How to Transfer Slides to Digital Formats
Tucked away in nearly every family's home is a shoebox (or several) loaded with old 35mm film slides. Before the advent of digital technology, these slides were viewed with the help of a carousel-style projector and a tray that held all of the slides in order. For the sake of convenience, most of today's photos are stored in digital archives on the family computer. Your old slide collection can easily be added to this archive with the help of a scanner.
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Instructions
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Connect the scanner to a power source via AC adapter and to your computer via USB cable.
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Open the scanner lid and locate the film negative/slide tray. Place the slides onto the tray. If you are using a flatbed scanner, the way you position the slides within the tray may vary. If you are using a mirror-box scanner (designed specifically for film negative/slide scanning), slides are typically placed face-down on the tray.
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Power on the scanner and press the "Scan" button. A prompt window will ask you to choose the type of media to be scanned (film negatives, slides or prints), at what resolution it should be scanned (in dots per inch or dpi), the type of file it should be saved as (.JPG, .PNG) and where it should be saved on your computer.
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Click the option that most closely represents "Slides" or "Film Positives." Select your other scanning options at this time.
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Click "OK" or "Scan" once you have chosen your desired settings. Once the scanning has finished, your newly digitized slides will be located in the destination folder you chose.
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Tips & Warnings
Clean your scanner's glass and your slides before scanning to ensure best image quality. Use a soft microfiber cloth to wipe the glass and a gentle air blower to remove dust and debris from the slides.
Depending on your scanner and its software, there are a number of corrective options that can be applied to the slides during the scanning process (color correction, dust removal). Experiment with these options for the best results.
Do not use compressed air to clean your slides, as the chemicals may be harmful to the film.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit slides and loupe image by tim elliott from Fotolia.com
