Part of the magic of film photography is never knowing quite what’s captured until the images emerge in the darkroom. A new series of film levels up that surprise – because each roll is pre-exposed with artwork.
The Grafx series of film from Retrospekt takes ISO400, C-41 color film and pre-exposes the film to existing artwork to add an unexpected graphic to each shot.
The Grafx series launches with a set of three different designs. Shattered feels like an ironic mix of modern and vintage: the design was created by photographing a dropped iPhone screen. The result is a series of cracks running across each image in the roll.
The Hot Ink film option takes inspiration from the 1990s and, specifically, tribal tattoos. This pre-exposed film has a border running along the top and bottom of each frame.
Sparkler is a roll of 35mm film that adds small star bursts to each photo in what Retrospekt calls “a twinkly bit of magic.”
Retrospekt says that while the pre-exposed artwork is the same, how it renders on the image depends on the photo’s composition and lighting, so each shot comes out a bit different.
The series isn’t the company’s first pre-exposed film. The company has previously offered custom graphic film stock featuring popular characters, like Peanuts and Hello Kitty. But Retrospekt says it wanted to create a set of designs with more universal appeal.
The new film, which launched online on August 21 after coming to film shops, may not stick around forever. “Fan-favorite series will have a chance to continue into the future, while others may only be issued once before they are gone forever,” the company explained.
The film rolls retail for $22. The Wisconsin-based company also ships outside the US, where the cost of the film converts to about £16 / AU$30 / CA$30, not including import duties.
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