Do Airport X-Rays Harm 35mm Film?
Yes unfortunately they do. We, at Shutter Junkies develop hundreds of rolls of film each day and have noticed damage on certain rolls of film that came from people who had obviously been traveling. We reached out to another company that builds up throwaway cameras from recycled disposables and they agreed with us. The good people at CustomCameraCollection have seen a lot of damage from x-rays at airports. With over 25 years in the disposable camera industry, we have learned a lot, and they wanted to help us pass on the information to the public.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) advises the following regarding film in disposable cameras.
Never place undeveloped film (disposable cameras) in checked baggage. Security equipment used for screening checked baggage will damage undeveloped film.
Place film in your carry-on baggage and request a hand inspection. You may be required to open the box, canister, or wrapper so a Security Officer can inspect it.
Carry-on baggage X-ray equipment also damages film, but it's a cumulative damage – a minor amount of damage each time it's X-rayed. The more times film is X-rayed, the more damage. Never allow the disposable camera to be X-rayed more than 5 times. It is preferable to prevent any X-raying at all.
The higher speed film, such as 800 speed, should NEVER be placed in checked baggage nor should it be processed through carry-on baggage X-rays. 800 speed film should always be hand-inspected.
Security personnel are required to heed your request to hand-check film in the U.S., and the inconvenience is minor.
When traveling to international locations it is recommended that you check their policies regarding film (disposable cameras) and hand-checking since their policies may differ from those at U.S. airports.
2025 Update
In recent months, many traveling film photographers have been refused hand checks for any film less than 800 ISO. The refusals have been inconsistent, some airports are happy to hand check all film and some are very strict and look at the ISO rating for each roll. But as stated above, x-ray damage is cumulative even on rolls rater less that ISO 800. So what are some solutions to this problem?
Relabel Your Film Rolls
A clever Redditor posted pictures of custom labels they had printed for their film rolls just in case. All of which were labeled ISO 800. Each label was affixed to the roll and then upon request, the TSA agent would have to hand check the rolls since they were all above the 800 ISO threshold.
Call Ahead and Speak with TSA Agents at the Airport You’re Traveling From
Many photographers have stated that they were able to call ahead and ask about the hand-check situation at various airports and have mostly gotten accurate information. They were then able to make other plans.
Buy Your Film at the Place Your Traveling To
Another option is to check the location you’re traveling to and find a local store that sells film. Once shot, you can go ahead and purchase processing and mail it from your destination to the photo lab. At Shutter Junkies, we got several rolls of film each week that have been mailed to us from various locations to avoid the x-ray machines at the TSA.
Conclusion
Damage from X-Rays is a real problem and can absolutely ruin your photos! Disposable cameras and very susceptible to this damage as they come loaded with 800 ISO film so you definitely want to take precautions before packing your throwaway cameras for a trip. But with a little bit of planning you can still take some amazing photos of your destination and avoid damage from airport scanning machines.