How to Scan 35mm Photo Slides

Photos are precious memories that no one wants to lose. Photos used to be developed and put on 35mm slides. Nowadays most things are digital and the print on demand industry grows daily. But what about all those old 35mm slides? To preserve them you need to scan them to a computer and save the files so you can later print them if you want.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• scanner with built in slide trays
• computer
• blank CDs or harddrives
• cloth

1. Gather all the 35mm slides you wish to scan. Categorize them for easier filing and saving later. Take a clean cloth and wipe the front and back of each slide down to remove dust. Little dust particles often get trapped in the corners and edges and will show in the scanned file.
2. Set up your scanner with built in slide tray. Attach the cord to the computer and open the included software. Read the instruction manual for the scanner to make sure you put the tray and slides in correctly. Place the slides in one by one in the slide tray. Make sure the slides don't slip or fall out of the tray. Press the tray in place on the scanner.
3. Set the dpi on the scanner menu. The lower the dpi the lower the quality of the scan as well as the ability to blow it up later. The higher the dpi the better the quality but also the longer time it takes to scan and the more space it takes up on a hard drive, memory device or CD. A dpi of around 2400 is good quality and will give you some flexibility as to what you can do with the given output.
4. Select your output type and file format. A JPEG or TIFF file is recommended. A JPEG is easy to use and transfer to people, other files and printers. A TIFF file is less compatible but will allow you to edit the photo without compressing it so you maintain the same high quality. The downside of a TIFF file is it takes up a lot of memory space. As far as output just decide if you want grayscale (for black and white slides) or color.
5. Hook up your hard drive or insert your blank CD into your computer. Press the scan button. The scanner will go through its process. When it is done you will be shown the images on your computer screen and asked if you would like to crop, rotate, keep or discard of the images. Make your selections. Save the ones you wish to keep to your selected memory device. Repeat for all your slides. That's it!

Tips & Warnings

• Take your time to make sure the settings and coloring is correct so you don't have much post work to do
• Don't just set a slide on the scanner bed and scan it