How to Scan Film

Printing photographs digitally is now much cheaper than using traditional photographic methods. If you are using a traditional (non-digital) camera with film, you can still take advantage of digital versatility and of creating photographs with an editing program by scanning your negatives. This is very handy for quick and cheap reproduction and digitization for use on a website. Scanning film yourself if fairly easy with the right equipment, and gives you a great deal of control over your output resolution.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Film negatives
• Flatbed scanner
• Adobe Photoshop or other photo editing program

1. Open your photo editing program, and locate and import your flatbed scanner. This will usually be under the “File” menu of your editing program. Select the name of your scanner. A pop-up window will open with your scanner’s tool interface.

2. Line up the "Film Guide" device in accordance to the particular scanner you have. Most flatbed scanners come with a removable device used just for negatives and film.

3. Place your negative strip in the "Film Guide," taking care to only handle from the edges of the film. Oils on your fingers can permanently leave marks on a negative. Your scanner may have the capability to scan either an entire strip at once, or may only scan one at a time. If your guide has a number on it, make sure to note the placement of the negative you are scanning. Additionally, if your scanner comes with a special film adapter unit, place it over the negative strip. Otherwise, securely close your scanner's lid.

4. In your scanner interface choose the correct film type. This is usually in an area with a phrase like “Select Source.” Choose “Color Negative Film” for color film or “Black and White Negative Film” for a black and white negative.

5. Choose a “Color Mode” of either "Color" or "Grayscale." Some scanners provide additional options such as "Color Photo," "Color Documents," "Newsprint" or "Text." You may benefit in trying these options out and noting the various results.

6. Select the appropriate output resolution. This will depend on the ultimate use of your negatives. Higher resolutions such as 300 dpi are used for printing, and lower resolutions such as 72 dpi are used for websites. When in doubt, scan at a higher resolution as you can always decrease the size later.

7. Select the number where your negative frame is located on your removable device, if applicable.

8. Choose “Preview” to see a quick scan. This is useful in making sure your negative strip is correctly placed and that it is straight in your "Film Guide."

9. Click on “Scan” when your settings are complete. Once your scan is complete, it is important to save your image right away before making any additional adjustments.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have connected a scanner to your computer using a USB port, your computer will likely prompt you to install the hardware driver. This is easy to do following the steps your computer provides.