DIY Slides to JPEG

You must have a transparent media adapter in order to scan slides at home.

What do you do with your transparent slides once the slideshows are over? Two options are that you can hire a professional to convert the slides into digital format, or you can do it yourself. If you have a flatbed scanner and a transparent media adapter for the scanner, you can take the DIY route and convert your slides into JPEG format directly on your computer.

Things You'll Need

• Microfiber cloth
• Flatbed scanner
• Transparent Media Adapter

Instructions

1. Clean the surface of your scanner with a microfiber cloth. In order to achieve the clearest image, the scanning surface must be devoid of any debris, smudges or particles.

2. Remove the transparent media adapter cover and insert the slides into the transparent media adapter's slide chamber or place the slides onto the adapter's template. If you are not scanning the maximum number of slides, cover any unused slide areas with the supplied light shield.

3. Open the scanner lid and place the transparent slide adapter onto the scanner's surface. Close the scanner lid.

4. Press the "Scan Film" or "Scan Picture" button, depending on the scanner you are using. A scan setup dialogue box will now appear.

5. Click the settings option and select the "Slides" or "Positives" option as the scan type and select "JPEG" as the output file format.

6. Click the "Scan" button to scan the slides and save them as JPEGs on the computer's hard drive.

Tips & Warnings

• Depending on the make and model of your scanner, these steps may vary slightly.

References

• HP: Scan 35mm Photo Slides and Negatives
• University of Wisconsin: HP Scanjet 5590 Digital Flatbed Scanner User's Manual