Slide Scanning

The Process

Slides are first cleaned with compressed air. This removes any extra dust and other particles without damaging the slide. For this we use a special air compressor to allow just the right amount of air pressure.

We use the professional grade Nikon SuperCoolSCAN 5000 ED and 9000 ED slide scanners to digitize your slides. These are dedicated units that produce amazing results when used properly. There are companies out there that will scan slides using flat-bed scanners. Those companies will not be able to attain the depth of color or clarity of a more high-end dedicated slide scanner such as the Nikon SuperCoolSCAN 5000/9000 ED.

Slides are previewed in the scanning software program where the cropping and other adjustments are set. All slides are labeled numerically by box marking (ie: FarmHouse_001.jpg). Folders are also named according to the original organizational structure of the slides.

After all the slide scanning is finished we go through each image one-by-one and make sure that it is oriented properly (people are standing upright) and not flipped (words appearing mirrored). Once the image scanning technician has looked over all the images, a second technician will look over each image again and sign off on the “customer notes sheet” showing that each image has truly been double-checked.

Once all the slides have been scanned and inspected, they will be burned to our special 100 year archival DVDs (unless otherwise specified by the customer). These disks are regarded as the best medium for long-term storage.

Deteriorating slides

Almost every 35mm slide we encounter has deteriorated in some form. Let’s face it, slides are usually pretty old and nothing stays looking new forever. There are many defects that arise through the aging process. The most common ailment for slides is simple fading. Fading usually manifests as colors losing their vibrancy and a general yellowing of the entire image. If you are interested in seeing how we can restore your old slides please ask your image scanning technician to give you an example.

File and Folder Naming

We will always keep your organizational structure and use a sequential numbering system to name each file within each folder.

For example, if you have your images organized and grouped by year ranging in dates from 1990 to 1996, we will scan the group of images from 1990 and place them in a folder titled "1990". We will then name the subsequent images in that grouping as 1990_001.jpg, 1990_002.jpg and so on.

Manual Color Correction Service vs. Image Restoration Service

Manual color correction is described in the Pricing and Basic Info section and mainly is used to fix problems with color. For example if the slide has a yellow cast to it, in many cases we can neutralize that color and bring back the original colors. We will check for the whitest pixel in the important viewable area of the image and reset that to the 100% white value, and do the same for black. No software program can do this because we are evaluating the image based on the important data and disregarding things like backlighting from windows and such. If your images has a color cast to them or are too dark, just ask our image scanning technician to employ the manual color correction service. We can even enhance one or two images so that you can see how beautiful your slides can be.

The Image Restoration Service will digitally repair your slides. If your slides have folds, scratches, color blots, fungus or any number of imperfections, ask our image scanning technician for a quote for your slide(s). Even if the image has a piece missing it may be possible to reproduce this missing section based on another slide or other data inside the same slide. It is amazing what can be done with Adobe Photoshop, some extra plug-ins, knowhow and experience. And don’t worry, all the original data will be saved.

• 110 Format Slide Scanning
• 120-220 Format Slide Scanning
• 126 Format Slide Scanning
• 127 Format Slide Scanning
• 127 Superslide Scanning
• 35mm Slide Scanning
• 3D-stereo Slide Scanning