How to Copy Slides to Digital
If you no longer have a slide projector, or simply want to have easier access to photographs taken on slide film, consider scanning your slides into digital files. There are a few ways to do this, depending on your level of knowledge, available equipment and even what type of slides you have. In many situations, you will probably need to buy a slide scanner, or a scanner capable of scanning slides, to complete this process yourself.
Instructions
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How to:
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If your slides are still in a roll, you can scan them using a special film scanner. Assess the condition of your slides. If they are individually mounted, as in the picture above, you will need to scan each slide as an individual picture. If they are still in a film roll, you should be able to scan the whole roll with a 35mm film scanner.
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Use the correct scanner. Some home scanners have settings for scanning slides, such as the Epson Perfection V600 or the CanoScan 8800F. Otherwise, a scanner particularly for slides such as the SVP PS9700 Slide Scanner can be purchased. The PS9700 scans both mounted slides and 35mm rolls.
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Use the correct attachment. Most scanners capable of scanning slides or negatives will come with several attachments for scanning different sizes and types of film. These will clip over your slides and help the scanner detect them. 35mm slides will fit into an attachment with 3-5 slots, usually, so you can scan them in groups. Larger format slides, like 120mm or 4x5 slides will fit into larger attachments.
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Load your slides into the attachment and place on the glass. Close the lid on your scanner. Be sure to check if the slides are all facing the same way and if they are straight in the attachment.
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Open your scanning software and start a new scan. This can also be done through photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop.
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Edit the preferences for your scanner to indicate that you are scanning slides. Also change the resolution to 120dpi or higher, to provide a usable file size.
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Select the area you wish to scan. Some scanners will require you to scan each slide separately, while other will allow you to choose multiple areas to scan at the same time.
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Press scan and wait for the images to load on your computer.
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Save the file to your hard drive as a jpeg.
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Tips & Warnings
If you do not think you can do this yourself, or don't own a scanner capable of scanning slides, many photographic businesses will be able to do it for you. Simply contact them and explain the volume and nature of your order. Refer to the Resources section for some companies that provide this service.
If you have many boxes of slides, it is possible to get a scanner with a slide carousel to scan multiple slides at a time. These are, however, very specialized and expensive and it might be cheaper to bring your slides to a store.
Always back up your pictures, particularly if you are planning to get rid of the original slides.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit dias en vrac image by cris13 from Fotolia.com fotografia analogica image by Michele Campini from Fotolia.com
