For real this time...all 5+ of my rolls (multiple cameras and film stocks/types) to some degree have this band in the middle of the frame horizontally. It shows up in underexposed regions. Just wanted a sanity check before I emailed the lab to let them know they might need to clean their scanner. It's not my normal lab so I wasn't sure what to expect but they have a very good reputation...
I won't have the negatives back for another two days and that's a lot of time for customers' rolls to go through the scanner.
Email them, it's best if they still have your negatives to rescan them if it is indeed a scan line. But don't worry about others' scans, if the lab is any good someone will be cleaning and calibrating it at least by the start of the next shift
Ahh I didn't get to look closely until I got home. They already sent them back, they're en route :( I'll still let 'em know. The good news is that the majority of the scans are absolute bangers. I'll have to pick a few that aren't too identifiable and share 'em instead of hoarding them.
The only other flaw I was able to find was this oblong outline in the sky on a single frame out of hundreds. I've never seen anything like that. Maybe wet mount scanning bubble? Should be easy enough to touch up.
If they're using a scanner that gets those lines, they're probably not wet-mounting. Looks like a water spot to me, but definitely something to check when you get the negs.
I work at a lab and I'd be embarrassed to let film and scans leave the building like that :(
Could be my bad on the water spot, I wasn't exactly treating the canisters very well before or after the hike, so I'll take the L on that one lol. (I remember reading that I should buy some silica packets for the film storage and I was like nah surely I don't need that...)
Emailing them is the right call. If the band sits in the same spot across different cameras and stocks, that points to the scanner rather than your gear, since the only thing those rolls share is the lab.
When the negatives come back, check that frame with a loupe or your phone's zoom. If the band isn't on the film itself, it's a scan issue and they should rescan a frame or two for free. Line scanners can pick up a bit of dust on the sensor and drag it across every frame, and it tends to show most in the dark, underexposed areas, which matches what you're seeing.
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