Built by photographers.
In it for the passion.
General Film Labs started with a backlog of developed rolls and tools that couldn't keep up.
We shoot film, for clients and for ourselves. For years that meant the same evenings: one frame at a time, a holder that never sat square, and rolls waiting weeks at the lab.
The choice was a slow manual holder or a lab scanner built for another era. Neither fit on a desk, and neither kept up with a full day of shooting.
So we built our own. A motor driven transport, image detection that places every frame, a gate for each format and diffuse high CRI light, paired with the camera you already own.
Today that is KBS MKI for 35mm, MFS MKI for medium format, COPY MKI to hold the camera square, and RECORD I to run it all from one window.
Nick Frank
Co-founder · Photography and product
Nick is a Munich-based professional photographer and former creative director with a background in advertising.
Since 2014 he has photographed industry and architecture worldwide. His return to film led to the idea for our scanners: modern speed and precision for film scanning.
Christian Hertel
Co-founder · Commercial and software
Christian started out as a photographer before moving on to build brands for technology companies. Analog photography has stayed his passion.
At General Film Labs he leads the commercial side and RECORD I, especially the negative conversion. Above all, he listens: to customers, to labs and to the film community, so what they need shapes what we build.
Jan Hausmann †
Co-founder · Electronics and software
Jan was a state-certified technician in electrical engineering with a passion for building technical systems.
At General Film Labs he led electronics and software, turning ideas into reliable, working hardware.
Jan passed away in July 2026. His work runs through every scanner we build.
What we hold to.
Lab quality at your desk.
The result of a lab scan, without sending the roll away.
Resolution from your camera.
You already own the best sensor in the chain. We handle the film.
Less handling, more photographs.
Every step we automate is time back for shooting.
Be first in line.
Leave your email and we write when KBS MKI and MFS MKI ship. Release dates and firmware news only.