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

Digital ICE can’t give you consistent quality scans like you can in Photoshop.

Here’s a quick video of how I scan my client’s slides, negatives, and photos in Photoshop:

About ScanCanada.ca

We’re a small team of graphic designers, dedicated to slide, negative, photo scanning services. Located in three locations: Toronto, Calgary, and London.

Before you a scanning company, be sure you’re 100% comfortable with somebody else handle your only copy. At ScanCanada.ca, you’re invited to scan a small batch before you decide to commit all your scans.  This is a free service from ScanCanada.ca, and you’re under no obligation.

Please visit, ScanCanada.ca for more info.

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

I want to share a simple story with you.

Tess, a customer from Toronto, found some old slides that belonged to her Father.  Here’s a quick video of her story:

Slide, Film, Negative Scanning: Slide Show of 60 Year Old Slide Scans

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