. I'm no expert but I suspect this answer is "off the cuff" and not likely to be true. I know things have changed dramatically at EWR airport where I fly regularly.

Personally I make reasonable efforts to have my travel films x-rayed as little as possible. That means no sending it in checked bags, asking for hand-inspection on extra sensitive films, and not sending film in plastic totes into the scanner with other items that I know are going to get extra scrutiny under the beam.

All this to me is just common sense for the photography traveler. And continuing to ask the question from time to time can help us all share info and keep abreast of security changes. Bob G.

[Brian Stein]

Another poster suggested that x-ray technology has not changed in airport security since the advent of the machines. I'm no expert but I suspect this answer is "off the cuff" and not likely to be true.

Definitely not true in two ways. Luggage scanning now often uses computed tomography hence the higher radiation doses, and the general admonition never to pack in checked baggage. Carry-on scanning now has rather better dose characteristics than especially 20 years ago, hence the experience many of us have had of happily zipping film through multiple scans without detectable effects.