Slide, Negative Film, Photo Scanning: FREE Scanning Tips, Tricks, and Secrets

If you’re going to trust a scanning company with thousands of your slides, negatives, and photos, here’s four tips:

Tip 1:  Get Samples Scans As A Test-Run

It’s better to lose $10 than $1000.  So before you commit all your thousands of slides, negatives, and photos, send ten.  And ten of your worst ones.

Put the scanning company to the test.

What’s the quality like?  Is it worth paying 99 cents for a scan that is worse than the original?  Do they scan them as-is?  Or do they try to improve the quality?

Get a feel of how their process works.  Do they want payment upfront?  Do they care how they handle your slides or photos?  Do they return your slides in the same condition when they left your home?

Again, It’s better to test 10 slides, negatives, photos and lose $10 than send all of them, and find out you paid too much.

And hey, if they try their best with a such a small order, then they will do the same if you come back with thousands.

2.  Ask If Your Slides Are Scanned Overseas

There’s nothing wrong hiring a scanning company, where they ship your slides, say to India.  You’ll get the same quality scans, and prices far lower than they can charge in Canada.

But be sure you are aware of this fact!  Some scanning companies that charge as low as 25 cents per scan hide this fact.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with outsourcing your scans.  But make sure you’re ok with that fact.  And if you’re NOT ok with it, and you’re unsure, one red flag is the price.  If a scanning company advertises as low as 25 cents per scan, and they’re advertising highest quality scans, then they may be outsourcing your scans.

3.  Get A Quote And A 100% Scan Guarantee

The truth is, anybody can buy a scanner, put up a website, and offer slide scanning services.  That’s easy.  What’s not easy, is getting quality scans.

And if you’ve ever tried scanning yourself, you know exactly how much time and effort it takes to get scans that look at least as the original.

A quality scanning company will have no issues giving you a full 100% scan guarantee.  It’s the guys that buy a scanner, put a up a site, and offer cheap scanning that won’t back up their work.

4.  Ask Yourself: “Do I Want Convenient Scans Or Quality Scans”?

This last tip is probably the most important.

Say you’ve tried scanning, and it’s taking too much time.  If you rather have somebody else do this for you, and not not concerned about quality, then I suggest a “bulk” scanning company.

These scanning companies are ofter fast and cheap.  And if you rather save on price and pay in quality, then there’s nothing wrong hiring a “bulk” scanning company..

If you rather have quality scans then look for scanning companies that focus on quality not speed.  They often take longer and are more expensive.   But they will be glad to give you samples of your scans before you commit all of them; they’ll be happy to offer a full 100% scan guarantee; and they’ll treat your family’s originals as if they were their own.

Remember, these are the only copy of your originals.  And if you like to pass on quality scans to the next generation, then find a scanning company that focuses on quality, and not speed or bulk scans.

About The Author

Hey, my name is Konrad.  Thanks for reading.  I’m a digital designer, and I’ve been scanning since 2005.  I’ve also been using Photo shop since it came out.

So, if you like my team and I to scan your family’s slides, negatives, or photos, please visit: http://ScanCanada.ca

It’s easy to talk about quality.  Here’s a quick video of a comparison between normal scans vs. slide scans edited by ScanCanada.ca:

Slide Scanning: Compare Normal Scan Vs. Edited Scan By ScanCanada.ca

This scanning blog is just one place  where you can find my articles on how to convert slides, negative film, and photo into digital. Here’s where you can find my stuff…

HowToScan.ca

This is my side project when I’m not scanning for a living.  I will show you exactly how I scan my customer’s slides, negatives, and photos.  I try to make is as non-technical as I can.

Check it out, FREE Slide, Negative, Photo Scanning Guide

eZineArticles.com

These articles are a bit more technical, and my major focus is on understanding resolution.  I also have quick scanning tips as well.

Please visit, eZine Article Expert Author on Scanning

Squidoo.com

Here’s where you can get quick, fast tips on scanning your own slides, negatives, and photos.  If you don’t have the time, and want to jump right into scanning, check out, Squidoo: Squidoo Lensmaster HowToScan

Imagine your Dad’s reaction when he sees 60 year old slide scans of himself when he was just a boy.  Convert your family slides, negative film, and photo into HD quality digital images.  Slide, Negative Film, Scanning Services Toronto.
 

I want to show you a short series of slide scans from Tess O’Neal, a customer from Toronto.  These images you see below are 40 years old slides!

Slide Scan From 1951 – Tess’ Mother.

Slide Scan 1951 –  Baby Tess with her Mom.

Slide Scan 1953 –  Tess has a sister, Angela!

Slide Scan 1957 – And then another sister, Marge!

Slide Scan 1957 – Tess’ sister Marge with Mom.

Slide Scan 1958 – The Family, Including Grandpa and of course Dad taking the photo.

Do these remind you of your own collection of family slides, negative film, or photos?

Is there a reason you’re NOT converting those slides sitting in your closet into digital? Do something about your Dad and Mom’s collection of film and slides, and convert those memories into digital.

We’re a small team of graphic designers that make up ScanCanada.ca.  We have been converting film, slides, and photos since 2005, and have been editing digital photos since 2000.   And our number one goal is TRUST. This is why my team and I invite you to try a FREE test-run.  Here’s how it works…

Get FREE Scans Before You Decide On Scanning ALL Your Slides, Film And Photos

Let our work speak for itself.  I’m confident in our work, so that’s why I invite you to ship or drop off, say, 25 – 50 slides, photos, or negatives.

I’ll scan them, at no cost.  If you’re completely happy with the quality, send the rest and my team and I will be glad for the opportunity to scan the rest of your family’s originals.

Also, my team and I guarantee all scans.  If you’re not happy with the results, no problem– we’ll either re-scan, re-edit, or not charge you for them.

To start your FREE Test Run, please visit: ScanCanada.ca: Professional Slide, Film, Photo Scanning Services

Why Are You Not Getting Quality Slide, Negative, Photo Scans?  Here Are 5 Reasons Why And What You Can Do To Get Better Looking Scans

- by Konrad M., owner of  ScanCanada.ca

Mistake #1: Thinking You Need The Most Expensive Scanner With All The Bells And Whistles

Do you think Eric Clapton needs the most expensive guitar to sound like he does?   No, of course not! He can use any old guitar you find in pawn shops, and he still can sound great.

Maybe like me you went out and got the best scanner you could find.  It had all the fancy features that promised you quality scans.  Then when you finally figured out how to use Digital Ice, Color Fix, DEE, etc., you still got lousy looking scans.  It is very frustrating.

Why can you NOT get consistent quality scans with even the best scanners out there?

Any scanner on the market is amazing at giving you a lot of pixels.  A $200 scanner can scan the same amount of pixels as a $6000 scanner.

But here is the rub:  scanners were made to scan pixels, but not at EDITING your scans.  Sure, the more expensive the scanner, the more scan enhance features it comes with.  But if you ever tried scanning you know how frustrating it is to get scans that look worse than the originals, even after you pressed all the fancy buttons.

You need accept the fact that there are no short-cuts.  It would be amazing if you could press a few buttons, and let the scanner to all the work.  But that is not how it works.  If you continue to rely on your scanner to edit your slide, negative, photo scans, you will NEVER get quality digital images.

Mistake #2:  The More Resolution You Use, The Better The Quality Image You Get

What do you think most people do when they load up their scanner and choose a resolution or DPI (dots per inch)?

I think most people want to go as high as possible.  They use the highest DPI the scanner can give.  But all they get is a HUGE digital image that has MORE dust and scratches.

Just because you scan your negatives or slides at 4000 DPI, or photos at 1200 DPI, does not mean you will get higher quality images.  There is a point where you STOP scanning image detail, and start scanning the surface of the film or photo.

For instance, photos have a limit of 300 DPI.  After that you are scanning minute dust and scratches, the gloss off the photo paper, oil from finger prints, etc.

Yes, I recommend scanning at higher resolutions, but do not think that you will get more quality.  Scanning at a higher resolutions will never work at getting you higher quality.

Mistake #3: Here Is How To Scan 2000 Slides, Negatives, or Photos In ONE Week

If you want to scan as many originals as you can, as fast as you can, here is what you can do.

First, do not bother cleaning your slides, negatives, photos before loading your scanner.  Sure, cleaning your originals before putting them in the scanner will remove 90% of the dust, but who cares, cleaning just gets in the way.

Second, just load your originals in any which way you want– and hope you scanned the right side so that the scan is not backwards.  Do not bother learning what side you should scan.  Taking the time to load your originals properly will just slow you down.

Yeah, you get it.. I am being sarcastic.  But what is funny is, these small things like cleaning your originals and learning what side to scan are so trivial that most people skip them to save time.

But remember this one thing: these are your ONLY originals, you may as well convert them into digital RIGHT the first time.  This means you have to take your time.

Sure, scanning is a BIG job that takes a while. But if you do the job right the first time, you are ensuring that your originals are backed up properly.  If anything happens to those originals, you will have the peace of mind knowing you have EXACT copies, or better looking copies, backed up digitally.

Mistake #4: Thinking You Need Be An Expert At Graphic Design To Get Quality Images

Earlier I talked about how you should not use your scanner to edit your photo, negative film, or slide scans.  Here is what I recommend instead: edit them yourself, using software designed for fixing digital photos.

I know what you are thinking, “he is crazy!”.

But the only way to get quality slide, photo, negative scans is to edit the digital images by “hand”. I know it is very tempting to use your scanner software to do this job– but if you have ever tried using this method, you know how frustrating it is to keep getting bad scans.

You need a better method to scan and edit your family’s slides, negatives and photos.

Mistake #5: Not Getting Help With Your Home Scanning Project

You know what, it took me 6 years to figure out how to get quality scans, and to perfect it.  Let me tell you a story how figured it out.

It was 2004 and I just spent weeks scanning my parents photos.  At the time they looked OK.  I had a pretty good scanner, and I used scan enhancement features like Digital Ice to fix my scans.

But then I put my scans on my HDTV and they  looked horrible– all of them were absolutely useless.  I was so frustrated because I just spent all that time scanning them, and they were useless.  But you learn from your mistakes.  And thanks to this mistake, I figured out how to perfect scans, every time.

Anyway, I picked up the project again, and this time I would try a different way.  I guess I am lucky because I have been using Photoshop since 2000, so I knew how to manipulate digital images.  So instead of using all the fancy scan enhancement features that came with the scanner, I did a “natural” scan.  This means I had a digital image with NO editing done to it.

I then opened the natural scan in Photoshop and spent hours trying to figure out how remove dust and scratches, fix color fading, bring back the exposure levels, etc.  It was not perfect, but it was WAY better than my first attempt.

It took me months to perfect this technique.  And now 6 years later, I have a business scanning family and commercial slides, negative and photos for a living.  I have converted over 500,000 slides, negatives, and photos into digital.  I NEVER use short-cuts like Digital Ice, and I have a small team of graphic designers that help me edit all scans by “hand”.

The Best Part? Discover How I Scan And Edit My Customers Slides, Negatives, And Photos

The best news is, I have a side project showing you how step-by-step how I edit my customer’s slides, negatives, and photos.  If you are the DIY type check out…

How To Scan Slides, Negatives, Photos: Free Scanning Tutorial: HowToScan.ca

You do not need Photoshop– you can download a free program called GIMP that does the exact same thing.  And since I will show you in my scanning tutorial, step-by-step, you do not need a technical background in graphic design.  All you need is a strong commitment in wanting better looking, higher quality family scans.

And one more thing.  Do your friends and family a big favour– when you learn these scanning techniques, teach them what you have learned.  It is the biggest gift you can give them: to permanently preserve their family story by showing them how to convert their own slides, negatives, and photos into quality digital images.

Good luck with your family scanning project!
Thank you,

Konrad M.
ScanCanada.ca: Professional Slide, Negative, Photo Scanning Services Toronto

Here Are 3 Big Problems I Have With Relying On Digital Ice To Improve My Scans

What is the most frustrating part trying to scan your family slides, negatives and photos?Are you wasting time trying to figure out all the scan enhancement features,  only to get lousy scans?

Digital Ice or other scan enhancement software is a great idea. What is better to press a few buttons and get consistent results. Except if you have tried scanning your own slides or photos, you know that it is not that easy.

Here is 3 reasons why Digital Ice will not get you the results you expect…

1) Faded Colours Usually Come Out Looking “Plastic”

I find that whenever I try fix colour, it never comes out like I want. Green grass comes out blue. Red comes out bright orange. Most of the time the colours are so saturated that they look “plastic”.

Sure, I have tried tweaking the colour saturation so it is not so bright. But once I think I have the settings right, there will be a slide or negative that will come out wrong?

Why?

Well, one photo was probably taken in bright or dark light. While another was taken indoors. Not all slides or negatives are shot in the same spot. That means you cannot apply the same colour fix setting for ALL of them.

So maybe you do what I did– compromise. Instead of tweaking the setting for every scan, I found a good medium and scanned them with the same settings. I saved some time, but the results were not consistent.

2) Digital Ice Removes Dust And Scratches, What Else Does It Take Away?

The biggest issue with Digital Ice is it takes away detail– important detail. Sometimes I would get scans with the eyeballs gone! Digital Ice assumed the whites of the eyes were a big dust ball, I suppose.

Actually, the overall digital photo looks a bit blurry. When I compare a natural scan (no Digital Ice) with one where Digital Ice was applied, I notice a lot of blurred edges and smooth textures. Not good if you want to keep as much detail as you can. For example, the date on a license plate might not be legible. Sometimes small things like that are useful to identify a photo.

3) You Will Pay For A Better Versions Of Digital Ice

Digital Ice is owned by Kodak. They designed the technology. And what they do is they license this technology out to scanner manufactures.

So if you have an inexpensive scanner, you are most likely using a light version of Digital Ice. A more expensive scanner will have a better version of Digital Ice with more features.

My Nikon 9000 came with Digital Ice 4. At the time, this scanner cost me $6000. Do not get me wrong. This scanner has great technology at picking up pixels. The pixels are crisp, sharp, and hold a of digital data. But once I press that Digital Ice button, all those nice pixels get ruined.

How To Get Quality Scans WITHOUT Digital Ice

If you like to see how Digital Ice works and how you can get quality scans without using it, check out…

How Digital Ice Works And Why You Should Not Rely On It

This is a free, non-technical guide to help you with your scanning.

Good luck with your scanning project!

Konrad

Here Is The Story– I Used Digital Ice To Edit Scans Until One Customer Complained About Horrible Scans

I have been fixing, editing, restoring images in Photoshop since 2000. It is a tedious process. To fix one photo sometimes takes 8 hours.

I also did a lot of scanning work.  And back in the day when scanners did not have all the bells and whistles like today, I had to edit scans in Photoshop.

Then in 2005 I found a scanner with something called Digital Ice 4.  Digital Ice was around for a while, but I read version 4 was a huge improvement.  So I went ahead and bought a Nikon 9000.  And when I tried a scanner with Digital Ice 4, I was impressed. All I had to do was press a few buttons, and in about 4 minutes out came a great looking scan.

So I thought.

I scanned about 100 of my parents slides as a test run. They looked great, so I went full steam ahead and scanned about 2000 more slides and negatives. Then going through digital images after scanning, I started to see a few things I did not like.

Sometimes detail was missing– detail from faces, colour was not right, etc. Digital Ice was OVER correcting things. So I scanned some of the bad images again. I tried playing with all the setting, and they still came out wrong. That is the thing– you cannot rely on a machine. It was better to do a “natural” scan and fix the image in Photoshop.

Out of 2000 scans, about 1000 came out looking good using Digital Ice. That is a 50% success rate. Not good since I paid $6000 for that scanner back then.

But I figured that I continue using Digital Ice, and if any needed fixing I would just open them up in Photoshop.  I used this method for my scanning business.  Things were going fine, I did not have one complaint.  Not until 2 years later.

I guess what happens is when you do something over and over, you get lazy.  And I admit, I got lazy.  My quality assurance went down over time.  I stopped looking over the images and fixing them in Photoshop.  Then I a few complaints started to trickle in.  Then I scanned about 3000 scans for one customer.  After she got her scans, she refused to pay.  At first I blamed her for taking advantage of my hassle free guarantee.  But when I looked over the scans, I new I was wrong.  They looked pretty bad.  And that is because I relied too much on the machine rather then on my skills.

Today I scan all my customer’s slides, negatives, and photos using high-end scanners, but NEVER touch the scan enhance buttons like Digital Ice. I create a “natural” scan, and edit every scan by “hand” in Photoshop. It is the only way I can guarantee my work.  And keeps me on my toes not to get lazy.

Like To Learn EXACTLY How To Scan Like A Professional?

If you like to learn how I edit my scans, check out my FREE guide.  I will show you how using Photoshop and Gimp.  What is Gimp? It does the same thing as Photoshop, but it is free.  Click the link below to get the tutorial…

How To Edit Your Slide, Negative, Photo Scans: Free Step By Step Guide

This is Konrad,
Professional Slide, Negative, Photo Scanning Services

If You Want To Scan Your Slides, Negatives, And Photos Like A Professional, Read This…

Thinking of scanning your own family’s originals? Do you know something about Photoshop? Then here is how my team and I do it.

Right now you can get the step by step guide on scanning your own slides, here…

Scan Your Slides Exactly Like The Team At ScanCanada.ca

I will post how to scan your negatives and photos soon.

Good luck with your scanning project!
Konrad M.

If you are scanning slides or negatives that are NOT the standard 35mm size, then your scans might get cropped.

I have a list of all the different types of slides and negative film sizes here:

The Different Types Of Slide And Negative Sizes — And What Resolution To Scan Them

Now you can tell your scanner what you are scanning, and they will not be cropped.

Good luck with your home scanning project!
Konrad M.

Scanning Tips To Go! More…
Twitter/HowToScan

Here Is Three Tips To Help You Scan Your Own Family Collection Of Slides, Negatives, & Photos…

Tip One: Get Rid of 89% Of Dust And Debris

Before you even load your originals into your scanner, try this. Clean them!

I know, it sounds simple. So simple, many people skip this. But try it. Take a lint-free cloth and wipe your slide, negative, and photo.

But hold on! Make sure you do not wipe too hard. Use a light sweeping motion. If you press too hard you might scratch the film.

Oh, DO NOT use water or any kind of liquid on your slide or negative. If you do, you will smear the surface for good.

Tip Two: Avoid Scanning The Wrong Side

If you scan the wrong side, your image will be backwards. How do you make sure you scan the right side?

Well, take a look at your slide. One side will be bumpy, the other will be smooth. You will need to look under a light to see this. But eventually you will notice a difference.

If you have a flat-bed scanner, you need to keep the bumpy side UP, and the smooth side DOWN.

Negatives are easy. If you look closely, every exposure has a number. When you load your negative, make sure that number is backwards, toward you and facing up. The correct letting will be facing the glass.

Tip Three: The Best Resolution To Use

When you are scanning 35mm slides and 35mm negatives, use 4000 DPI. DPI can also be called PPI. At 4000 DPI you will get an 18 mega pixel scan! This means that you can print your digital image at billboard size. Why this big? It is always better to have too many pixels, then too little.

Scan your 4″ x 6″ photos at 900 DPI. This too will give you an 18 mega pixel scan.

But sometimes that is too big for your HDTV. So to make sure your scans fit your HDTV, scan your slides/negatives at 1200 DPI. And scan your 4×6 photo at 300 DPI.

Need More FREE Tips?

I hope these quick tips helped you. But if you truly want quality scans that look better than the originals, I have more tips for you. Check them out here…

How To Scan Slides, Negatives, Photos: A Non-Technical Guide

I’m always putting up new articles, so visit my Twitter if you wan to keep up…

Twitter/HowToScan

Thanks for stopping by!
Konrad