“Before You Go Buy That Expensive Scanner, Read This First”
You don’t need to buy a $3000 scanner to get high-quality scans. In fact, the one you find at Future Shop for $200 can produce the same result. I’ll show you how.
Here, compare for yourself. The first image is a “natural” scan (meaning, straight up, no-buttons-pressed scan) from the Epson. Middle image is from the Epson, but with a few buttons pressed to improve the image. The last scan is from the Nikon 9000.
My goal is to get you to get as close to the Nikon scan as possible. So, lets begin.
Step One:
If you’ve ever tried scanning before, you know that the first question, before anything else, is a simple one: What side do I scan? Here’s a quick tip to help you out.
Lets start with a 35mm slide.
There are two sides to a slide, the Matte Emulsion side and the Reflective side:
Matte Emulsion: usually blurry/less reflective, convaved (curved in), and has these little bumpy/beveled lines.
Reflective: usually shiny, rounded, and it’ll be a smooth surface.
The winner? Reflective! The smooth side.
Always have the reflective side DOWN, toward the glass of your scanner. This way your images won’t be backwards.
As for negatives, the same technique works as well. But with negatives you have a cheat:
On a negative, there’s numbers/letters printed on the negative itself. When you look at it and the numbers aren’t mirrored, then you have the reflective side. That side goes DOWN towards the glass.
And photos? Easy. Face down toward glass.
Next, question you might ask, how big should I scan it? Or, what resolution should I use? I’ll have to write another post on that because it’s a whole new topic. So, onto Part II, Resolution.
PART TWO, click here.
