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

Hi, this is Konrad. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my guide. I am grateful for the opportunity to educate you a bit about scanning services. In a moment you will learn a few things about scanning and digital images. This will help you find the best scanning company.

I am the president of a scanning company. And five years ago when I started it was basically me. Today there is a lot more scanning companies popping up. That is fine. What is not, is that I am getting a few customers who need rescans. This is good for my business, of course. But I personally get annoyed when I waste time and money with any business. So I am writing this guide to make sure you, 1. Do not waste time and money and 2. Learn a little more about digital imaging.

So, here we go:

1. Resolution does not mean quality

Today’s scanners can all do 4000 DPI. So when you see 4000 DPI, it means it is picking up 4000 dots or pixels per inch. But DPI has nothing to do with quality. It just picks up the details off your slide or photo. If the colour in your slide is faded, then the 4000 DPI will pick up the faded image. What you need then is software to fix your scans.

2. Digital Ice does not fix bad scans

Many places emphasize “Digital ICE”. It is easy to scan 4000 dpi, and press the Digital Ice button. But you cannot get good scans by pressing a few buttons. When you see Digital Ice, it means they are trying to go through your scans as fast as possible.

It takes me about 3 – 4 minutes per a normal scan. Scans that need more attention takes me, well, whatever it takes. Sometimes I will have to spend more than 5 minutes. It takes so long because I go through every image in Photoshop.

So ask the scanning company if they just zip through your scans. The worst is getting your disc and finding out most images are useless. Digital Ice is a short cut. There is no substitute for the human eye.

3. There are two ways to scan your originals

First I will explain the bulk scanning process. The companies who scan by bulk use scanners based on speed not quality. They use flat-bed scanners that you can place more than one slide, negative, or photo. They do use Digiatal Ice, ROC, DEE and all that jazz to fix a bit of the quality. But speed is more important then quality. The advantage is the price is really low.

The other process uses slower but high-end film scanners. They are most likely graphic designers who know something about Photoshop and photo editing. And they do not treat your scans like a commodity. The advantage with finding these companies is you will not waste your time and money. You may pay a bit more, but at least you will know that you will get the best scans possible.

Four recommendations to help you find the best scanning company

1. Make a commitment to yourself to do something about your slides, negatives and photos. Time is not on your side. The longer you wait, the worse your originals will get. Converting them into digital images is the best way to save your family collection.

2. You found a company, now get samples. Send a batch of your worst slides, negatives, and photos. Ask to see their work. If they hesitate or do not offer this, you know they just want to zip through your scans. If you are looking for a bulk scanning company, ask anyway. Maybe the quality you get is something you can do with your own scanner from home.

3. Ask questions. Ask what sort of equipment they use. Do they use flat-bed scanners, or film scanners. Ask if they only use Digital Ice. Or do they take time with your scans in Photoshop.

4. Get a 100% guarantee. So you think you found a great scanning company.  And they emphasize quality.  But do they offer 100% guarantee? Of course not all scans can be brought back to their original luster. But the company should be happy to offer the best service possible, and give you your money back for bad scans.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my guide. If you have questions or comments please contact me at info@scancanada.ca

Konrad

P.S. There is no obligation if you would like to scan a batch with my company. Send about 30 of slides, negatives or photos. I will scan them, and upload or ship you the results. If you like the quality and service, send the rest. If not, I will send everything back, at no cost to you. Visit www.ScanCanada.ca for more info on scanning services.

The wost thing is getting your scans and they are worse than your originals. It happens. Read the rest of this entry »

Hi! Konrad here. I’ve been in graphic design for 10 years, and what I’ve learned is that scanning slides, negatives, and photos confuses a lot of people. And right now what’s happening is anybody can buy a scanner, put up a website, and offer to scan your only originals for cheap. Except, if you just choose a scanning company based on price alone, you could be paying in the quality of your scans. The point of scanning your originals is so that the scans look better than the originals.

So, I’ve put together a “Consumer Guide to Finding a Scanning Service” to help you find a good company. I’ll share four misconceptions about scanning. Plus I’ll offer a few recommendations. And I’ll give you five questions you should ask your scanning company before you decide to give them your only originals.

Here we go,

Misconception One: The higher the resolution, the better the quality.

Read the rest of this entry »

Anybody can buy a cheap scanner, put up a website, and offer to scan your slides, negatives, and photos for cheap.  But you could end up with scans that are worse than your originals.  Here’s 10 things to look for in a scanning service:

1. Price vs. Quality.

Read the rest of this entry »