What does a lab stamp on the back of an old photo mean?
Asked 12/2/2022
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The back of an old print is stamped: "FOTO-KOCH E725 FRANKFURT-M." Does this indicate where the photo was taken, or only where the print was processed/developed?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
3y ago
2 Answers
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Certainly only developed there. These are markings added during the printing process.
There is usually nothing on a film that tells where the photo was taken (except perhaps on very specialized cameras for aerial survey/recon), and when there is it is on the photo side of the print.
Originally by user75947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75947
3y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A stamp like this on the back of a print usually identifies the photo lab or printer, not the location where the picture was taken. In other words, "FOTO-KOCH ... FRANKFURT-M." most likely means the print was processed or produced by a lab in Frankfurt am Main.
It does not normally provide evidence of where the camera was when the image was captured. Traditional film negatives generally do not record shooting location, and when identifying information is added during printing, it is typically lab-related branding or processing codes.
So the safest conclusion is: the print was likely developed or printed in Frankfurt, but the image itself could have been taken anywhere.
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