5 Services You Might Not Know our Photolab Offers

It probably isn’t surprising to know our Photolab can print photos. After all, we’ve been printing your photos (or your parents’ or your grandparents’) for over 35 years. But with the help of our skilled Photolab technicians, we can do a whole lot more than that. (Please verify turnaround times by calling your local Photolab)

From film processing and scanning, to digital restoration and image inspection, here are 5 services you may not know our Photolab offers:

1. C41 film processing at all locations

If you’ve been shooting on film for a long time now, you’ll have noticed it’s gotten harder and harder to find a photolab to process your film. Many labs no longer offer this service due to the increasing popularity of digital photography. But we wholeheartedly believe that film photography still has a place alongside digital. That’s why we offer C41 film processing at all of our London Drugs Photolab locations, which includes 35mm, 110, 126 and APS. Slide film photographers, don’t worry, we have you covered too. We also offer quality E-6 slide film processing. So bring in your slide film, C41 film, pinhole and disposable cameras, and we’ll help process them all for you!

Of course, we won’t just process your film. We’ll print it too. Choose from glossy or pearl print surfaces, both of which are printed using patented inks and the highest-resolution printing in the industry, resulting in excellent definition in your images and rich colour, no matter the type of film source.

Often, we can process your film in just one hour. For exact turnaround times, contact your local London Drugs Photolab.

2. Film negative and slide scanning

Beyond processing your film and slides, we can also digitize your film for extra peace of mind. We can scan your film negatives and slides, putting them onto a CD, DVD or USB drive for you.

Once the film is digitized, your files can also be uploaded to a London Drugs Photolab account, so that you can print everything from enlargements to creative products using your photos.

3. Image Inspection

Every time you order prints from our Photolab, our dedicated technicians inspect every image and correct as needed. This can include lightening, darkening and even correcting for colour shift. You can rest easy when you bring your photos to us: we guarantee satisfaction on every print.

4. Photo Scanning Box Service

Our newest service makes the process of digitizing your old photos and documents infinitely easier and faster. Order one of our Photo Scanning Boxes, pick it up in-store, and take it home to fill it with up to 800 documents and photos (up to 8.5”x11” in size). Then just bring it back to us in-store, where we’ll digitize everything for you. Once we’re done, all you have to do is pick up your original photos, along with the USB drive we’ve put the digital copies on!

We recommend using this service to preserve your personal photos and documents, to help avoid degradation as well as damage due to accident or disaster.

5. Digital Restoration

If precious photos of yours have been damaged, either due to the passage of time, or because of a flood, fire or other disaster, we may be able to help restore them to their former glory. Our Photolab technicians can digitally edit each individual image to bring back a little colour worn by dust and heat, fill in scratches, or restore parts of an image destroyed by mud and water damage. You’d be amazed at what we’re able to restore!

Once we’ve digitally restored your image, consider making duplicate digital and print copies so that you can avoid damage or loss in the future.

 

Curious to learn more about one of the services we’ve shared above? Pop into your local London Drugs Photolab and chat with a technician about how we can help with your photos!

Celebrate World Photo Day by Sharing the Power of Photography

This August 19th on World Photo Day, we will be celebrating an incredible 179 years of photography!

Photography has come a long way in 179 years

In 1839, the Daguerreotype was invented by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre—the first commercially successful photographic process. Each daguerreotype was a one-of-a-kind image on a silver-plated sheet of copper. Things have certainly changed a great deal since then!

With advancements in technology, we can now take photos digitally and duplicate them an infinite number of times. The diversity of print surfaces has also grown to photo paper, canvas, bamboo, aluminum, and everyday objects like water bottles and beach blankets. The options are endless!

It’s truly amazing just how far the art of photography has come, thanks to photographers like yourself who have kept it alive with your passion for the craft. Why do we continue to take photos 179 years later? We think it’s because photos have this seemingly magical ability to make our best moments live forever. They have the ability to bring back memories, transport you to places you’ve never been, make you smile, or even shed a tear. They even have the ability to connect people around the world. It’s all the power of photography.

How you can celebrate World Photo Day

Why not share the power of photography with someone special? Families and friends are sometimes around the globe. Keeping in touch when you can’t be there in person isn’t always easy, but photos can help. Here are a few ways to make someone’s day with the power of a photo:

  1. Make them laugh: send them a funny up-to-date snapshot of your family on a mug.
  2. Help them reminisce: have an old, cherished family photo digitally restored for them.
  3. Bring them tears of joy: share a photo calendar of your little one’s first years (human or pet!).
  4. Help them feel connected: send a small square Instagram book of all your latest adventures.
  5. Make them smile: surprise them with a framed print of your favourite photo together.


There are lots of other ways you can surprise a loved one with the power of a photo. Visit our London Drugs Photolab online, in-store, or on our London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android for more photo gift ideas.

Remember: there’s no need to send them the original photo – make sure you’ve digitized old photos first, so you can share the duplicates with as many friends or family members as you like!

Are Your Photos at Risk? Protecting Your Photos from Damage

You never think it’ll happen to you, until it does. You’ve come home to a flooded basement, or have been victim to a fire, and now realize many of your possessions are damaged or destroyed. The material things are easy to replace, but your photographs are one-of-a-kind. What do you do?

 

Digital Restoration

Our London Drugs Photolab experts can help bring your damaged photos back to their former glory with our digital restoration service. If you’ve experienced a devastating event in your home, or your photographs just haven’t stood the test of time, let our LDExperts work their magic.

They can digitally edit each individual image to bring back a little colour worn by dust and heat, fill in scratches, or restore parts of the image destroyed by mud and water damage. You’d be amazed what can be restored. Our LDExperts just ask that before bringing in photos with mud and water damage, that you wait until the mud dries, and then very gently brush off the mud as best possible.

Once these photos have been digitized during our restoration process, we recommend not only making a print copy of your restored photo, but ensuring you have the digital file backed up safely as well – to avoid any damage or loss in future.

 

Be Proactive and Protect Your Photos

Before the worst, plan with the best. Our Photolab makes it easy to keep everything from your baby photos to your wedding photos safe and sound, ensuring the longevity of all those moments preserved by a single snapshot.

The first step to protecting your photos from potential loss or damage is to create digital copies of all print photos. This can be a tedious process, which is why many put off doing it, but we can take care of that. Just pick up a Photo Scanning Box at any London Drugs Photolab location, fill it with up to 800 photographs and documents (up to 8.5”x11”), and bring it back to our Photolab. We’ll do the legwork of digitizing all those photos for you, then we’ll return to you the original photos and a USB drive with all of the digital files.

We recommend safeguarding your digitized photos on at least one other USB or Hard Drive, kept in different locations. Then you can sit back with peace of mind knowing you’ll have a secondary digital backup if one of the hard drives or USBs is damaged or lost.

To protect those original prints, consider relocating them to a safer place in your home. For example, if you live in an area that is susceptible to flooding, consider moving your stash of photos from the basement to an upstairs room. Meanwhile if your area is more susceptible to wildfires, you could protect your most precious photos by keeping them in a fire-resistant safe in the basement.

 

Have questions about how we can help protect your most important memories? Just speak with any of our LDExperts in the Photolab! Or learn more about our Photo Scanning Box service here.

Here’s Why Countless Canadians Trust Us with Their Photos

Welcome to the London Drugs Photolab!

With over 35 years of photofinishing experience, the London Drugs Photolab can help you to preserve your memories and bring your photos to life. Our Photolab provides a wide variety of prints and personalized gifting products to creatively share your best photos, from photo books and mugs, to fine art prints and so much more.

Our experienced Photolab Technicians are dedicated to producing the highest quality photofinishing products, as well as offering Photolab services including film processing, scanning, and digital restoration: all using state-of-the-art equipment.

Why trust us with your photos? Watch the video to see how our LDExperts Nikki and Dave have built trusting relationships with their Photolab customers. Or just ask the countless Canadians – families and photographers alike – who already trust us with their photos!

Visit the London Drugs Photolab online or in-store to start creating something unique with your photos, or download our London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android. We can ship to your local London Drugs for pick-up, or deliver anywhere in Canada.