How to Scan Slides

So you've dug into your closet and blown the dust off of box upon box of slides. You suddenly feel as if this old school technology has passed the world by and that your memories are trapped on them and lost forever. Don't fret. There's a relatively easy way to scan these slides into your computer and turn them into photos.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Slides
• Scanner
• Software to scan slides

1. Check your equipment. With technology progressing so rapidly today, if you own a printer that has scanning capability, you may already have everything you need. If not, scanners can be purchased online or at any office or electronic store. If you are going to spring for a new machine, consider buying one specifically with a "slide attachment."
2. Install software. If you bought a new scanner, take the time to install the corresponding software on your computer, go through the tutorial it offers and properly calibrate the machine so that you can optimize the photo quality when printing from your computer. If your software is already installed, it might not be a bad idea to double check that it is calibrated properly as well.
3. Organize your images. Rather than simply scanning photos under one massive folder, take the time to create folders for each set of images. This saves you time in the long run as you print photos from your computer. Think of each folder as a separate photo "album."
4. Scan the image. The moment you've been waiting for! But be sure when you press the scan button that you are correctly scanning a color or black and white image. It usually makes a difference when it comes to getting the best quality out of your slide.
5. Save the scan. This is where another important decision occurs. You have an option to save the image exactly as scanned so that nothing is lost or altered from the image. Or, you'll have the opportunity to save it as a JPEG file. The reason most people save images as JPEGS is to save space. If you are simply going to be printing this image in a four by six or five by seven format, then JPEG is the way to go as it doesn't clutter your hard drive with huge files. But if this is an image that needs to be blown up for a photo beyond that, you should not compress the image on your computer as some distortion might take place.
6. Enjoy your photos! Now that they are scanned on to your hard drive, have fun sharing the photos and reliving the memories!

Tips & Warnings

• Always back up your hard drive. Once you've scanned your slides, (and probably gotten rid of those old dusty boxes) you have the images stored. But be sure to back them up. It would be a shame to lose such precious memories.
• Use these images and apply them to T-shirts, mugs, caps and calendars. Old photos used in one of these items is a great idea for a present!